Cyclist
In The Drops: Sealskinz super jacket, booming H20 Audio headphones, Chrome Industries mega boots and The Cycling Chef’s new book
金曜日ですね , or kin-yōbi desu ne. That’s Japanese for ‘isn’t it Friday?’ According to Google’s AI search results summary thing, it’s a traditional Japanese greeting on Fridays. Only it’s not.
As Quora regular (2,300 answers and counting) Eiji Takano replied to the question, ‘How do you say “happy Friday” in Japanese?’: ‘Of course Friday is the end of our working day, but we don’t celebrate it. No special phrases. So, if you celebrate Friday in Japan, people will be puzzled and might think you are crazy.’
So there you go, my Friday thought for the day, you can’t trust AI. If anything we should all fear it, as it will slowly squeeze out people like Eiji, bringing to the internet real knowledge, and replace it with arbitrary scrapes of information that is probably utter shite. And now to cycling, because…
Strade Bianche! What. A. Race. Incredible scenes unfolded last Saturday as Pog crashed with 50km to go, Pidcock waited like the gent we always knew he was and, the duo duked it out and then, somehow, skinsuit ripped, rainbow stripes bloodied, Pogačar rode into Siena alone and victorious, nearly 1min 30sec ahead of Fabian Cancellara. Hang on, I meant Pidcock… AI was scraping the ‘most Strade Bianche wins’ table on Pro Cycling Stats then. Naughty robot.
Coincidentally, though, when I went to watch the 2016 Strade Bianche it was Cancellara who won, taking his tally to three (now equalled by Pog). I then raced the sportive the next day, and I can safely say it was the best weekend of cycling ever and I heartily recommend you do it. Get hyped watching the pros, eat gelato, drink a spritz, then go hell for leather at the sportive the next day, riding the same chalk roads as the pros with the same insanely steep denouement into the Piazza del Campo. Fantastico!
But now, it’s time for In The Drops and a cup of tea.
Sealskinz Brancaster Waterproof jacket
I don’t know how they do it, but Sealskinz’s version of a waterproof membrane is simply incredible. I’ve had various Sealskinz gloves, socks, hats and overshoes over the years (including this pair of gloves), and they’ve all lived up to their billing – waterproof and breathable. So it makes sense that now Sealskinz is turning its flippers to high-end jackets.
Named the Brancaster (I’ll take a punt that it’s named after somewhere in the UK where it rains a lot), this is Sealskinz answer to a light weight, all-rounder waterproof jacket.
It features Sealskinz’s Aquasealz waterproof membrane, taped at the seams and laminated to a polyester inner and outer shell. The pockets (of which there are three – two side and one chest) get storm flap zips and are lined with brushed micro-fleece, making for cosy places to stash hands. Not something you often find on this style of waterproof, which tend to pare back on such comforts.
Up top the hood gets a useful peak and bungee cords to adapt the fit in a way that actually works – all too often I find waterproof jacket hoods are huge and get in my eyes, but the Brancaster has it dialled.
More draw-cord bungees around the neck and hem pull the neck and waist in to keep out draught, and likewise the sleeves feature adjustable Velcro cuffs. Then down each flank are two zipped air vents, ready to dump lots of heat quickly.
The Brancaster’s cut works for commuting, gravel riding and mountain biking, though I’d stop short at road cycling – the fit is too generous, aka flappy. But the trade off is the Brancaster also suits running, hiking and general wearing about in the rain. There’s plenty of room to swing your arms in a laa-da-dee, laa-duh-daa fashion, but I was also able to cycle without the jacket bunching up too much at the front or riding up at the rear. The latter problem is overcome by a generous waterproof drop tail stashed in a hidden compartment above the hem. As one satisfied Brancaster customer remarked, it means ‘no more wet trousers when sat on the pub bench for a well-deserved pint – well done Sealskinz, I love it’. Couldn’t have put it better myself.
At £325 the Sealskinz Brancaster is expensive, but it’s a whole lot of jacket that’s completely waterproof, highly breathable and packed with intelligently touches. And given experience with other Sealskinz products, I’d wager it would last a god long time. It certainly feels top quality.
