Giro Wind Jacket

Giro has sent us their Mens Wind Jacket.  It’s designed to be lightweight, easily packable option that is versatile enough to give you protection on cool mornings, sudden showers or quick cold descents.

La Velocita’s Mike Boudrie takes a look at the Giro Wind Jacket.

Photography - Andrew Clifforth and Supplied by Giro

About

Giro are obviously best know for their huge range of helmets. They do helmets very well, and we’ve recently reviewed their Atmos II which is no exception.

More recently Giro are moving into the apparel space with a range of casual and bike specific kit. 

The men’s Wind Jacket has been designed to something you bring on almost any ride where you think the weather could be changeable, or may start off cool and warm up. Giro has taken their time with the design, clean finished seams, shoulder vents and a offset zipper are just some of the features that make this jacket worth a look.

Quality

Like the Giro helmets we have looked at the Wind Jacket is incredibly well finished.  Stitching is very good and the Nylon fabric feels like it’s just the right weight.  Giro has managed to stay away from the plastic type feel that you often get with jackets of this kind.

We’ve been living with the Giro Wind Jacket for a couple of months and have put it through some fairly nasty conditions, it been shoved, pulled, covered in mud, brushed against rocks and still looks brand new. So the early signs are good.  It’s been through a cold wash once using a very mild detergent and there has been no detrimental effect on the fabric.

Ride

In short we found the Giro Wind Jacket does what Giro claim it can do.  We’ve worn in on cold 3 degree mornings, over a base layer and jersey, with arm warmers and it’s done a great job of taken the chill out of the air as it rushes by.  Then as the day warms up is easy to pack into a jersey pocket.

It also offered good protection against rain for a wing jacket.  On our latest adventure in Victoria’s Gippsland region we got caught out in the Strzlecki State Forest after a big climb by a sudden rain storm and a temperature…. all with a 15km descent ahead.  The jacket saved us from the cold and we were glad to have it.

The back of the jacket has a panel that is covered in perforations.  This worked a treat and stopped and feeling of been cooked in the jacket when working hard in the saddle.

On the fit side this jacket is certainly not a race cut.  Our tester actually fell just into the ‘large’ size range but we decided to go for medium, even then the jacket had pleanty of room, and at speed there was a fait amoint of flapping fabric in the chest and shoulders.  We’d recommend going down a size if you want a race fit.

Visibility wise we tested the black version. It looks good but despite it’s reflective piping it’s hard to see when the weather turns. If visibility is important to you there’s a ‘Glowing Red’ or ‘Blue Jewel’ option that will make you stand out on the cool grey or dark mornings.

Other than  this the Giro Wind Jacket ticks lots of boxes, packs down small, offers protection and is good quality.

Sizing

The Giro Wind Jacket is available in five sizes - S, M, L, XL, XXL

Colours

Four colour options - Jet Black, Pewter, Glowing Red and Blue Jewel.

Giro Wind Jacket 1

Price

$139.95

Where to buy

Visit the Giro website here to find your closest stockist

Overall

Giro has done well with its Wind Jacket. It’s versatile enough to be used out on a club ride or on the commute to work. It will protect you from the cold morning wind and light showers and is well put together. It’s available in a range of colours and a good size range and won’t blow the budget.

Specifications

  •  100% Nylon Rip-Stop
  • 15 Denier
  • Water / Wind Resistant
  • Stretch Elastic Hem
  • Vented Back Panel
  • Reflective Piping