My Foska jacket arrived this morning and very nice it looks too. I ordered the medium size which I wanted for a slightly more casual look. It certainly won’t look out of place in the train or on the bike. It only comes in black/graphite and has the red and black Foska logo stitched onto the left-side hem and right arm. It looks really nice.
The jacket has a lowered tail and the arms have a slightly longer reach for comfort when on the bike. Two lines of reflective Scotchlite piping have been added along the front of each arm with a single line behind each elbow. The quality is self evident as I would have expected of a jacket costing £70. Each sleeve has an inner wrist baffle and adjustable straps to keep out draughts when on the bike.
There are three external pockets. One napoleon pocket for when on the bike and two normal side pockets. There are also two inside pockets to stash away bits and bobs. When opened the two side pockets also act as vents by channelling air through narrow slits behind each inner pocket. All the zips are waterproof and the napoleon pocket is seam sealed I guess because the front of the jacket takes the brunt of the rain. Externally this is a softshell jacket, internally it is nice ands fleecy.
I dug out some stats for the Foska and the Endura range, which I was also looking at. In terms of breathability and waterproofness I think is compares well with these jackets bearing in mine that these cost double the price.
Endura Stealth £150
Waterproofness: 10,000mm
Breathability: 5,000gms
Endura Venturi event £150
Waterproofness: 30,000mm
Breathability: 8,000gms
Foska Tangent £70
Waterproofness: 8,000mm
Breathability: 5,000gms
How the jacket performs is a topic for another blog. Maybe I’ll take a spin down to Tesco later…
UPDATE 08/12/2008
I cycled in to work this morning wearing the Tangent. It was around 3 degrees and there was frost on the ground. The jacket performed well, in fact a little too well. I arrived fairly hot so I think this will cope with whatever weather London wants to throw at it. I love having pockets at last. No more scrabbling around in my pannier for my wallet or keys. It’s great! I might try wearing just a t-shirt underneath tomorrow if the weather is similar to this morning. Another plus is that because the Tangent is waterproof I can ditch my cheapo rain jacket which leaves a little more room in my pannier. Yay.