BTwin Aerofit 700 Warm Cycling Jacket

The BTwin Aerofit 700 Warm jacket basically has its own layering system, which means you can wear it on chilly mornings right the way down to freezing and below. With a slim cut, dropped tail and snug cuffs, it isn't going to hamper your racing performance either.

BTwin is the cycling-specific in-house brand of sports superstore company Decathlon. It has built a great reputation over the years from offering excellent quality and high performing products at sensible prices. Once again the Aerofit 700 delivers on that.

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The 700 range is BTwin's top line, sitting above the 500 and 300, and Decathlon classes the Aerofit 700 Warm as its pro-level jacket. As the name suggests, it uses the company's Aerofit slim cut, which means it's designed to fit close to the body so you don't get any material flapping around causing drag.

The tail is dropped by a good couple of inches compared to the front, and the long sleeves have close-fitting cuffs that are cut at an angle (longer on the top to offer better coverage to the back of your hand). This all highlights the fact that the Aerofit 700 Warm has been designed to work best when crouched over a road bike. A high neck keeps the draughts out as well.

You get plenty of storage too: four pockets, all at the rear. The three main ones are laid out in the traditional way across the bottom of your back. They are a decent enough depth, easily swallowing a large mobile or tools without risk of them falling out if you are hunkered over in the drops. A nifty touch is the elastic sleeve in the left pocket, designed to hold a mini pump a little more securely.

The fourth pocket sits on the outside of the central three. It's zipped and has a water repellent lining which keeps the rain for a decent amount of time. I certainly had no issues with my phone getting wet in short downpours or prolonged drizzle.

As far as the material goes, the majority of the jacket uses a windproof 97% polyester, 3% elastane mix which is fleece-backed to trap and maintain body heat. It works well, being soft against the skin, and does keep you really warm without that sweaty, clammy feeling you get from some jackets.

The Aerofit 700 Warm was comfortable for me from around 7°C with just a lightweight baselayer on, down to around 1°C.

Below freezing and you can deploy the removable chest protector and 'Thermo Hood'. It's like a mini gilet that zips inside the main jacket, again with a fleece-backed fabric, but one that is much thinner than the main jersey so isn't bulky.

The Thermo Hood is essentially a balaclava, which makes you look like a speed skater once it's zipped right up to your chin. It does work, though, as a barrier to cover your ears and face from windchill and being such thin material it easily fits under your helmet.

Finishing the jacket off are a few reflective patches, on the shoulders and rear pockets. It's still not a huge amount but it is better than a lot of token reflective tabs found on some of the opposition.

> Check out our guide to the best winter cycling jackets here

Overall I'm very impressed with the Aerofit 700 Warm. Even though the temperatures haven't dropped past freezing much down here in the south-west I've still had plenty of use out of it on evening and night rides. It's very comfortable on the bike – you get no bunching of material anywhere, and the elastic tail gripper keeps the jacket in place no matter what your position.

On the whole it's a solid winter jacket, and because you can tweak the layering as you ride it offers a decent temperature range. Get too hot and you can just unzip the inner part and store it in a pocket.

The £99.99 price tag is about right for the overall quality and performance. It's very well put together with strong stitching and smooth-running zips, and it comes with an impressive two-year guarantee.

Verdict

Impressive cold weather jacket that feels right on the bike, with lots of attention to detail too