Assos Equipe RS Johdah S9 Targa Winter Jacket £610
Assos describes the Johdah as its ultimate second-skin winter jacket, suitable for all but the coldest rides. It combines windproof Sphere fabric, used at varying thicknesses across the multiple panels on the body, with Osmos fabric and Assos’s three-layer ‘Ziggyzaggy’ foam.
While the arms are a little baggy, the torso is a close fit, pushing the arms and shoulders into a riding position that’s great on the bike.
Inside the jacket there’s a fleece-lined neck and chest warmer Assos calls a ‘mini gilet,’ and behind that a bright blue panel – the ‘Gob Pok’ pocket for carrying that extra layer. After a few rides in low single-digit temperatures it became obvious that the inner mini-gilet is a bit too short. While my chest and shoulders were always cosy, in between efforts my stomach got a bit chilly. Otherwise it works. While it pokes over the top of the main collar it never rubs the neck, the offset zip is perfectly placed and it’s high enough to make a snood redundant.
If you can wear such a lightweight jacket in temperatures below 5°C with only a single base layer, the jacket is certainly a well insulated one. I wore exactly the same combination for longer rides up to 10°, and while I was warmer I never overheated. Assos has cut vents, or ‘valvetec diffusers’ on each shoulder and these certainly help; when you’re on the drops you can feel the breeze coming in.
The rear pockets are excellent. The middle one swallows two tubes, a pump and levers which are kept in place with Assos’s Ramp flap, which folds over the top of the contents, and there’s a zipped side pocket big enough for an iphone.
Like a top-of-the-range Colnago, the Johdah isn’t aimed at the average rider. But then it’s not an average jacket – it is by far and away the best I have used – and if you can afford it, you’re unlikely to be disappointed.