7mesh Industries

Cache Anorak - Men's

Weather resistant, not proof…

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

I was looking for a riding jacket that would keep me warm and dry when the weather turned, as it can often do (especially up high, here in central Oregon), in the fall. I’ve had other brand’s jackets in the past for this use, and either they didn’t breathe well and were bulky and difficult to wear, but sealed out moisture effectively, or breathed really well and were ineffective at keeping me dry. But even the ones that kept out the external moisture still didn’t keep me dry because of sweat buildup. Essentially, effective mountain bike rain jackets are a bit of a myth if these are your objectives. You really can’t have both, IMO. But then again, who wants to ride in the pouring rain? Not me, and I love a little bad weather. The problem is, at least in our climate, when it rains like that the trails hold water and trail spray is far more ingressive than anything except for the worst thunderstorm downpours. So onto the Cache… sounded like a great concept- mixing panels between weather’proof’ materials and breathable materials. And in pretty much every way except one, this jacket delivered. Got a chance to test it a couple weeks ago. Was raining at the trailhead, but the trails weren’t yet sloppy down low. As we climbed, the jacket performed beautifully- breathed really well (never got hot or built up sweat inside, and shed the light to moderate rain that was falling perfectly. However as we neared the top, and the rain fell harder and the trails grew soupier, the arms especially started to wet through. Not terribly, but it was noticeable. By the end of the ride, after hydroplaning through massive puddles all the way back to the car, the arms were completely soaked. My shoulders, chest and back were damp too, but not as bad as the arms. Is this a failure? Maybe only in my expectations (and the marketing). You see, I actually think it’s the perfect jacket for me for around here in fall because of my earlier comments. Who wants to ride in conditions like that? The ride sucked, frankly. The failure was going out when we did. Most of the time, I need a jacket I can wear that breathes, so I actually wear it, but that will protect me should some drops fly. In that regard this jacket is perfect. I own a Patagonia H2No jacket I bought for fishing and on a very wet day on the Missouri River in MT this past June, the thing delivered. But would I want to wear that jacket mountain biking? I don’t think so. After this particular ride I wondered if I’d have been better off with Patagonia’s version of the Cache with the same H2No barrier. And no doubt, at least for the downhill, that jacket would have kept me drier. But climbing in it wouldn’t have been practical. Likely heavier, less breathable material would have had me all souped up on the inside halfway up the climb. So ultimately this is about what you truly need in a jacket. If you like going out on days that have you returning to the car looking like swamp thing, the Cache isn’t your best option. But if you need a functional jacket that is wearable before it rains, and does a pretty good job of protecting you should it rain (lightly to moderately for an hour or less) this jacket is great.