Summary: Highly recommended, a much-loved jacket, perfect for dry, cool conditions. Packed small, nice against the skin, and kept me warm in cold winds. Quality gear from Gore.
Gore Windstopper Element Jacket
The Gore Windstopper Element jacket is a lightweight convertible jacket, made of Gore-Tex Windstopper fabric. Gore makes a range of cycling and running clothing, all of it high quality. Not cheap, but fits well, and is well-made.
I purchased this jacket while touring across Europe and Asia. I found that regular Gore-Tex fabrics were not good in the cold wind, and that was more of a problem for me than rain. I needed a lightweight jacket that blocked wind, and gave some lightweight rain protection.
Here’s the jacket in use, somewhere in China:
Later it became my go-to jacket for mountain biking. I could put it on in the morning, wear it until I warmed up, and then either remove the sleeves, or just unzip the arm holes a bit for breathability. Here’s a shot riding in Taupo – note the frost on the ground. That’s at 4pm – it was a cold day, but I’m warm and comfortable.
The sleeves could be completely removed and put in the rear pocket, and the jacket itself could be stuffed into its own pocket.
Likes
Warm on cold mornings, but then can easily unzip the sleeves as you warm up, or remove them or the entire jacket, and stuff it in your Camelbak/pannier.
Blocks cold winds, yet remains breathable. Feels very nice against the skin. Not clammy, not prone to overheating. This, plus an insulating merino layer, along with a Buff and maybe a skull cap, keeps you comfortable even below freezing.
I like having the ability to convert it to a vest by removing the sleeves, even though I don’t often use it that way. It’s good to have it there.
Dislikes
No major quibbles here. The main issue is rain proofing: it’s not designed to keep you dry all day. When it was newer, the water would tend to bead and run off. As it got more worn, it would tend to soak in the water. It won’t keep you dry in all-day rain, but that’s not its goal. It will keep you dry in light showers, and you should be warmed up by the time it starts raining harder.
Verdict
This has been a great jacket. Highly recommended, particularly for cool, dry conditions. Not great if you often ride in the rain, but good for most of us.
Quality gear from a company that consistently makes nice riding gear.
The Replacement
After many years of use, the main zip started failing. I investigated alternatives, but Gore was always going to be my first choice. I ended up with the current version of the Element jacket. This is basically an updated version: it’s still Windstopper fabric, with removable sleeves.
We also purchased one for Anna:
Note that mine is black, with yellow back & sides:
I much prefer the color of Anna’s jacket, or perhaps the blue. But the only color I could get was black/yellow.
The new model is good, but not quite as good as the older model. No hand pockets, but it does have a chest pocket suitable for storing your phone.
The inside of the jacket lacks any mesh, so it’s not quite as nice against the skin. It’s not far off though. Definitely not like other fabrics that can be clammy. Feels smaller & lighter, but still completely blocks out the wind. In those photos above, temperatures were near freezing, with strong cold winds, but we were happy in our jackets.
Hopefully another ten years of wear from these?