Flylow Rainbreaker Jacket

Words by Drew Rohde | Photos by Nic Hall

If June gloom and summer showers have you damp and down, the Flylow Rainbreaker Jacket is worth checking out. Flylow is a brand we’d quite honestly never heard of before this review, but apparently they have been making clothing for quite a few years that is built to deal with that cold white stuff we hate so much that covers all our precious dirt. Some jackets can be overly complicated, trying to pack as much tech as possible into one piece of gear, Flylow’s Rainbreaker is the exact opposite. It is designed to be a lightweight, packable shell that gets pulled out when you need it, and stuffed away when you don’t.

The jacket’s simplicity was refreshing to be quite honest. Sure it doesn’t give us a lot to talk about, or make it easy to list out bullet pointed acronyms and marketing claims, but we don’t mind because it just gives us more time to get back out in these fine conditions and ride more trail.

We’ve spent the last few months with this jacket rolled up in hydration packs, bib-shorts and gear bags around central Oregon. It’s been pulled out to accompany me on rides when skies look iffy to being my only protection from torrential downpours.

As a rain jacket, the Flylow does its job. I remained dry every time the heavens opened and appreciated the water shedding capabilities thanks to the Intuitive S/G Lite waterproof fabric. The jacket is thin, built on the light side and is a bit stretchy. Flylow designed it with taped seams, a large hood and a zipper pocket on the chest. For the price it would have been nice to see some hand pockets but in reality, we probably wouldn’t have used them much so we’d rather just see the jacket be a little more affordable.

Our only other real critique came from the hood. The jacket/hood material is very lightweight and because the hood is quite large, bending over in stormy or windy weather proved to be frustrating if the hood wasn’t over your head. If you’re pumping up tires, working on something or eating a snack with a breeze at your back, it has a tendency to get blown around and get in your face, it was slightly annoying. Yes, it may be a petty complaint, but it we didn’t have much else to pick on.

The Wolf’s Last Word

I absolutely love the look of this jacket. The colors are dialed, no major graphics or branding and a nice tailored fit make it a trusty option to keep in my CamelBak at all times. It’s light enough to wear on mild days where a little chill has be wanting a bit more, but won’t turn me into a sweaty pig within the first ten minutes of the climb. It’s more than capable of handling a downpour and gives peace of mind when you’ve got it on your back. The Flylow Rainbreaker packs up nicely and although we would have liked to see a slightly lower price or maybe some hand pockets, we don’t have much bad to say about it. I’m definitely stoked on this jacket and will be using it a lot more this year.

Price: $140;
Website: Flylowgear.com