• Sugoi Viper jacket
• £75
• Sugoi
• 00800 4321 3350

At 240g, Sugoi’s Viper jacket lives firmly at the ultralight end of the outerwear spectrum, but manages to pack in a surprising number of features despite that. The secret to the lack of weight and bulk is the Excel Stretch fabric. It’s very breathable but not fully waterproof – it’s described as “[denying] water absorption and penetration” which pretty much hits the mark. It’ll keep off a brief shower but longer or heavier downpours will start to creep through eventually.

The other useful property of Excel Stretch is, amazingly enough, stretchiness. Sugoi has used this to good advantage, giving the Viper a close-fitting aero cut that doesn’t flap about in the breeze. On the subject of breeze, keeping that out is something that the Viper does very well. Helping it along is a reverse-coil (think inside-out) zipper with an effective wind flap behind it. A “zipper garage” at the collar prevents neck irritation.

Under the arms are subtle mesh vents for extra cooling, and all the attention to detail that we’ve come to expect from Sugoi is present and correct – asymmetric cuffs that cover the backs of your hands, with an extra stretch panel under the wrist; a drop tail with special grippy elastic to stop it riding up and a pocket and reflective taping on the back.

Also worthy of note is that the Viper comes in a men’s or a women’s version. They both look the same and both come in a choice of colours, but the cut and sizing is adjusted in each case.

Positives: Very light, packs down small, great cut, women’s version available

Negatives: Quite pricey

This is a great jersey-pocket jacket. While it’s not fully waterproof it keeps off a lot of stuff and it’ll certainly keep the wind off. As usual with Sugoi gear, though, it’s fairly expensive.

Performance: 5/5
Value: 4/5
Overall: 4/5