Van Rysel Men's Winter Road Cycling Jacket Endurance review: warmth, comfort and great value for money

The Van Rysel Men’s Winter Road Cycling Jacket Endurance is arguably the best value deep-winter jacket you can buy today, priced at £69.99 / €80.

It costs around half as much as its nearest-priced competitor, and while it feels slightly patchwork and bulky in its construction, it does a great job of keeping you warm when it’s cold. It can even shrug off a decent rain shower.

It may be a little too relaxed for those seeking a racier fit, but if you want a protective barrier to the worst weather winter can offer, there’s lots to like here.

Van Rysel Men's Winter Road Cycling Jacket Endurance details and specifications

The Van Rysel Men's Winter Road Cycling Jacket Endurance continues the brand’s penchant for name-stuffing (after the Van Rysel Men's Long-Sleeved Road Cycling Rain Jacket Racer Ultralight), but it’s effectively the brand’s top deep-winter jacket.

It has three kinds of fleece on the inside – a square-textured fabric across the chest, shoulders and front of the arms, a midweight fleece on the back panel and the lower half of the front, and a thinner fabric on the sides.

This combination is claimed to offer warmer insulation where it’s needed most and more breathable insulation where you’re less exposed.

The outer softshell fabric sandwiches a waterproof membrane (albeit there are no claims on how waterproof it is), while the outer-face fabric has a DWR (durable water repellent) treatment to help water bead away.

The jacket is lavished with pockets – there are 10 in total:

• 2 waterproof zipped pockets on the chest panels
• 3 in the traditional place on the lower back
• 1 cargo pocket overlaid on top of these
• 2 zipped pockets outside of that
• 2 more on each flank

The rear features an extendable dropped tail for added coverage and the collar is double thickness to help prevent draughts getting in. The main zip is also waterproof, and has a draught excluder and zip garage.

There are reflective strips on the arms and the Van Rysel branding on the back is also reflective.

The waist hem is broad and elasticated, albeit it misses out on a gripper. The wrist cuffs are low-profile and intended to fit under winter gloves easily.

Overall, the cut is relatively relaxed but suitably slim – testing a size large, I found there was plenty of room inside. Given a size large is said to fit someone with a 98-104cm chest size (mine is around 99-100cm / 39in), some may be best served by sizing down.

The jacket is available in four colour variations and sizes S-2XL.

How we tested | winter jackets

I tested this group of winter jackets through November and December 2024. While these months have been unseasonably warmer than average, I chose the coldest days to test thermal insulation and the warmer days to assess breathability.

Testing temperatures ranged from -2ºC with freezing fog to a balmy 14ºC, and included the usual unpredictable mix of light drizzle and heavy showers. This put the DWR treatments and any waterproof membranes to the test.

I also assessed cut, overall fit and sizing, as well as details of the design such as cuffs, collars, and pocket size and access.

Jackets on test

• Rapha Men’s Pro Team Winter Jacket
• Gore Spinshift Thermo Jacket
• Sportful Total Comfort Jacket
• Santini Vega+ Winter Jacket
• Assos Mille GT Hashoogi Winter Jacket S11
• Van Rysel Men’s Winter Road Cycling Jacket Endurance
• Endura Men's Pro SL 3-Season Jacket
• Altura Men’s Endurance Blast Jacket

Van Rysel Men's Winter Road Cycling Jacket Endurance bottom line

While I think there are better-performing fabrics, and jackets with svelter designs, than the Van Rysel winter road cycling jacket, you have to pay significantly more to own them.

Does the Castelli Alpha Doppio ROS (£350 / $399.99 / €319.95) deliver five times the performance of the Van Rysel, for example? Absolutely not – in terms of value, this jacket makes a mockery of most of the market.

Of course, there are flaws – there are too many pockets and the fit won’t suit everyone, while the construction is sturdy rather than refined. But if bang for your buck is what you’re after, it’s hard to look past this Van Rysel outer layer.

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