Looking for cycling gear that will keep you dry but also visible in low-light conditions? You have plenty of options — if you don’t mind wearing day-glow neon colors. The other, more stealthy option is to go with a garment with retroreflective material — that’s the stuff that appears to glow when light is shined at it.
Showers Pass has a couple of new jackets for 2017 that features what it calls MapReflect fabric, which takes the pattern of 11 international cities known for cycling — Portland, New York, Washington DC, Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, Newcastle, Berlin, Sydney and Taipei — and lays out the roads in retroreflective material.
“When we designed the MapReflect print we chose cities around the world that inspired us to ride,” Stephanie Leikas-Homolya, Showers Pass marketing director, told Digital Trends. “Some of the cities were chosen for their excellent bike infrastructure like Amsterdam, others were for their rich history in the sport: Paris is the home of the Penny Farthing and Tour de France. We included a few smaller cities because of their personal significance: Showers Pass is based in Portland, Oregon and New Castle is the hometown of Kyle Ranson President of Showers Pass.”
The result is an eye-catching and unique design that is unique to each jacket, regardless of size or men’s or women’s cut.
“Because the reflective print is applied on a roller each jacket features randomly placed maps based on how the jacket is cut,”Leikas-Homolya added. “No two jackets regardless of size will be exactly alike. Most jackets will feature maps of six or more cities.”
There are two jackets that feature MapReflect. The Atlas is geared more towards wet and cold conditions, whereas the Odyssey is for milder weather.
“The Atlas Jacket is a feature loaded 3-layer hardshell with taped seams, large core vents, reinforced shoulders and a removable hood,” Leikas-Homolya explained. “The Odyssey Jacket is a three-layer softshell (seams are not sealed), with box fleece lining, adjustable cuffs and hood. Both jackets feature a waterproof-breathable membrane and a DWR treatment.”
With more technical features, the Atlas is the pricier in the line at $275, while the Odyssey is $179. Both feature the same outer MapReflect material, but the Atlas has added durability for backpack wearers.
“Our MapReflect print is durable enough to be worn daily and washed as needed without a noticeable reduction to it’s reflectivity,” Leikas-Homolya said. “We guarantee all our apparel for 2-years. The Atlas Jacket features reinforced shoulder patches to protect the fabric from backpack straps.”
The Odyssey is available now in both Buy at Showers Pass and Buy at Showers Pass styles; the Atlas is available now for Buy at Amazon and will be in womens style in mid-April.
