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Long-term test: Endura Luminite II jacket

I have been testing the the Endura Luminite II jacket for almost a year. And by testing, I mean punishing the waterproof shell.

Endura Luminite II jacket light
Endura Luminite II jacket reflectors
A camera flash lights up the reflectors on the jacket as a car’s headlights would.

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I have been testing the the Endura Luminite II jacket for almost a year. And by testing, I mean punishing the waterproof shell. If I wasn’t wearing it during a downpour, it was stuffed in my pannier just in case the weather changed. It’s been my default jacket, taking all the abuse I’ve heaped on it.

During the past few years, as fluorescent fabrics have shaken off their ’80s kitsch value (at least in my mind), they’ve been appearing on more and more pieces of cycling kit. When I’m on my road bike, my shoes have fluo accents. I have a yellow fluo gilet. While the Endura Luminite II comes in black, with reflective strips, I think the yellow or green fluo (which is my colour) are the best choices, especially on commutes in a busy city. The colour pops and the reflective strips around the shoulders, waist and wrists pick up headlights very well. To round out the high-viz package, the jacket has an integrated LED light with three flash modes with more than 50 hours of run time. Since I always remove my lights, as an anti-theft precaution, I really appreciated the jacket’s light. In the darker months, I had one less thing to do when getting ready to ride. I’d just throw on the jacket, click the light located at the back pocket, and I’d be off.

For my winter rides, I’m big on layering up. The Endura Luminite II in small fits my skinny frame and gives me the room to put on warm articles on underneath. If I erred on the side of too many layers, the zippers at the armpits helped me regulate my temperature mid-ride. To really seal in warmth, the jacket has hook-and-loop straps at the wrists and an elastic drawstring around the waist that I could snug up with cord locks in lower front pockets.

Another feature of the jacket that helped me with temperature regulation is the breathability of its polyester fabric. Endura says the fabric can pass 10,000 g of water vapour across one square metre in a 24-hour period. After a 20-minute ride, in which I got my heart pumping a bit, but didn’t hammer, I found the jacket was able to get the moisture out very well. If I really pedalled hard for 20 minutes, I would find some condensation on the inside. My findings seem to jive with the 10,000 g/m2/24 hr rating.

The jacket’s waterproof claims—10,000 mm—also seem accurate. The 10,000-mm figure means that the fabric can hold back roughly 10,000 mm of water in a 1″-x-1″ tube during 24 hours before the fabric starts to soak through. The number means the jacket should keep you dry in light to moderate rain. Only the strongest rain pushed the jacket to its limit.

With fall coming, I’m sure to be pulling the Endura Luminite II out of my pannier more and more: to keep warm, dry and visible on my daily rides. ($229, livetoplaysports.com)

Endura Luminite II jacket
Endura Luminite II jacket
Endura Luminite II jacket back
The back of the Endura Luminite II jacket
Endura Luminite II jacket light specs
The LED light that’s part of the Endura Luminite II jacket has three flash modes and a run time of more than 50 hours. The 2.5 waterproof/breathable fabric has a very groovy inner pattern.
Endura Luminite II jacket light
The built-in LED light adds to your visibility out on the road.
Endura Luminite II jacket audio port
Endura Luminite II jacket audio port is not something I tested. I’m not a fan of wiring headphones into my smartphone so that I have tunes for my ride.

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