Performance: Wind / Water Resistance & Breathability
While riding lifts and descending from higher elevations on cooler, dry days, the Nano Pullover blocked the wind well and helped keep me warm. Once I started riding and heated up, I would unzip the jacket to increase airflow and stay cool on descents. And when the sun came out later in the day, I could easily pack the jacket away into my shorts’ pocket or my pack.
The Nano Pullover also worked well on trail rides. The jacket is breathable enough that I had no problem wearing it while climbing at a sustained pace in 50°F for twenty minutes or so. But, I couldn’t really climb in it for too much longer without overheating, unless the temperature was close to freezing.
While I didn’t go on any rides where I wore the Nano Pullover the whole time, it is lightweight and small enough when it’s packed away that I never thought twice about carrying it with me on every ride. There wasn’t a single day when it didn’t come in handy.
I wouldn’t classify the Nano Pullover as a rain jacket, as it’s water resistant, but not totally waterproof. Even so, I still appreciated having it on in the rain. The jacket helped keep me warm and delayed the water from soaking my skin for five to ten minutes. This meant that it kept me dry in short, passing rain showers. Quite importantly, the jacket’s shell material also dries very, very quickly, so in a short rainstorm it can absorb some of the water and then dry out before you’ve gotten too wet. In longer rainstorms, however, the Nano Pullover would not be an adequate replacement for a more substantial rain jacket.
Durability
I have not crashed in the Nano Pullover yet, but I haven’t had any issues with the jacket’s durability so far and it doesn’t seem particularly flimsy for a lightweight shell. For what it’s worth, the Nano Pullover’s shell material is very similar to that of the Marmot Trail Wind Hoody, which I’ve crashed in several times and haven’t damaged.
Bottom Line
The Nano Pullover is just as breathable as the Marmot Trail Wind Hoody and offers a nice amount of water/wind resistance, but its bike-specific fit means it’s far more comfortable to wear on the trail. Although I’d like to see elastic cuffs, a longer front zipper, and a slimmer rear pocket zipper on the Nano Pullover, it will still be in my pack on every ride. I would recommend it to any rider looking for a lightweight, packable shell.
You tell me absolutely nothing about how good it keeps showers off or how robust it is. The truth is, this jacket is paper thin and rips easily. The waterproofing is non existent when new and slight showers see you soaking wet. The hood is a joke as it flops about behind you and sometimes blows over your face obscuring your vision. The poppers and studs do not match up so you can’t roll it into the collar without working the dam sequence out. The hood has to peripheral elastic drawcord…instead it has a daft volume reducer that makes your ears stick out like Popo the Pixie. Items do weigh the flimsy pockets down so the reviewer is talking rubbish and playing safe with his words.
An expensive jacket here in GB but it probably costs peanuts to make as its made from tent or umbrella material.
Absolute rubbish as an emergency jacket and a bin bag would do a better job.
Hi TheBigRon,
Great to get feedback. I do think that I cover the water resistance of the jacket on the second page where I mention that it wouldn’t keep any significant amount of rain out, instead soaking through in 5-10 minutes. Using this as a wind shell though, I have been really happy. For its weight and size it can provide an incredible amount of warmth for a cold and windy summit or descent. I’ve yet to find a waterproof jacket that is as light and packable. Until such a jacket becomes available, I’ll take the lighter and more packable wind shell unless I know it will be raining on a given ride. I’ve really appreciated having it in my pack on days where I never would have thought to pack a heavier jacket.
I agree that the hood is a pain and I removed it on my second day with the jacket. The fact that it can be removed is something I really appreciated as I had to cut the hood off my last wind shell to stop the parachute effect. As for the pockets, I truly was surprised by how well secured a phone or wallet and keys were secured in the chest pocket but YMMV.
The material is definitely light, but I was surprised by how well it held up. The manufacturer definitely has to make a trade-off decision between weight/packability and durability. For a jacket like this one, I’ll take light and small over durable.
IMHO any jacket made from this material or Pertex etc has a degree of windproofing and these can be found much cheaper, plus you are essentially paying for the Raceface name. I am hugely disappointed with it TBH and the only saving grace is the packability.
The zips keep catching on the fabric too. I would give it three stars out of ten for biking and i would still have to carry a paclite shell as this ain’t up to the job.
You definitely are paying something to get a bike specific cut on this jacket (drop tail, longer sleeves). I’m getting the feeling though that the price over there must be quite different than over here. $80 is pretty much on par with most other ultralight, packable wind shells (Marmot Trailwind $80, Patagonia Houdini $99, Fox Diffuse $100, Dakine Breaker $80).
For me, packability is absolutely huge. For every day that I wear this jacket, it spends nine just sitting in my pack. I always have it with me, and really enjoy throwing it on when I get to the top of a climb or chairlift and find myself chilled. If it weren’t as packable I’d leave it at home or in the car and just be uncomfortable when temps dropped.
I haven’t experienced the zips catching, so I can’t speak to that point.
If you are looking for a rain jacket, you are definitely going to get more performance out of a paclite or comparable shell. I only very rarely find myself wanting a true rain jacket while riding though, but often love having a light wind jacket to throw on for some extra warmth.
Happy Trails,
Tom
As you can see Tom, i’m not a fan of it and over here in Scotland it has limited use. The retail price over here is 75 English pounds…..which is expensive for what it is and you can’t help but feel short changed when you see it.
Anyway differing opinions……you are always going to get them.
Cheers!
This is the worst “rain jacket” I have ever used.
Sure it looks good. And it does pack down pretty damn small. It fits me just fine.
But don’t even wear it inside while it’s raining outside, you’ll get soaked.
I wore it once, for 10 minutes, in a light mist…
And I was soaked.
I’m returning this ASAP. Someone at Raceface lied.