Gear: Castelli fails me … again

My near-daily e-mail from Competitive Cyclist arrived today, and I was scanning the close-out deals. I was tempted to order a pair of Castelli bib shorts, marked down by about 50 percent, but then I remembered my love-hate relationship with Castelli. Love the fit, styling and design.  Hate the unreliable quality.

I’ve talked about this before when I reviewed Castelli’s Sottile rain cape. I’ve just had a few bad experiences with Castelli garments falling apart way too soon – sometimes after the first or second ride with them. I thought that the Sottile was going to help change my opinion. Purchased in February 2010, the rain jacket has served me well. It’s super light and the material is amazingly durable. I thought I had a real winner. But the other day when I put it on for a rainy workout, I couldn’t zip it up. The zipper got jammed up. There’s no obvious damage to the zipper. It simply won’t go up, and it’s difficult to undo once the zipper thingy is engaged. For $80, I expect much, much more. I’m going to take it to my neighborhood alternation shop to see if the zipper can be fixed, but I’m not optimistic.

I realize wet-weather gear takes a lot of punishment. But I’ve got a wind vest and jacket, both made by Pearl Izumi, that are still doing hard duty for me after 5+ years. I much prefer the design and fit of Castelli, but I love the way my Pearl Izumi gear just doesn’t seem to wear out.