Weight: 460 gm
Draft Dodger | Hoodwink | Frosty Boy | |
Windproof | Full | Full | Front & sleeves |
Fabric | WindFoil™ front & back & Thermostat™ sides | WindFoil™ | WindFoil™ front & Thermostat™ back |
Front Zip | Full length + 2 forearm vents | Full length | Full length |
Pockets | 2 hand plus large rear | Single at chest | 3 rear plus single at chest |
Baked Alaska | Astro | |
Windproof | Front only | Front only |
Fabric | WindFoil™ front & Lightwave™ Merino back | WindFoil™ front & Lightwave™ Merino back |
Front Zip | 3/4 length | None |
Pockets | 3 rear | Single at chest |
The Draft Dodger is a quality product, the feel of the fabric says it all. It is super comfortable and all the seams are beautifully finished and look tough enough to withstand some major punishment. Zips have a solid feel, but are still really easy to open one handed on the bike. They also have nice tags to make them easy to grab when you have gloves on. There is a massive zipped rear pocket that can hold your gear, but also houses a fold out high viz yellow 'tail' for night, low light or bad weather riding. We have thrown some serious weather at the Draft Dodger including, heavy rain for 20 to 30 minutes, mud, road spray, freezing midwinter Melbourne mornings and more. It has taken it all in its stride.On the bike the Draft Dodger keeps the nastiest chills out. On sub 5 degree mornings we found a base layer or T-shirt was all that was needed under the Draft Dodger to keep warm. Once it's beginning to reach 10 degrees you won't even need to have the jacket fully done up. What we are saying is that this is a jacket for really cold weather. You'll find you'll be overheating once the sun is up or if you start to work a bit harder on the bike. If you do start to get warm the WindFoil inner does a good job of wicking sweat away from the skin.We've also found ourselves reaching for the Draft Dodger when heading out for non bike activities... for a walk or out for a morning bread and milk mission. It's a good looking jacket.
What a top piece of kit! I live in Christchurch and we get some below zero mornings here. With a thermal on and my Draft dodger it's never too cold! I ride in all weather and have to go early in the mornings so a jacket that covers the cold and wet is essential. Wouldn't buy anything else.
I bought the draft dodger because I wanted a jacket to wear around when I am out walking on windy cold days in Auckland. It is a superb piece of kit. I use Flash Gordon/Sub Merino when riding MTB but use DD more when I am off the bike. Great in the wind.
The Draft Dodger has helped me ride through one of the coldest winters in Canberra. The coldest morning ride was a frosty -7 degrees - the jacket was awesome with just a long sleeve thermal and long sleeve T underneath. I love the large rear back pocket for my helmet light battery, tube, snack and phone. The sleeve zips seemed a bit weird at first but they actually work better than pit zips to cool things down. Light rain just beads off the jacket to keep me dry and toasty. Some suggestions for future versions: - make the high vis tail removable (I cut mine out to make more space in the rear pocket). - add a cable port on the inside of the jacket to the rear pocket (for light battery cable or headphones) - add a chest pocket for phone storage (as I tend to do less superman dismounts) - add a waist draw cord to prevent the jacket bouncing around when the pockets are full and I'm flying through the air. Anyway, thanks for the great jacket - it's worth every cent!
Wore it once and it rained while I was out. The new jacket kept me dry and warm.