Rapha, nice but a bit pricey?

I really want to try that Castelli Gabba jersey/jacket.

I've been wearing one throughout this winter. Don't go expecting miracles but I've found it extremely useful when the temperature dips or it's raining - mainly because it's by far the warmest jersey I have that doesn't seem to withhold water excessively like most softshell products do (eventually, if not initially).

Essentially, the main reason I use it so much is that there seems to be there's no downside to wearing it, regardless of how the weather might change during an English winter/Autumn day - which is not something I can say about similar products. If you know you are going to get wet (be it through sweat or rain), you might as well wear something totally windproof but that won't get soaked, flap ridiculously in the wind, or take ages to dry once wet (my Rapha softshell turns into a sponge on the heaviest days - even before it's first wash - and is far too hot to ride quickly in). Even it turns out to be dry and warms up later in the day, it's still a totally wearable jersey - rather than an annoyingly unsuitable jacket you need to stash somewhere...

This being said, it's not really warm enough if you are going for a social ride and you may be stood around inactive for a while - but if it's <5deg and there's a chance of rain I will always wear it...