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review

Santini Skin Windbreaker

7
£74.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Excellent against the wind but take the 'resistant to light rain' with a pinch of salt
Weight: 
95g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Skin Windbreaker from Italian brand Santini is one of the better race cape style jackets out there – not in the way it blocks the breeze but the way it lets the heat escapes. Its breathability far outweighs its water resistance, for sure.

  • Pros: Breathable, windproof, light
  • Cons: Not very water resistant, pricey for a windproof

The Skin is one of those jackets you tend to stuff in your back pocket until you need it, which is where its weight and packability excels. At 95g (coming up even lighter on the road.cc Scales of Truth than Santini's 140g claim), it's not one you're going to notice at all, even when taking on the steepest and longest of climbs.

> Find your nearest dealer here

The material is so thin and soft that it packs down really neatly and quickly. Some jackets like this have a really plasticky feel to them which means they tend to slide around when you're trying to fold them up, but the Santini doesn't have that man-made feel about it. You can literally bundle it into a small square while you're still in the saddle and stuff it into your pocket.

Of course, though, it is man-made. The main structure is 100% polyester, with the side and underarm panels having 8% elastane added for a bit of stretch to create a closer fit and allow the jacket to move with you when you are changing position on the bike.

Santini Skin Windbreaker - riding.jpg

While we're mentioning the cut, it's worth pointing out that the Skin Windbreaker has quite a generous fit, more akin to a UK brand's sizing rather than whippet thin, mountain goat style usually associated with Italian manufacturers. Just follow the size guide on the website and you'll be fine, as it is spot on.

Santini Skin Windbreaker - back.jpg

It's still more racer than relaxed, which means you don't get much flapping when travelling at speed or pushing on into the wind.

You get a slightly dropped tail to keep your lower back covered and the sleeves are a decent length too, as they should be on a jacket like this: the type of garment you'll be sticking on before hurtling down a long descent stretched out on the drops.

Santini Skin Windbreaker - sleeve.jpg

Both the hem and cuffs are held in place with elastic, with the former being reflective all the way around for a little bit of visibility when riding in the darkness.

Santini Skin Windbreaker - tail.jpg

The zip is full length and easy to use thanks to its plastic tab, making it easy to adjust even with winter gloves on. There's no garage to cover the zip at the top, which means at times it can just catch your neck.

Santini Skin Windbreaker - chest.jpg

The fabric is great at keeping the wind out, even those really biting cold northerlies, especially when paired with a jersey and baselayer. With this setup I found the Skin Windbreaker breathable up until about 10°C; any higher than that and it gets a little overwhelmed and you'll get damp, but to be honest you only really realise when you stop. Unzip it for a bit and let the breeze through and you'll dry quickly.

Santini mentions a resistance to light rain, but after testing in various conditions I'd say don't rely on it. Drizzle, a bit of fog maybe, will be kept beaded on the outside for a while, but anything resembling actual precipitation will be through the material pretty much straight away.

Santini Skin Windbreaker - shoulders.jpg

Saying that, though, it does keep you warm.

With regard to value, we've seen lots of these jackets around the £35 mark from the likes of Boardman and B'twin although I would say the Santini does have some of the best breathability I've known from a race cape.

> Buyer's Guide: 10 of the best windproof cycling jackets

It does sound very similar to the Giro cape we tested a while back at £79.99, and I'd agree with Dave that 80 quid is pretty pricey for what is basically a wind barrier.

Verdict

Excellent against the wind but take the 'resistant to light rain' with a pinch of salt

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Santini Skin Windbreaker

Size tested: Medium

Tell us what the jacket is for

Santini says, "High-performance race fit windproof jacket for aerodynamic performance. With under-arm lycra inserts to enhance the fit. Extremely lightweight and easily foldable inside your pocket. Designed to provide optimal wind protection while descending and to keep you dry in light rain conditions.

"Made in Italy."

The Skin Windbreaker is very light indeed and is reasonably breathable for this type of jacket.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the jacket?

Santini lists:

Fit - Race cut windbreaker engineered with the lightest available fabrics so you barely notice you're wearing it, the underarm side panels are made of lycra to provide added freedom of movement.

Performance - Among the lightest wind jackets around, tipping the scale at a mere 140g. It can be folded and stored in your back pocket and makes the perfect accessory for any ride.

Comfort - This jacket was designed to provide optimal wind protection while descending and to keep you dry in light rain conditions.

Durability - The high quality fabrics chosen for the garment guarantee that the technical characteristics and the shape remain constant even after prolonged wear and numerous washes. Made in Italy by our highly skilled production staff.

Rate the jacket for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the jacket for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the jacket for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the jacket for waterproofing
 
4/10
Rate the jacket for breathability
 
8/10
Rate the jacket for fit:
 
8/10

The overall fit is quite generous for an Italian brand.

Rate the jacket for sizing:
 
8/10

The sizes correspond well to the manufacturer's guide.

Rate the jacket for weight:
 
9/10

Even lighter than Santini claims.

Rate the jacket for comfort:
 
8/10
Rate the jacket for value:
 
5/10

How easy is the jacket to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

Thirty degree wash and avoid all kinds of heat like ironing and tumble drying. There were no issues with mud staining or the like.

Tell us how the jacket performed overall when used for its designed purpose

As a wind jacket it works really well, but I wouldn't rely on it for keeping the rain out (Santini does only say 'light rain').

Tell us what you particularly liked about the jacket

It's breathable for the type of jacket.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the jacket

Drizzle is about its water resistant level.

Did you enjoy using the jacket? Yes

Would you consider buying the jacket? Yes

Would you recommend the jacket to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

You can get this style of jacket for half the price but the Santini manages to keep the wind out while maintaining decent levels of breathability, which makes it better than most. It doesn't deal with even 'light rain' well, though, so it's pricey for what is effectively just a windproof.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: Kinesis Aithein

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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2 comments

Avatar
Yorky-M | 6 years ago
0 likes

Visually nice...from santini.

 

Not often you can say that.

Top marks.

Avatar
fustuarium replied to Yorky-M | 6 years ago
0 likes
mylesrants wrote:

Visually nice...from santini.

 

Not often you can say that.

Top marks.

 

Are you sure? It looks full on 90s Chav to me. I guess that just shows each to their own.

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