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.

Reviews Revisited: Castelli’s Sottile rain cape

With most product reviews, I suspect reviewers remove the item from the box, inspect it a bit, take it out for a spin or two, then write the review. I can’t remember ever seeing a follow-up review – a post mortem after the product is used for a season or several months – in the mainstream cycling press. That’s what I’m going to do with things reviewed on Waffles & Steel.

Way back in February, I checked out the Castelli Sottile rain cape. I had two main worries about the garment – and the brand in general. The first concern was that although I’ve long been a fan of Castelli, some of my latest purchases were disappointing. The zipper on a full-zip jersey broke. I mailed it back and the company replaced it with a half-zip. Grrrrrrr. I also had a pair of bib shorts with stitching that started unraveling after the first ride. The company replaced them without a hassle, but the new pair developed the same problem – again after the first ride! So I bought the Sottile rain cape with some extreme reservations and concerns about quality. I was essentially giving Castelli one last chance.

The second concern was that the jacket’s transparent material seemed a bit too light. It felt slightly heavier than the cling wrap you use to wrap your sandwiches for lunch. I could easily picture the material snagging and ripping after the third ride and the US$80 garment would end up in the bin. (I bought it with my own waffle money.)

After three months of regular wear during the wet Guangzhou “winter,” I’m happy to say that I’m extremely impressed with the rain cape. It’s surprisingly rugged and so far shows few signs of wear. It’s super light and is easy to scrunch up into a little bundle that fits easily into a back jersey pocket. In Guangzhou, you can never tell if the skies are dark because of the pollution or approaching storms. So it’s smart to carry a rain cape on most days in the winter and spring. The Sottile is so light and easy to carry that I rarely debate whether to take it with me. I don’t notice it when it’s in my back jersey so I pack it on most days.

The rain cape also breathes extremely well and is comfortable to wear. Last week, I set off on a pre-work morning ride in a light drizzle. About 15 minutes into the ride, it stopped raining and I thought about taking off the jacket. But since the ride was only an hourlong, I didn’t want to waste time stopping and holding up my riding buddy. So I kept the jacket on and I felt fine. If I were wearing a traditional PVC plastic rain cape, I’m sure I would want to remove it. One thing I’ve noticed with people who wear those things is that they’re ready to get rid of them the second the rain stops because they’re so hot.

It’s nice to have dry arms in the cold, clammy Guangzhou “winters,” but it’s not a big problem in the summer. That’s why I’m seriously thinking about investing in the vest version of the Sottile.