For anyone looking for something brighter, the Brancaster is also available in orange, and for anyone looking for some extra warmth, the Brancaster’s sister jacket, the Trimingham (£399, also possibly up north, probably rainy) is like the Brancaster only with Primaloft Gold insulation.
- Buy now from Sealskinz (£325)
H20 Audio RIPT Lite, RIPT Ultra and Tri 2 Pro headphones
H20 Audio has been designing headphones out of San Diego since 2003. Its early products were made for swimming (hence the name), but now it makes all manner of waterproof and sweat-proof headphones and ear buds, as well as a host of integrated underwater MP3 players/headphones.
So the products here are just a smattering of what H20 Audio does, but they’re some of the most suited to cycling indoors and out.
First up, the H20 Audio RIPT Lite ear buds feature Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity (for context that was the 2023 release, the latest is Bluetooth 6.0, but who’s counting?), 35 hours run time and are IPX5 rated, meaning they’re sweat-proof and splash proof.
The RIPT Lites come with a rechargeable case/dock, that has a pleasing click-clack to its magnetic operation, plus a neat digital charge display, which comes on for a few seconds when you open the case. Total playback is around 4-5 hours, or including using the case to recharge, a claimed 35 hours. It’s right up there for ear buds such as these, and I’ve yet to find myself wanting for charge. However, it’s the RIPT Lite’s fit and sound quality that impresses most.
The 3.7g buds – so light I’d forget they were in – house six microphones that capture ambient sound and cancel it out (H20 says up to 30dB) with equal and opposite frequencies to leave a clean, responsive sound that’s well balanced across bass, mid and treble. Music or podcasts are controllable via touch points on the sides of each ear bud, with different amounts of taps and holds doing different things, and the Lites also work as a phone handsfree kit.
Next up, the H20 Audio RIPT Ultra. Sound quality is similarly standout, though being much bigger over-head type headphones, the RIPT Ultras’ sound quality is vastly superior. They feature 45mm drivers, which is at the upper end of headphones of this type (usually 30mm-50mm) – and while I’m no audiophile, I’m led to believe bigger drivers tend to mean better depth of sound. Which the Ultras certainly have.
The same noise-cancelling tech as the RIPT Lites exists inside, but with the large ear cushions the feeling of noise isolation is excellent – enough to largely block out the hum of a turbo trainer and fan, or the kind of terrible music they probably play at your gym.
Said cushions are interchangeable – a quarter turn and they unclip – with ‘silicone cushions for workouts, leather cushions for recovery’, says H20 Audio. Both silicone and leather cushions are included.
Battery life is a huge 50-hours (claimed – but I’ve yet to need to charge them), and connectivity comes via Bluetooth 5.4 or the supplied line cable for a hardwired, battery saving connection.
Charging is quick via USB-C, and the Ultras are sweatproof. Construction feels premium and solid, right down to the blue-anodised aluminium hinges, and the headphones plus charge and line cables and extra cushions come in a lightweight zip case.
Lastly, the H20 Tri 2 Pros are H20 Audio’s premium, fully waterproof bone-conduction headphones. That means an IPX8 rating (waterproof down to 3.6m for unlimited time) plus a built in 8GB MP3 player (note this is only on the Pro version, not the regular Tri 2).
If you haven’t come across them before, bone conduction headphones sit just behind the ear and transmit sound resonantly through the skull, thereby leaving ears free to hear what’s around you. Favoured by many for this very reason – ie they’re potentially safer to ride or run in outdoors – the Tri 2 Pro’s sound, while not as detailed and wide ranging as the RIPT Lite or Ultras, is excellent for this type of headphone, thanks largely to a bass booster. Bass frequencies often suffer in bone-conducting headphones, which can sound tinny.
H20 Audio’s bespoke Playlist+ app allows you to download up to 8GB of audio from places such as Spotify or Apple Podcast, onto the Tri 2 Pros. This feature is especially useful for running or swimming, where carrying a phone to stream music from isn’t preferred or possible.
The Tri 2 Pros sit comfortably around the head, with their silicone coating gripping wet skin well and helping the headphones stay locked in place. The sensation of something gripping your head from behind takes a bit of getting used to, but the results are superb.
