Funkier WJ-1314 Jacket

While the Funkier WJ-1314 jacket's name might be uninspired, luckily its performance isn't. It's wind- and waterproof and incredibly warm. At £79.99, it won't break the bank, either.

This jacket has a fairly relaxed cut with generous arms. It's a bit like a cross between your favourite thick fleece and a cycling waterproof. It's as cosy and roomy, and feels heavy like the fleece, yet has some features to make it perform better on the bike: reflective piping front and back, a slightly dropped back, and a gripper hem around the waist to keep everything in place.

You get a single, zipped pocket on the back and two on the front. All three have lining that is waterproof, but the zips are not. That's a bit of a design oversight, that. You get a full-length front zip with storm flap and zip garage at the top.

It get its proofness against wind and water from a special membrane laminated between the polyester outer and the fleece inner. The membrane has microscopic pores which are too small for water, but big enough for vapour to pass through. That's the theory anyway.

My experience has been that it's so warm, even on sub-zero days with the underarm vents fully open, the fabric can't quite cope with the amount of sweat I generate. That amount might well be more than most; I have not yet found a waterproof that can cope on a vigorous ride.

That aside though, I actually rather like this jacket. On a grim day, when you're setting off into the coldark, it's rather nice to have something cosy you can throw over everything else you're already wearing – it's roomy enough to not hamper movement. Doesn't matter what amount of wind or rain gets thrown at you, it'll look after you. Not like a jacket two or three times its price perhaps, but you won't get cold.

As well as the red we tested, it's also available in black and blue, in six different sizes from small to XXX-large. Ours was a large which is a size up from what I'd normally go for – it fits me perfectly in terms of body- and arm length, but is generous around the arms and belly.

Verdict

Affordable, cold-, wind- and waterproof, but not very breathable.