Product Review: Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest and Sportful Hot Pack Rain Jacket

The Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest in action.

There are a few pieces of apparel that every rider needs to fill in the gaps between summer and winter kit. A vest, or gilet as they are sometimes referred to, and a super lightweight packable rain jacket are two such pieces that are indispensable for a cyclist who wants to ride year 'round. Especially during the spring and autumn, when temperatures on a given day can change greatly and weather conditions can change suddenly, being prepared with a vest and rain cape in your wardrobe is essential.

Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest

The vest I have grown particularly fond of is the Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest. It is far from your run of the mill vest. The garment is meticulously tailored for a true Euro race cut and was developed in conjunction with World Tour Team Europcar. It has all the features a good vest should have: wind blocking material in the front, a well ventilated back, full zip with a long pull cord for easy adjustment even with long-finger gloves, a high collar and form fitting elastic around the waist and arm holes to avoid flapping in the breeze.
Where this vest really stands out is the ingenious back panel. Instead of having a full back, the bottom area, which would typically cover your jersey pockets, is cut away, replaced with a large elastic with silicone grippers at the bottom and thin elastic around the sides and top. Now, instead of struggling to access food or whatever else you might keep in your jersey pockets, you simply reach back and grab it. It's like you're not even wearing the vest! And race numbers pinned to your pockets peak right through.

When I saw this design I instantly needed to get my hands on one. After a couple of months waiting for it to come on the market, I placed my order. I was anxious to test it out and see how the design performed in a real world situation. After nearly two autumns and springs in the vest, I can say it performed outstandingly. It is the one garment that I am most proud to own and for some crazy reason, I've never seen anyone else with one!
The most striking thing about the vest is that people usually never even notice the design unless I point it out. I don't know if this is a compliment more to my cycling fashion sense of well matched kit or a testament to the cut and well thought-out design of the garment itself. Regardless, I hope to see more people out there sporting this, the best of all vests, this spring.

Sportful Hot Pack Rain Jacket
When it comes to cycling in the transition seasons, a lightweight rain jacket might be the most important item taking up some space in your jersey pocket. When I found out that I was going to Italy on the cusp of the rainy season, I knew it was time for a good rain jacket. After probably too much deliberation, I settled on trying out a company that was new to me, Sportful. The Italian brand has a great reputation, sponsoring World Tour team Saxo-Tinkoff (now Tinkoff- Saxo). There are two ways you can go with rain coats, somewhat fancy like those offerings from Castelli, or the basic version like the Sportful Hot Pack that I purchased. In my opinion, spending $250 on a rain jacket is a little absurd, so the $100 option made more sense to me.

That is not to say that the Sportful Hot Pack is shabby in anyway. If there is one thing I really hate, it's wearing something that isn't race cut and inflates in the wind to make me look like the Michelin Man. I've owned rain jackets like that and they've since been retired. The Hot Pack in size medium fit me like a glove and felt perfectly cut when on the bike. I purchased the black version. Probably not the best in terms of visibility, especially in that the jacket has no reflective features, but whether it's cycling clothing or street clothes, I wear a lot of black. Maybe one day I'll have enough money to wear Ferragamo (Italian designer from Firenze who is famous for most of his men's lines being black... and black).

Wearing the Sportful Hot Pack in Varenna, Lombardia

The jacket was even lighter than I could have imagined and it folded up into itself to be about the size of a baseball. I was impressed. For my rainy days in Lombardia, I had the Hot Pack either in my jersey pocket or on my body nearly the entire time. Even just throwing it on over a jersey and arm warmers kept me warm enough on the long Alpine descents. And due to the overlaid ventilation "ports" on the back I was able to wear it even on the toughest climbs without overheating.
How do I think the garment can be better? I mean, it's checks all the boxes for me, but some tasteful reflective details on the back might not be a bad idea considering when it's rainy visibility is often lessened. Besides that, if I wanted something even more pro and race cut, I could have spend the big bucks, but this jacket did everything I needed it to and more. I even wore it with my street cloths once on a rainy day in Orvieto just to stay dry. If that's not a compliment to its understated stylishness, I don't know what is.