I must confess I’d not come across H20 Audio before, but I’m very impressed with this line-up. Great sound and great functionality for a multitude of sports.
- Buy now from H20 Audio (Ript Lite/Ultra, £95/£236, Tri 2 Multi-Sport £170)
Chrome Industries Storm 415 Tall boots
I’ve had a pair of mid-top Storm 415 Traction boots on the go for the last three years, and they’re doing me proud. The leather is nicely worn in but the Storms are structurally intact and retain their waterproofness, despite countless kilometres’ commuting and walking about pushing a pram (if there was a Strava for prams I’d have loads of Dad of the Mountains around Bristol). So when Chrome offered up some new Storm 415 Tall versions to review, I naturally jumped at the chance, bit their hands off and refused to look into any horses’ mouths, gifted or otherwise. These are Chrome Industries top-tier commuting shoes for a reason.
The Storm 415 Tall’s design brief is the same: waterproof boots for commuting and general living in, and their construction very similar to their Tractions siblings, only they come higher up the ankle and have a material tweak.
The Storm 415 Talls are predominantly leather, but the higher ankles get nylon panels to aid breathability and ankle flexion, as well as to cut a little weight. Soles are made by Panaracer (it of the bike tyres), whose Exo rubber compound and blocky tread is designed for sure grip on pedals and paths, especially in the wet. They’re vulcanised in a way that moulds them up and into the Storm’s shell-toes, which being toughened rubber provide a durable and protective bumper for the toe caps.
Leather is inherently waterproof, so too rubber, but to be on the safe side the whole Storm 415 boot is lined with a waterproof and breathable membrane that’s taped and sealed. It’s not Gore-Tex but it’s a very similar thing, and it really works. My feet have never gotten wet in the older Storms, and so far these new Storm 415 Tall boots are the same.
Laces and heel loops both have reflective detailing, and though the heel loops get lost under jeans, the laces really work much better than you might expect of a night time.
Fit is similar to the mid-top Storms 415 Tractions, in that the boots run slightly large, so I’ve sized down a half size.
That’s another pleasing thing: Chrome offers the Storms in half sizes from a men’s 5/women’s 6.5, up to a men’s 13/women’s 14.5. Get your size right and I’d wager the Chrome Industries Storm 415 Tall boots will be some of the most comfortable and hardy boots you’ll ever wear. Waterproof, light and grippy, and as comforting to wear as a pair of faithful old slippers. Simply superb.
- Buy now from Chrome Industries (£185)
The Cycling Chef: Plant-Powered Performance by Alan Murchison
Michelin-starred chef Alan Murchison knows a thing or two about cycling. For years he’s worked with individual WorldTour riders on diet and nutrition, as well as Team GB across multiple events and Olympics, and competing himself as both runner and cyclist. He’s one of the few people you’ll find who has run a sub-30min 10km and ridden a sub-18min 10miles.
Plant Powered Performance is his fourth cycling-orientated cookbook (I say ‘orientated’ as anyone can enjoy his recipes), and you guessed it, it’s all vegan. Not that Murchison is vegan himself, but he does say he has vegan days several times a week for health and performance reasons.
The food photography is clean and simple and importantly makes you want to cook things, but it’s interwoven with some lovely old pictures of racing days or yore, which help to make Plant Powered just a lovely book to thumb through.
As recipes go, things tread a nice line between flavour and simplicity, which as an ex-chef* and keen home cook myself, I feel is perfectly pitched at the everyday. And it’s that which makes this and Murchison’s other cycling cookbooks such a joy: they’re enticing, they’re straightforward and they’re easy to follow. Then most importantly, they’re written by a bloke who knows both food and cycling inside out.
- Buy now from Bloomsbury (£22)
*As in, if Alan Murchison is a WorldTour-level chef, I’d have been an at-the-back-of-a-charity-sportive type chef, but it all counts, right?
And that’s a wrap. See you next time folks!
The post In The Drops: Sealskinz super jacket, booming H20 Audio headphones, Chrome Industries mega boots and The Cycling Chef’s new book appeared first on Cyclist.