Review: Castelli Insolito Radiation jacket

If you are in the Midwest like me, you know that the race season is not that far away, but there are plenty of cold and wet days between now and Spring. You can only ride the trainer so much, so you need to be on the road, putting in the miles and hitting the hills, so you need to bundle up and go. If you are looking for a jacket, you would have a hard time doing better than the Castelli Insolito Radiation.

Plenty Warm

The Insolito Radiation jacket features a Gore Windstopper X-Lite Stretch shell and hood that is windproof and water resistant. That alone wold make for a warm jacket, but the “Radiation” part of the jacket is a removable long sleeve insert. Drawing on research into thermodynamics, Castelli clothing designers developed a ground-breaking fabric technology that takes advantage of the way the body creates, saves and loses heat. Called Radiation, the technology utilizes an ultra-thin, reflective material that maintains body heat without resorting to bulky layers of insulating material, such as fleece. To put Radiation theory into practice, Castelli fabric engineers spent countless hours transforming an aluminum reflective NASA-type space-blanket material into a laminate suitable for apparel. The upshot is a fabric that is extremely thin (measured in microns), captures and reflects body heat, and is perforated for breathability.

Versatile

While this is a very toasty jacket, it’s not just about being as warm as possible. The Radiation insert is only really necessary when the temperature drops into the 30s and can be easily removed and stuffed into the jacket’s back pocket if the day gets warm. Furthermore, the sleeves and hood come off as well, transforming the jacket into a cycling vest. There are zipped ventilation ports in the front of the jacket that allow you to tune the warmth.

This jacket would be a great choice for the active cyclist that wants one jacket that can serve him throughout fall, winter and spring. Castelli says that the jacket is usable from 25 degrees all the way up to the mid sixties:

• 60-68° – Radiation jacket without liner, sleeves or hood becomes lightweight windproof vest.
• 50-60° – Radiation jacket with sleeves is a perfect lightweight Windstopper-stretch soft shell for wind and weather protection.
• 40-50° – Radiation jacket with heat-reflecting Radiation liner inserted for lightweight warmth.
• 25-40° – Add the zip-on hood for complete warmth without bulk.

In addition to all of the features to keep you warm and dry, the jacket features 6 pockets (2 that are zipped), a slim anatomically shaped fit made for riding and plenty of reflective material to make you more visible at night.

To conclude, if you live in the 80% of the country that gets winter weather and you want just one jacket for training, you would have a hard time doing better than the Insolito Radiation. It is expensive ($500) and the frugal German in me says to wait for a sale, but when you consider that this one jacket can take the place of 4 jackets, the price is more palatable.

Product Information:

Price: $500

Colors: Available in red (pictured) and flouro (bright yellow)

Pros:

• Extremely versatile – 4 jackets in 1
• Plenty warm and dry, but enough options to stay cool if the weather warms up
• Enough reflective material to keep you visible at dusk and beyond
• Italian style and fit

Cons:

• Pricy
• Sleeves were a bit long for my torso
• One of the tabs that holds in the sleeves for the Radiation jacket tore the first time I wore it. Had to break out the sewing kit.

Rating: 4 bikes

For more information, visit Castelli.