Fat Lad At The Back Women's Winter Cycling Jacket

The Fat Lad At The Back Women's Winter Cycling Jacket is a good-looking, practical, protective and comfortable cold weather option for female riders looking for sizes larger than a UK12. It doesn't breathe as well as you'd expect for the price though, and can leave you sweaty and chilled.

The unfortunate reality is that, if you're bigger than a UK14, it's very difficult to get good quality, performance cycling kit. Fat Lad At The Back is one of the few companies to address that, and – as the name unfortunately doesn't suggest – it also does women's clothes and smaller sizes too.

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The (deep breath, I'm going for the full name here) Fat Lad At The Back Women's Purple and Blue Graduated Winter Cycling Jacket (and relax) is a striking thing which I think looks really cool; it gives more than a casual nod towards the styling of much more spendy labels.

There's an even more striking version in bright yellow and blue too, if ultimate visibility is your aim.

It's a softshell made from a polyester/elastane mix, with a windproof and water-resistant membrane across the chest, back and shoulders. It stretches down the tops of your arms, too – the rest is a stretchier, more breathable polyester.

There's a silicone gripper at the shaped hem, three generous rear pockets with reflective tape and a zipped security pocket. The front zip is a high quality YKK item that's easy to use one-handed, and there's a stormflap for sealing and a zip garage for neck comfort.

The cuffs are a snug, stretchy fabric and fit neatly. They're a touch tricky with a GPS type watch, but not overly so.

This jacket is described as being most comfortable in a more aero position, rather than when standing, but I feel it's gone slightly too far in being snug across the shoulders and chest. Just a very slight tweak could give extra comfort on a more upright bike or at rest stops, without compromising the fit and efficiency.

The main body has good length and will accommodate even fairly tall riders, but isn't too long for my 5ft 5in frame.

> 29 of the best winter cycling jackets - stay warm and dry when it's cold and wet

The broad hem with gripper band means the jacket stayed put nicely, and the cut across the hips creates scope for a variety of body shapes.

The sizing feels accurate if on the slimmer side, particularly around the sleeves and shoulders – for thinner base layers I'd stick with the recommended sizing, but for deep winter layering I might consider going up a size.

The windproof panels across the front, back and sleeves are extremely effective at blocking the wind and even persistent heavy rain, but they're not that breathable, meaning there was some sweat build-up when working hard despite those sidepanels.

The main issue seems to be the back – it got really quite damp inside on every ride, even at 8° C.

Value

At £154.99, it's a little expensive. Okay, it's cheaper than the Castelli Perfetto RoS Women's Long Sleeve Jacket at £200 and the Pearl Izumi PRO AmFib Softshell Jacket at £199.99, but both use more breathable fabrics and feel more luxurious too.

The Fat Lad At The Back jacket is quite a bit more expensive than the Stolen Goat Ragamuffin 20 Orkaan Everyday LS at £125 which fulfills a lot of the same requirements. It's also more expensive than both the comfortably breathable Chapeau Men's Club Windstopper Jacket at £149.99 and the Lusso Aqua Repel V2 Jacket at £134.99.

Overall

The (once more with feeling) Fat Lad At The Back Women's Purple and Blue Graduated Winter Cycling Jacket (good lord) is a great looking top and very comfortable in temperatures below 10 degrees or so – at least for a while.

Unfortunately it's just a bit on the sweaty side for reliable comfort on long hauls, and the cut is most comfortable in aggressive positions the breathing just can't keep up with.

Verdict

Good winter jacket for short-ish runs, but lacking breathability – and the cut could be more usable