Van Rysel Men's Racer Ultralight rain jacket review

The Van Rysel Men's Long-Sleeved Road Cycling Rain Jacket Racer Ultralight (to give it its full name) is a bargain-priced jacket for wet weather.

It offers all the essential protection many will ever need – although there are other waterproof jackets that perform better, it’s a judgement call as to whether higher waterproof fabric ratings alone deliver a meaningfully improved ride experience.

If you don’t need (or want) to pay top dollar for the absolute best performance in wet conditions, this £39.99 / €40 jacket could meet your needs without breaking the bank.

Van Rysel Men's Racer Ultralight rain jacket details and specifications

The Van Rysel Men's Long-Sleeved Road Cycling Rain Jacket Racer Ultralight has one of the most unwieldy names for a waterproof jacket I’ve come across.

Behind the elongated moniker, though, is a very competitive price tag – at £39.99 / €40, it’s much cheaper than any other waterproof jacket I've tested in 2024, and almost any on the market today.

In a world where the latest rain jackets cost well in excess of £100 (the next cheapest I’ve tested this year is the Scott RC Weather WP Men's Jacket at £164.99), the Van Rysel certainly stands out from the crowd.

On paper, the specification seems to correlate with the price – the fabric the jacket is made from carries a 2,000mm water column rating (a tenth of that achieved by Pertex Shield in the lab, for example).

General textile-industry wisdom recognises that waterproofness is measured on a scale, rather than in absolutes (i.e. 'waterproof or not'), but 2,000 is low compared to most rain jackets on the market.

Slightly confusingly, then, Van Rysel states the jacket is made of a “Fully waterproof and windproof material, [with] sealed seams”.

Fabric breathability is rated to an RET (Thermal Evaporative Resistance) coefficient level of 6, which the brand says is “very breathable, making it suitable for moderate efforts”.

This test is defined by the ISO 11092 standard, but doesn’t have a direct equivalent figure to the more commonly seen moisture-transfer rate many fabric brands use.

Van Rysel says the fabric and DWR (durable water repellent) treatment are PFC/PFAS-free.

The construction sees taped seams on the inside, although the fabric stitching is left open in sections on the upper back and under the arms in order to aid ventilation.

The silver Van Rysel branding and tabs are reflective, and there’s a pocket on the rear-right flank, which doubles as a stuff sack. The waist hem is elasticated and the tail dropped.

A zip garage is included in the design, with a draught excluder down the length of the single YKK zip.

This jacket is only available in black (albeit the fabric is translucent) and in five sizes (S-2XL). It has a slim cut.

How we tested | waterproof jackets

This group of waterproof jackets were chosen to put to the test the latest PFC/PFAS-free waterproof textile technology.

These jackets are set to be the norm, as older textiles (such as Gore-Tex Active and Shakedry) are retired in response to bans rolling out worldwide.

The jackets were tested in the rain and dry, to assess their ability to resist water as well as their breathability. Each was washed using a technical detergent product, following brand recommendations.

Jackets on test

• Gore Spinshift Gore-Tex Jacket Mens
• Men’s Rapha Gore-Tex Rain Jacket
• Scott RC Weather WP Men's Jacket
• Universal Colours Mono Men's Rain Jacket
• Santini Guard Neos - Jacket with Hood
• Albion Men’s All Road Pertex Shield Rain Jacket
• Van Rysel Men's Long-Sleeved Road Cycling Rain Jacket Racer Ultralight

Van Rysel Men's Racer Ultralight rain jacket performance

The Van Rysel jacket doesn’t deliver the level of performance you get from jackets made with the Gore-Tex ePE, Pertex Shield or Polartec Power Shield Pro fabrics (to name a few), but that’s not the point.

In the context of the price tag – where you might otherwise be lucky to get a basic windshell from a ‘premium’ brand – it gives a decent account of itself.

Medium-intensity rain showers are resisted competently, and the fabric seems breathable in cool and dry conditions too (albeit this is undoubtedly assisted by the open vent sections).

I got damp underneath relatively quickly when working harder (especially on my arms), but I don’t yet know of a jacket or fabric that confounds this universal truth – in my experience, what changes is the time you have before you feel wet inside the jacket, and how quickly you might dry once the rain passes.

It happens quicker here than with the best waterproof jackets, but not so fast as to ruin your ride. Importantly, I didn’t have the dreaded boil-in-the-bag experience.

In heavy rain, the fabric can get overwhelmed as the water is pushed through the DWR treatment and into the fabric, at which point any breathability is moot. If you ride frequently in the worst conditions, this isn’t the rain jacket for you.

But many of us will avoid such conditions, preferring instead to have a day off or ride on the smart trainer. Perhaps you also have the attitude that if you’re caught out, you’re probably going to get wet anyway (or hide under shelter for the worst to pass).

If that sounds like you, this jacket could be all you need to stash away for a changeable day – it’ll keep the showers at bay, and you’ll be able to whip it off and stash it into your jersey pocket quite easily.

A low price tag can also lead to fears of poor manufacturing quality, but that’s not the case here.

The taped seams and stitching aren’t as polished as those found in the Men’s Rapha Gore-Tex Rain Jacket (£300 / $380 / €345) or Albion Men’s All Road Pertex Shield Rain Jacket (£210 / $295 / €310), to give two pricier examples.

That said, none are coming loose or peeling away – even after a few rinse cycles in the washing machine.

I wouldn't expect the jacket to have quite as long an effective life as those more premium garments, but such an expectation would be unreasonable considering the price difference.

Van Rysel Men's Racer Ultralight rain jacket bottom line

For those who want cost-effective protection from showers, this Van Rysel jacket ticks the essential boxes.

It isn’t as refined or high-performing as premium jackets from more expensive brands with more expensive fabrics, but that can be forgiven considering the cheap price tag.