MEN’S VERDICT

Of the men’s options, all but one of the

jackets fit into a jersey pocket, but we found big differences in levels of rain protection between them. At £90 and leaving us soaked through in middling levels of precipitation, we wouldn’t recommend Pearl Izumi’s Barrier Lite for more than a back-up emergency layer.

The offering from Planet X is impressive,

and considering you can often pick one up for £39.99 via the Planet X website, this is the one we’d go for on a budget. Rapha’s Brevet was easily the heaviest on test at 240g, but it’s a good choice if you can afford to have more than one rain jacket in your kit collection.

Our out-and-out winner without a doubt

is Castelli’s Idro. Yes it’s a huge spend, but to have this much rain protection in such a small space marks the next step in packable waterproofing, of which the rest of the contenders here don’t come close to matching. It deflects water, is suitable for a wide range of temps and offers a close fit, with robust zips. We’re hoping they’ll do a non-black version soon, for visibility.