The Sugoi RSX NeoShell jacket is all about the fabric. It's made from Polartec NeoShell, a fabric that's designed for better breathability in all conditions – the buzz phrase is ‘climate control’, which means you’re not forever taking your jacket on and off with changing weather/levels of exertion.
We deliberately made this our pick for an especially warm but rainy day, and we were impressed with its efficiency. It's also a very comfortable jacket.
The styling is also good; mountain bike roomy but with enough shape to avoid being, well, shapeless. The cut is easy enough that you can layer up as the weather gets colder too. It comes in red or black.
Details such as the way the collar fixes after removing the hood, the fleece-lined collar and generous reflective trim are marks of quality in themselves but it is the construction that sets this jacket apart.
The construction of the RSX is of a very high standard
The standard is very high and, combined with the high-performance fabric and well thought-out specification, it reassures you that although this jacket is definitely an investment, you can see exactly where your money has gone.
It clearly doesn’t come cheap, but we’ve been quietly impressed with the material’s performance in a range of conditions – we didn't overheat or get wet during testing. Our only niggle is that we’d like to see a touch more sleek refinement on a jacket at this price and performance level. At £270, we think it’s OK to be fussy.
This article is based on reviews originally published in What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK magazines.
