![lusso aqua extreme repel v2 jacket lusso aqua extreme repel v2 jacket](https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/lusso-aqua-repel-jacket-shoulders-back.jpg)
There are a few more panels present here on the front but because of how you’re angled on the bike there’s minimal risk of ingress in that respect. There’s no forward facing seams on the sleeves so water won’t get in that way. The shoulder seam is placed on top of the shoulder rather than forward facing but, in practice, there seems little difference between that placing and the dhb aeron softshell in terms of penetration, i.e. Now, the achilles heel of such fabrics is seam placing and, in this respect, Lusso have got this one right. It may wear out eventually but the fabric will remain waterproof. That’s due to the innate properties of the fabric itself but also the DWR coating. It holds the water there and, once you get rid of it, there’s little left bound to the fabric. In terms of being waterproof you can see what I mean in the following photos. But it’s still sufficiently grippy to keep everything in place. It’s a fairly thin fabric (and I’ll return to why in a bit) so it does have a tendency to fold ever so slightly. The front sits where it should when you’re on the bike and the rear is tail-esque. The waistband is cut in a shaped manner as you can see.
![lusso aqua extreme repel v2 jacket lusso aqua extreme repel v2 jacket](https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/teasers/public/castelli-idro-jacket.jpg)
I’m happy with being seen this time of the year and it’s very visible. It will be available in black soon if that’s the look you want but, of course, orange is the new black. It’s a very bright jacket indeed and, currently, orange is the only available colour. On Lusso’s site it appears in both the rain and thermal jacket categories but for me sits happiest in the latter.
![lusso aqua extreme repel v2 jacket lusso aqua extreme repel v2 jacket](https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/main_width/public/lusso-aqua-repel-jacket-riding.jpg)
So, to that extent, it could be named better. It’s a winter jacket, good in the cold but adds in that extra protection where the conditions demand it. And, to that extent, that’s how I see this type of jacket. Personally, I’d not set out in such conditions but if I was caught in them I’d be glad of the protection. There’s always a bit of a quandary in that statement. What you essentially have is a toasty winter jacket that you can wear out in the nastiest storms and still come back comfortable. And those things were true for the Mossa et al so there should be no reason why they shouldn’t be true here either. So, that means this is good for heavy rain and that it shouldn’t boil you in your own sweat either. Lusso claim that this has a water column of 10,000mm an hour and breathability of 10,000gr/m2 x 24hr. And, in this jacket, like the Mossa.2, it’s the heaviest version of all being backed with a polyurethane ‘fleece,’ which gives it it’s winterised wearability. It’s a waterproof softshell membrane with very breathable qualities. It forms the basis of the Mossa and Mossa.2 and a lighter form of windtex can be found in the very excellent Lusso Corsa Repel jersey. The Aqua Extreme is made from our old friend Windtex Storm Shield which regular readers will know that I rate highly. For implying that this is about water repelling, which it does extremely well, is actually selling it a bit short. You could actually call it the Lusso Extreme Winter jacket and just deal with the aqua bit in the technical description. Click here to buy from Lusso, RRP is £139.99ĭon’t let that Aqua in the title fool you.