At this time of year, depending on where you are in the world, there might still be a chill in the air, but it’s not cold enough to justify wearing a jacket. That’s certainly true in the UK at the moment. Enter the Intrepid Freedom gilet.
It’s made from the same tough softshell fabric as Intrepid’s Ultimate jacket, and while closely cut it’s roomy enough to prevent it being restrictive and there’s good length in the body too. The neck closure is snug but not constricting when fully zipped up, and it has a nice soft lining.
The softshell fabric keeps the wind out and is fine for use in wet weather, although it will give in eventually to persistent rain. However, we found it great for most conditions.
The two front hand pockets are zippered, and the side accessed rear pocket is big enough for a small pump, a tube and some tools, as well as your phone in the dedicated internal pouch.
One of the best things about this gilet are the chunky zips, which at first might seem a bit Lego-like but come into their own in filthy mud that clogs other zips. The rubber tags also make zipping easy when wearing gloves.
This article was originally published in Mountain Biking UK magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.