First look: 7mesh Revelation jacket, launch edition

7mesh, a young company from Squamish, B.C., is breaking with tradition with its Revelation jacket, launch edition

Before the final stage of the 1989 Tour de France, Laurent Fignon led Greg LeMond by 50 seconds. The U.S. rider would have only 24.5 km in a time trial to make up that gap. He had taken the lead in the two previous time trials in that year’s Grande boucle, but catching the Professor would require LeMond to gain at least two seconds each kilometre.

For the time trial, LeMond used a technology that wasn’t new, but it was fairly new to road cycling. He had aero bars and an aero helmet. Fignon had his hands more widely spaced and his ponytail was uncovered. Both had won the Tour before, but the matchup still had elements of tradition versus change. LeMond’s new-school setup won the day by the smallest margin in Tour history: eight seconds.

Road cycling hangs on to its traditions, which attracts some, and frustrates others, especially those who want to explore new technology. LeMond respected cycling’s tradition, but he wasn’t afraid to explore new methods or gear. The team at 7mesh, a cycling clothing company based in Squamish, B.C., seems to operate with the same respect for the sport, but isn’t interested doing things as others have. Ian Martin, the vice-president of research and design at 7mesh, points to the fabrics used in most cycling clothing as a contemporary bit of cycling conservatism. ““It’s driven by sublimated prints and polyesters. The industry is using polyesters because ink takes to them when you sublimate them,” he said of the process that puts colours and logos onto jerseys. “No one seems to ask, ‘What’s the best fabric I can make a jersey out of that performs the best?’”

When Martin and his colleagues asked that question, they had a good idea of the answer. They all have connections to Arc’teryx, the high-end outdoor clothing brand. They looked to the wide range of fabrics used in the outdoor industry. While broadening their fabric palette, they also broaden how each article of clothing should be used.

“We had internal debates,” Martin said.“‘I’m going to use that on my road bike.’ ‘Well I’m going to use that on my mountain bike.’ We all ride. We ride road, mountain, cyclocross and gravel bikes, and we’re going to use each jacket depending on what we’re doing that day.” Instead of classifying a jacket or jersey by cycling discipline, 7mesh uses the terms 7 Day and 7 Hour. “7 Day is for longer durations. It’s for when you need a bigger fit and a more versatile piece. It’s light, but it’s not as light as 7 Hour because it’s more fully featured. 7 Hour is for when you know where you are going, what the weather will be and when the ride will be done.”

I was a bit suspicious when Martin said a jacket could work for a roadie and a mountain biker. Surely the riding positions were too different? To this, Martin asked me to assume my road riding position. (We were speaking at Interbike and not kitted up.) I stuck a pose not unlike the Assos man, but with my arms quite outstretched. But Martin called me on the exaggerated posed I had struck. (The folks at 7mesh had done the same thing at first.) He said while your fit may be different on a road bike compared with a mountain bike, the reach of your arms and the angle of your back aren’t so different that one piece of clothing can’t work in both situations.

The first piece from 7mesh is the Revelation jacket, which is a 7 Day article. According to Martin, it’s the first cycling jacket that uses Gore-Tex Pro fabric. Also, 7mesh is only the second startup company to ever get a Gore licence. (To design with the breathable, water-resistant fabric, a design house or manufacturer needs to sign a contract and usually needs to be of a certain size.) The Gore-Tex Pro membrane can push moisture out at broader temperature range compared with the other Gore fabrics. Martin and his team make sure the panels are joined carefully. “The whole thing is constructed with mirco 8-mm seam allowances. We trim all the seam allowances to a 1/16th of an inch, and then tape over them with seam tape. This process reduces weight and bulk. If you were to leave the seam allowance really big, you’d end up with 50 to 60 extra grams,” Martin said. The jacket weighs 270 g.

The Revelation jacket, launch edition, looks very much like an outdoor jacket. It does have touches for the rider. There are two long zippers along the sides that provide ventilation and can give you easy access to your jersey pockets. These are great for when you have a backpack on: you can still get at them and the openings they provide will still circulate air, even with a pack sitting on your back. Also helping with airflow are two 12-cm long zippers just past the cuffs. The jacket has two front pockets. [Gasp!] The under-the-helmet hood is fully removable. (“We don’t like over-the-helmet hoods because they are always big balloons,” Martin said.)

When I took the jacket on the road, the arms with their forward articulation fit well, even when I put my hand on the drops. I had a few layers on underneath. (I’m a chronic “over-layerer.”) The fabric did a good job of keeping me warm and dry. My plan is to keep testing this piece on both the road and on the trail. I’m very curious as to what my fellow riders will say, especially the clothing conservatives.