With its multi-panelled construction, the Louis Garneau Massimo softshell uses three of the company’s own fabrics for a tight, supportive fit and excellent frosty day warmth and breathability.
The features are well thought out, with a media port in the chest pocket, an LED loop on the tail, and decent reflectives. Though shower-resistant on pacy test rides, in our lab tests its waterproofing was below par. The only other gripe is the untidily finished flat stitching.
How we tested the latest jackets
As well as cycling for hours in the coldest, wettest conditions we could find (and sitting on a turbo under a hose), we took all the jackets to the waterproof clothing experts at Foxwear to test the seams and material – specifically the chest area and shoulder seams, which bear the brunt of downpours.
Foxwear’s testing machine isolates a 10cm section of the jacket and subjects it to increasing water pressure. We continued until either the jacket leaked or the pressure reached 0.6 bar which, according to Foxwear, is ‘not far short of a tropical storm’. Foxwear should know: they've been making hi-vis, high performance rain jackets for professionals such as the police for years, and will soon be bringing out a bike jacket.