Just In - Salomon XR Jacket

Light areas are 100% windproof, close woven fabric, darker areas are a more breathable stretch version.

Neat press-stud strap allows zip venting with reduced gaping up top.

Thumb-loops.

Salomon is arguably best known for its footwear, but the French brand also has an extensive range of fast and light-style clothing aimed at trail runners, bikers and lightweight hikers including this Salomon XR Jacket.

Windproof and weather resistant clothing generally, is often a battle between keeping weather protection adequate and retaining enough breathability to keep comfortable when working hard. That's even more the case when it comes to kit aimed at runners and bikers, who tend to kick out more heat.

Bodymapped...

Salomon's solution, with the XR jacket, is a hybrid construction with a mix of completely windproof panels in more exposed areas and more breathable soft shell ones elsewhere. With our test garment, the lighter blue panels are the 100% windproof ClimaWIND material and cover the front and back of the jacket and the outside of the sleeves, while the darker panels are a more breathable stretch woven version of the fabric.

The idea is you get protection where it's needed, but the more protected sidepanels stop your body temperature screaming into the red zone. We've used a fair few similar garments before and they tend to work pretty well. They're often described as 'zoned' or 'body-mapped'.

Reet Neat...

Otherwise the Salomon XR is a sleek, longish, close-fitting but not skin tight on us - medium build - jacket with Lycra-bound cuffs and hem. It's not super light at 260g for a medium, but not exactly heavy either. Nor is it emphatically minimalist. There are handy mesh-lined hand-warmer pockets - ideal for those chilly mid-run, cold-finger stops, though arguably a luxury addition - thumb-loops are there for those who like 'em plus there's a neat little press-stud fastened strap to hold the top of the jacket together if you unzip for added venting. The sleeves roll up too and lots of reflective strips, including a full zip-length one, add some night time safety. .

Overall, looks like a slick, well-developed top that should give a decent balance between protection and ventilation. We're off racing bikes in the mud this weekend, so we'll try and give it a go then and see how it gets on.

Suggested price is £80 in the UK and you can find more info at www.salomon.com.