Stolen Goat Men’s Mekon Climb & Conquer Winter Jacket

Stolen Goat's Climb & Conquer Winter Jacket is the company's warmest offering. It is made from Tempest Protect fabric and is specifically designed to keep you riding in the harshest conditions. It does this very well, and at a fair price for what you get. In my opinion, it looks pretty good too.

This isn't the first time we've had this jacket in for review at road.cc; our Jez really liked it the first time around, back in 2015. As it happens, Jez is a good mate, and I tapped him up to compare both versions. Other than price and design, we couldn't find any other changes. He gave the jacket 9/10 at the time and I rate the jacket equally high.

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Like the Bodyline One Bib Shorts I reviewed recently, the Climb & Conquer Jacket is also made by Bioracer in Belgium, a company that knows a thing or two about manufacturing Cycling Garments That Work.

The Tempest Protect fabric that Bioracer has chosen for this jacket is windproof and waterproof, and impressively so for a jacket that is supposed to be a softshell. It is not a full-on waterproof; the YKK zip works well but isn't waterproof, and the seams aren't taped. Even so, if you do get caught in a downpour, this jacket will just go 'shrug'.

The trick with making a warm cycling garment is judging breathability. Warm by itself doesn't mean much if your sweat can't escape. Stolen Goat says that this is why the seams are not taped, to aid with breathability. As long as you wear this jacket in the conditions it was designed for, this works well.

Stolen Goat is pretty clear about this, using words like 'crisp wintry conditions' and 'arctic'. The Climb & Conquer jacket page on the Stolen Goat website has a handy temperature chart, which takes the weather into account. In summary: if it's dry, strictly 5°C and below. If it's changeable, the minimum temperature goes up a bit, and if it's raining then it works well as soon as the temperature goes into single digits.

> Winter cycling clothing – 49 of the warmest garments you can buy

In my experience this is about right; this jacket kept me comfortable on a lumpy 100km ride in thick fog with the temperature just above freezing, with just a short sleeve baselayer underneath. I remember descending at speed after getting sweaty going after it on a longish climb, and thinking to myself how little windchill I noticed. This is testament to the fabric, but also the detailing. The collar is snug without being too tight, the cuffs are long and tight enough to get your gloves over easily. Even though there isn't a stormflap for the zip, it's sewn in such a way that it prevents the wind getting through.

With Bioracer taking care of the functional bits, Stolen Goat is in charge of aesthetics. Its Climb & Conquer Jacket is available in nine different designs, from the understated Kuro Black through the nicely colourful and stylish Mekon we're reviewing here, to some braver colour schemes that are not for me. Something for everyone.

Stolen Goat has subtly designed in 'be seen' elements for riding in the dark; the back pockets are made from highly reflective pixel 100 fabric. It looks grey in normal conditions, but reflects lights in the dark.

There are the usual three back pockets, and a fourth zipped waterproof pocket with a little hole to route your headphone cable through if that's what you want to do.

In terms of fit, I'm 178cm and weigh 77kg. I am a medium in anything non-Italian, and according to Stolen Goat's size chart (with a 38in chest, a 34in waist and a 38in hip) I'm slap bang in the middle of the range for medium. A medium is what we got, and a medium fits me perfectly.

This is a performance fit: the body and the arms are snug enough to prevent flapping. If you like things a bit more relaxed, then Stolen Goat recommends sizing up. The cut around the back is judged well – even without a gripper hem the back stays put low enough to keep your lower back warm. If you're not into mudguards the jacket isn't cut low enough to keep road spray off your behind. Not an issue for me; I'm a big fan of mudguards.

When Jez reviewed this jacket five years ago it was £129. It is now £149. This is not a cheap jacket, but then again you are getting some serious performance.

Stu recently reviewed and liked Gore's C5 Gore-Tex Infinium Thermo jacket, which is a bit more expensive at £169. Similar offerings from Castelli, Rapha and Le Col are more expensive, while dhb's Aeron Deep Winter Jacket has the same RRP but is not waterproof.

> Buyer’s Guide: 29 of the best winter cycling jackets

In conclusion, Stolen Goat's Climb & Conquer Winter Jacket is exceptionally good at keeping you warm when it gets really cold. It keeps out an impressive amount of rain for a non-fullblown waterproof too. I think the price is fair for what you get, and it looks good to boot. I think it's near perfect, so if you're looking for a jacket with these features, this one should be high on your list.

Verdict

Stylish windproof and waterproof jacket for when it gets really cold