{"id":128707,"date":"2025-09-08T22:17:29","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T22:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/128707\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T22:17:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T22:17:29","slug":"who-rides-in-the-rain-new-castelli-perfetto-jacket-uses-revolutionary-polartec-fabric-and-responds-to-how-cycling-has-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/128707\/","title":{"rendered":"Who rides in the rain? New Castelli Perfetto jacket uses “revolutionary” Polartec fabric and responds to how cycling has changed"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new Castelli Perfetto 3 RoS jacket has undergone a major overhaul, dropping the Gore-Tex Infinium fabric that was synonymous with the Italian brand\u2019s wet-weather cycling kit and moving to Polartec\u2019s new Aircore fabric.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Castelli worked closely with Polartec to develop the new \u201crevolutionary\u201d Aircore fabric. It says the fabric \u201cticks every box when it comes to being lightweight, highly breathable, windproof, and water repellent\u201d and helps the Perfetto 3 redefine \u201cwhat \u2018breathable\u2019 means\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fabric is also completely free from PFAs-based chemicals. These toxic \u2018forever chemicals\u2019 don\u2019t break down in the natural environment and are now banned in some parts of the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Steve Smith, head of cycling at the MVC Group, which owns Castelli and Sportful, says this fabric is a \u201chuge deal\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe drive to remove PFAs from wet weather clothing has been challenging to say the least. A number of products coming out dramatically compromise breathability for the sake of waterproofing,\u201d says Smith.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn so few areas of our lives is the move towards sustainability actually bringing us better performance. But here, we’re improving breathability, we’re improving water protection, we’re improving stretch and comfort, and we’re PFAs free,\u201d he explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA big change\u201d\u00a0
\n\"CyclistFewer people are heading out for a bike ride in the rain, according to Steve Smith. Castelli<\/p>\n

Entering an era free of PFAs, Castelli began designing the new Perfetto with a blank canvas and \u201ca hard look\u201d at what cyclists need.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a big change in the way cyclists are riding in cool and wet conditions. That’s partly driven by technology, but also driven by climate change,\u201d Smith says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When it comes to technology, cyclists are spending more time riding indoors<\/a>, which means they\u2019re not braving the elements so often. And with more accurate weather forecasts, cyclists are adapting their rides to avoid downpours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On climate change, Smith says: \u201cThere\u2019s data out there that says we’re actually getting fewer days of rain, although the total amount of rainfall is maintaining the levels it always has. It’s just increasing in intensity.\u201d <\/p>\n

So when we do cycle in the rain<\/a>, Smith says we\u2019re reaching for rain jackets more than the kind of mixed-conditions, wet-weather kit for which Castelli is renowned, such as the Gabba<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n

These factors led Castelli to ask a question. \u201cIf we didn’t have to worry so much about water, how far could we push the breathability so that we can keep the cyclists drier on the inside across the widest range of temperatures and intensity levels?\u201d says Smith.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Enter Polartec Aircore\u00a0
\n\"CyclistThe Castelli Perfetto 3 RoS jacket uses the \u201crevolutionary\u201d Polartec Aircore fabric. Castelli<\/p>\n

After speaking to a range of fabric suppliers, engineers and scientists, Castelli found Polartec best understood its quest not to compromise on breathability or water protection.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ramesh Kesh, business manager at Polartec, says you can basically make any rain jacket<\/a> shell waterproof by putting a plastic film in it. But this means the material can\u2019t breathe, which leads to moisture build-up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With Polartec\u2019s new Aircore fabric, Kesh says: \u201cThe idea is to prevent wind and moisture getting in, but at the same time, it has to get out so that you don’t feel clammy and start becoming uncomfortable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is particularly tricky with sports such as cycling due to the Clausius\u2013Clapeyron law. Kesh explains: \u201cFor every degree increase in your body temperature, you’re going to accumulate about 7 per cent more water, which means that as you do your high aerobic activity, condensation is going to build up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aircore gets around this issue thanks to a nano-fibre membrane that\u2019s sandwiched between two layers of textile.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The membrane is produced by a process called electrospinning, where a hydrophobic polymer is pushed through a needle that\u2019s charged at 20,000 volts. The needle emits filaments, which are approximately 100 times smaller than a human hair and \u201cfall like snow\u201d to create a membrane that\u2019s incredibly tight but still allows air to move through it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"PolartecA graphic showing how air can move through the Aircore fabric. Castelli<\/p>\n

Smith says this airflow through the Perfetto is imperceivable: \u201cYour perception of wearing this garment is that it is completely windproof, you don’t feel that there’s a wind chill, but yet there’s a small amount of air coming in that’s grabbing the moisture and taking it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The end result is a fabric, and therefore a cycling jacket<\/a>, which ventilates sweat away from your body to keep you dry and blocks out the wind and rain.<\/p>\n

\u201cA disservice to the industry\u201d
\n\"TwoSteve Smith says the water column of 10,000mm has been a \u201cdisservice to the industry\u201d. Castelli<\/p>\n

When it comes to waterproofing, the new Perfetto has a water column equivalent to 5,000mm.<\/p>\n

This is half of the 10,000mm figure that is often the legal definition of waterproofness, and Smith thinks has \u201creally been a disservice to the industry\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt got set at that because of the lobbyists for the industry, who were the earlier players that figured out how to make a product that gave that level of waterproofness,\u201d he claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn reality, lighter rain falls with the water column equivalent of around 800mm while heavy rain falls at around 2,000mm. So when you go to 10,000mm, you have way more waterproofness than you actually need,\u201d Smith adds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This means that although the new Perfetto has a high water column value, \u201cwe can\u2019t call it waterproof in a legal sense\u201d. Instead, Smith says Castelli promises you \u201ceffective waterproofing\u201d with its latest jacket.<\/p>\n

What else is new with the Castelli Perfetto 3?\u00a0
\n\"ModelThe new Castelli Perfetto 3 RoS jacket is similar to its predecessor. Castelli <\/p>\n

Apart from the new fabric, the Perfetto 3 (\u00a3280 \/ $320 \/ \u20ac249.95) is similar to its predecessor<\/a>, with a few small tweaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The jacket still has taped shoulder seams to keep any water out, but these are now reflective. There is also a new reflective strip underneath the three rear pockets, which still feature drainage holes. A drop-tail design protects you from any road spray, while the high collar keeps your neck warm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Suitable for temperatures ranging from 4\u201314\u02daC, the jacket now has a two-way zip and retains its two body zips, which may not be of great use. Smith says the jacket was in development over the last winter and by the time it had gone into production in spring, Castelli realised the body zips weren\u2019t necessary thanks to the breathability of the fabric. \u201cYou may never open them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"CastelliThe Perfetto retains the body zips for ventilation. Castelli<\/p>\n

\"CastelliThe jacket has three rear pockets and a drop tail. Castelli<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for Aircore?<\/p>\n

Castelli has exclusive rights to use Aircore for cycling kit, and it will soon release a range of products that use the new fabric.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But there are currently brands outside of cycling looking at Aircore, so we can probably expect to see it crop up across the outdoor industry \u2013 and possibly elsewhere \u2013 in due course.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kesh says the next stage of development will be to make the Aircore membrane from recycled material, which would make the fabric 100 per cent recycled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is to leave the world in a better place, but not to compromise on performance,\u201d says Kesh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The new Castelli Perfetto 3 RoS jacket has undergone a major overhaul, dropping the Gore-Tex Infinium fabric that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":["post-128707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}