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Rapha unveils "lightest ever" foul weather rain jacket featuring new, more environmentally-friendly Gore-Tex tech

The new Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket is PFAS-free, costs £295 and weighs less than its Gore-Tex Shakedry predecessor, says Rapha

Rapha has unveiled what it says is its lightest-ever rain jacket, the Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket coming in at a claimed 128g (in a men’s medium size). Rapha says that is less than its previous Pro Team Gore-Tex Shakedry Jacket – Shakedry having pretty much set the performance standards for lightweight waterproofing over the past few years, although it’s no longer being made.

> How green is your waterproof cycling jacket?

2025 Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket studio 2025 Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket studio (credit: Rapha)

Like other new Rapha products, the Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket is PFAS-free. PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) is the name of a group of synthetic chemical compounds that are sometimes known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they break down extremely slowly in the environment.

> Gore-Tex manufacturer accused of running “misleading greenwashing campaign” while continuing to use “harmful” synthetics in its fabrics 

Rapha released its first PFAS-free Gore-Tex jacket last autumn, and now it’s extending the tech into its Pro Team range that is “created to meet the specific demands of elite-level road racing” – although the rest of us are encouraged to buy it, naturally.

2025 Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket on bike 2025 Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket on bike (credit: Rapha)

Rapha describes the Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket as “the ultimate rain jacket for giving your best in the worst racing and training conditions”. 

Well, it would, wouldn’t it? What are you actually getting here?

The Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket is made from a three-layer ripstop fabric that is designed to be waterproof, of course. The seams are taped to prevent water from getting in there. As mentioned up top, Rapha says that it weighs less than its Pro Team Gore-Tex Shakedry Jacket and “compresses easily into a jersey pocket or saddle bag”.

To put Rapha's 128g claim into context, the Gore Race Shakedry Jacket that we reviewed weighed 174g in a size large and the Gore C7 Gore-Tex Shakedry Stretch Jacket was 160g in a medium. The minimalist 7Mesh Oro Jacket that we reviewed was lighter, though, at just 93g (size medium). All of these jackets were waterproof rather than simply windproof.

> How to choose the right waterproof cycling jacket — stay dry and keep riding whatever the weather 

Rapha also says that the Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket is “hard-wearing and breathable”. We’ve yet to use one, so we can’t comment on the performance. We’ll request a sample for review here on your caring, sharing road.cc, though.

2025 Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket studio zip 2025 Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket studio zip (credit: Rapha)

As you’d expect of a cycling-specific jacket, it is cut for comfort when you’re in a riding position. You get a two-way zip “for on-bike pocket access and airflow for cooling”.

The price? You’re looking at £295 for the Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket, and it’s available from today.

www.rapha.cc

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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4 comments

Avatar
Surreyrider | 5 hours ago
1 like

I was interested in getting one until the final sentence!

Avatar
Freddy56 | 7 hours ago
2 likes

When did rain jackets ignore road spray at the back? Bicycling did a study of 500ml every minute from the back tire in heavy rain. The design is too short at the butt!

Avatar
Rendel Harris | 8 hours ago
4 likes

20 g lighter and £75 dearer... I think I'd just keep the old jacket and cut my fingernails or have a shave or something...

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to Rendel Harris | 8 hours ago
2 likes

Sounds like Turkish barbers are getting expensive these days! Had my ears done also for less that 20 quid...

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