BERGRISAR Thermal Softshell Cycling Jacket Review
Not a rain jacket at all, and that is the point: most shoulder-season discomfort is wind and cold rather than water.
The verdictThe right layer for cold dry riding, and the wrong one for a downpour. Four pockets on a jacket is unusually useful on a bike.
Riders buy rain jackets and then discover that most of their discomfort on a shoulder-season tour is windchill on descents rather than water. A softshell handles that directly, blocking wind while still breathing well enough to climb in, which no waterproof membrane manages.
Four pockets is a genuinely useful count on a bike, where a jersey may be under a jacket and unreachable. Being able to keep a phone, a bar and a pair of gloves accessible without stopping changes how often you actually use them.
It is water resistant rather than waterproof, and that distinction matters. It will shrug off a shower and it will wet through in sustained rain, so on a trip with real weather this is the warm layer and something else is the shell.
Packability is the other cost of the warmth. A thermal softshell simply does not compress the way a thin rain shell does, so this is a layer you wear from the start or strap on top of a bag, rather than one that disappears into a corner of a seatpack until you need it.
What works
- Thermal softshell suits cold dry riding
- Four storage pockets
- Cycling cut with a dropped tail
What doesn't
- Water resistant only, not a rain shell
- Too warm for mild conditions
- Bulky to pack down
Buy it if
Shoulder-season and winter riding in dry cold
Skip it if
Your problem is rain rather than cold
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