Endura FS260-PRO SL Shell £164.99

Endura claims that the FS260-PRO SL Shell’s breathability and waterproofing comes about because of the Exoshell 40 technology, a membrane that is 50 per cent thinner than other waterproof membranes.

We took the jacket to the west coast of Scotland — the wettest place in the UK — perfect for putting the FS260 through its paces. It was indeed the ideal proving ground: long rides in the torrential Scottish rain during which the jacket performed spectacularly well.

The jacket sheds water, making it run off in beads. Over the course of a 110km ride, all in the rain, the jacket never once gave in and let us get wet.

It’s also very windproof, holding off strong gusts and gales. The storm flap over the zip and the high neck added extra protection against any wind and rain.

Endura has tried hard to facilitate packability and includes an elasticated band on the neck to keep it folded in place.

In reality, the jacket does sit in a pocket, but it isn’t as packable as Endura suggests. That said, we would take the sacrifice considering how technically superb the jacket is. Great wet-weather jackets traditionally do not pack down to nothing so it’s impressive Endura has achieved what it has with the SL Pro.

As for breathability, Endura says the thinner membrane lets the worst of the heat out, and the rest exits via one large vent on the side. On long rides we were able to keep the jacket on, open the vent and not overheat with three layers on underneath.

We did find that the sleeves pulled up our wrists a little too much, so would like to have seen a little more length here.

However, the Endura FS260PRO SL is exceptionally waterproof, impressively windproof and highly breathable.