Review: Gore Race Shakedry Jacket

Gore’s SHAKEDRY™ fabric is class-leading in its ability to keep you dry both from water coming in and water that wants to get out. The Gore Race SHAKEDRY™ Jacket combines the material with stretch panels for a closer fit. If you want to go fast and stay dry, this is the jacket for you. Assuming you can afford it.

SHAKEDRY™ (that’s the last of the mandated capitals and trademark) has been around for a while now. Membrane fabrics have been around a lot longer, and usually they’re a hydrophobic, breathable membrane sandwiched between two layers of textile. The difference with Shakedry is that there’s no textile outer: the surface of the jacket is the membrane.

This has two distinct advantages. Firstly, it makes the jacket lighter and more packable: at just 174g this jacket will easily fit in most jersey pockets with room to spare. And secondly, the surface of the membrane is naturally hydrophobic. It doesn’t require any treatment to keep water beading on the surface, and having the water bead is what maintains the performance of the fabric.

If the surface is fully wetted it’s impossible for vapour to escape; for this reason waterproof jackets generally have a water-repellent coating that can be renewed over time with something like Nikwak TX. With Shakedry there’s no need for that, so the performance of the jacket doesn’t degrade over time, and water beads so well that a quick shake of the jacket after a shower renders it basically dry. Yes, hence the name.

It also means that if you get caught in a shower and then have to stow your jacket in a pocket or bag, the next time you need to get it out it’s ready to go again. That’s often the problem with a traditional membrane fabric: it’ll be damp when you stash it, and the next time you wear it the water won’t bead on it and the performance will fall off.

When Shakedry was first introduced there were plenty of questions about its longevity, and sure: you don’t want to be riding through a bramble patch too often as the jacket can catch and there’s nothing protecting the membrane. But for road riding, so long as you stay rubber side down, you should be fine. It’s proven to be hardier than it looks. Care is easy too: just wash at 40°C on a delicate cycle.

The only major downside is that the membrane is the colour that it is, and that’s a dark grey. If you like a bright rain jacket, this isn’t the one for you. There are some reflective details for riding after dark, but that’s really it for visibility.

Shakedry is not stretchy, at all. So sizing is really important, and this is a race cut so it sizes up reasonably small. It used to be even more important when the jackets were made entirely of Shakedry, but this Race jacket uses panels of stretchier Gore-Tex down the sides of the back, on the cuffs, and at the bottom hem to add a bit of give.

That means you can get a nice snug fit, and the fabric doesn’t flap about when you’re riding fast. The fit is good: long arms, generous dropped tail and high collar for maximum coverage when you’re in a racing position.

I’ve been out and about on the road bike in this jacket when it’s been properly filthy out, and it’s exactly the kind of thing you want to hand when you’ve got some proper weather to contend with. The waterproofing and windproofing is right up there with much heavier jackets, and it’s combined with a breathability that’s genuinely best in class. This Shakedry jacket really does shift an awful lot of moisture when you’re working hard, so much so that when you’re out on a ride that’s showery there really isn’t any need to take it on and off most of the time.

It works best if you don’t layer up too heavily underneath, and with just a long-sleeve baselayer underneath it works well for fast riding even down to fairly low single-digit temperatures. Should it really hot up and you want to, there’s nearly always space for it in a jersey pocket. It’s not particularly easy to get on and off when you’re riding, as the sleeves are pretty tight and it’s snug to zip up, so it’s one to stop and stash.

There’s space in the zipped rear pocket for a bit of food so you can keep it on for longer; it’s not that easy to access your jersey pockets when you’re wearing the jacket.

No two ways about it, this is an expensive jacket. There aren’t that many jackets out there that are more expensive, and as often as not – like the Castelli Idro 3 – they’re made from the same material.

> Buyer’s Guide: 37 of the best waterproof cycling jackets

If you live in the UK and you’re committed to going out in all weathers and riding hard, then you’ll get your money’s worth here. It’s a brilliant jacket for fast riding and it’ll do more for you over a season than a whole host of other ways you could spend the same money.

Verdict

Top wet-weather performance from a very lightweight and breathable waterproof