Showers Pass - Double Century Review

Showers Pass - Double Century 


I have purchased a few lightweight jackets over the years and now with this new purchase I can give away one or two of my older cycling jackets that are not much more than a wind shield. I will also be honest that once the weather gets up into the 70's I will not typically wear or carry a jacket. I have ridden in pouring down summer rain and my experience, though not the superior wet riding experience of the Pacific northwestern cyclists, I would rather get wet and then let the fast drying technical qualities of the shorts and jersey dry out if the sun comes out. Plus I am usually soaked in sweat anyway. I kind of like the cooling rain in the summer unless it is pelting me hard like getting hit by a paintball and then it is nice to have something on.

I chose the Showers Pass jacket for a couple reasons. The first was I was in need of a decent general use rain jacket and the second is that I do not have a dedicated cycling rain jacket. All my current cycling jackets are nothing more than windshields. My favorite lightweight is the Sugoi Helium since I can pack it down and barely notice it in my back pocket. So right off the bat I estimated that if the Showers Pass jacket had any good attributes of a rain jacket it was not going to pack down that tight with the taped seams and thicker material. I folded the Double Century jacket as tight as I could and no doubt it will fit into the rear jersey pocket, but there will be part of it exposed. But I was expecting this to happen for a dedicated rain jacket.

Within a few minutes of ordering the jacket directly from Showers Pass, I received notifications that the ordered was accepted and about an hour later another noting that the package was processed and being shipped. The package arrived today via USPS Priority Mail since I chose the least expensive method. Actually it was free shipping at the time I placed my order. So the company had a fast turnaround and provided a tracking number, which actually worked this time. I suppose USPS has tracking working now or else I just never had good luck with their tracking feature.

I ordered the white jacket since I plan to wear this jacket as a general use rain jacket as well as for cool season rain during cycling training and I imagine this color will be highly visible in rainy conditions.
As far as looks. It looks good to me.

Tucked in jersey pocket

Here are some of the other attibutes.

• Double layer Artex fabric
• Waterproof seam taped construction
• Two way full length waterproof zipper
• Pit zips and Back vent for flow thru ventilation
• Reflective trim
• Cinch cord at the hem
• Cinch at the cuffs
• Slightly extended tail

If I were living in the Pacific Northwest I would be able to quickly give you my opinion on the most important feature, the water proof attributes, but I will have to wait now for a raining ride to let you know if how it works as a rain jacket. I will add this most important part of the review as soon as I get a chance.

It was convenient that we did get an afternoon heavy down pour rain shower today so my quick test was to stand out on the deck like a fool testing as a general rain jacket and it passed that simple test. Now to have a 2 hour bone soaking ride in the rain with some generated body heat to see how it feels from both rain protection and from the stand point of not getting overheated. Check back for the update.