Albion, nice and a reasonable amount of pocket locations

First day in the Zoa Insulated jacket since spring. Probably won't take it off again this year.

Very excited for the zoa range dropping next week. Any hints @Chopsicle? Fingers crossed for a zoa gilet! Would love a zoa version of the old insulated 3.0. Too!

Did you see the Instagram post? What looked like two hooded jackets, grey and blue from memory... very mysterious

Used my insulated jacket over the weekend... I was the only one not moaning about the cold first thing... kept me all Barbados like 👍🏻

hey, just seen the new bits released. Anyone able to tell the difference between the new rain shell and the old waterproof zoa jacket that had the orange hood and black body section?

cheers!

Anyone with the old Rapha insulated Brevet jacket care to compare with the Zoa?
Are they fairly same-same aside from the hood?

The hooded Zoa jacket is more off than on the bike unless it's hovering around 2/3 degrees and/or it's some other variation of pretty damn cold and you're not looking to work hard on the bike. It's got an incredibly comfortable cut that works on the bike but it's very, very warm. I had the Rapha Brevet Insulated Windblock Jersey and their Winter Windjacket (and PTJ and fuck knows what else) and the Zoa is on another level of warmth. The only person I've seen wear it in a group ride was when the weather was 1 C and it was 90% humidity. They might have been the only warm person on the ride. Anyway if you check the pictures everyone wearing it is on a moutain in wales or around a fire in some damp shack at night and while that's romantic the pics are telling you the type of activity where it makes sense to wear it.

I have both. As above, the Zoa is excellent for when it's absolutely freezing but way too warm to wear on the bike most of the year. The Rapha gets a lot more use on the bike because I can wear it from about 15° down to about 0° with various layers underneath. The Zoa comes out below about 5° for normal rides and commuting or below 10° if I'm on a cargo bike with electric assist and won't work up too much of a sweat. I tend to overdress though, I have bad circulation and keeping my core warm helps stop my fingers and toes from freezing off.
I love the Zoa though, gets a lot of use off the bike.

@ltc @youramericanlover thanks both! Looks like I'll hang on to the Rapha insulated as it's perfect on the bike down to about 0 as you say. Zoa sounds a bit closer to a lightweight down jacket, which I already have. Looks like great kit for off the bike though (I think I've realised I have the correct amount of jackets for various situations after these replies :)

Insulated brevet is less insulated than the lightweight zoa. The lightweight has been great for mixed ranges hiking, slow cycling or cooler evening bivi.

Eyeing up a rain shell if I can stomach the layout.

@Chopsicle - Did I see a blue ultra lightweight with hood in any of those promo shots?

I feel your pain... the rain shell is at the top of my list but can't afford that much on a riding jacket

yeh, its spenny the new jacket. I don't understand the difference between that and the last one that had Pertex written down the arm.

I know they've re-worked a few areas... new cuffs etc... material might be more expensive now, as is the case with everything these days... thing is, you get what you pay for and it's gonna be a great jacket that'll last you for years. I spent silly money on an Arc'teryx jacket a few years ago knowing the same thing.

Alas, no great slight here, simply that it was underpriced last year, and inflation, global price rises knocking on. At the core, fibre/fabric processing/production uses a lot of energy (heat, water) so all mills' pricing are up. Think you can see these price increase across many textile products. It's frustrating to see, but similarly we (the consumers/users) had high-quality/attractive-pricing for so long*.

@Joepud01; I did use a lightweight Zoa to make a gilet ...skip to 8m50 here;
https://bikepacking.com/news/josh-ibbett-2023-highland-trail-550-bike/
but will feedback request for commercial version!

@Bossman similarly, I did make/attach a hood to an Ultralight Insulated for Josh Ibbett (Tour Devide '22). ...maybe this could be an option on next gen Ultralight Insulated...

Scuffs & Tears free-repairs this Wednesday 22nd at Condor Cycles, from 8.00am - 14.00, then evening session 17.00-20.30 at Via Atelier , with a screening of Le Coursier. All welcome! We'll have repair patches to take away if you don't have time to stick around, or just pop in to say hi :)

*forum 10% disc is still working but let me know if not and I'll look into it. Sometimes gets cranky with site updates.

Edit to add link for Wednesday repairs at Condor; https://www.instagram.com/p/CztiJCmoW34

1 Attachment

ah amazing! I’ll pop into Condor in the afternoon, have been meaning to get some abr1 pocket bibs stitched up for a while, but have been longing it off, but work isn’t too far away.

Thanks, it’s a great service that you guys run 🫡

Didn't mean it to come across as overpriced, more a reflection of my current economic situation. Based on my owned items I know it'll be grand.
Must have been the new blue zoa that I saw in photos. I've seen the Josh special ultralight but had hoped it had gone in to mass production!

The lightweight Zoa is absolute 🔥 at the moment on these mornings. 3 degrees today and comfy as anything.

No no, not at all - a difficult decision to take, and totally empathise.

Little bump for Wednesday repairs - have added flyer above - but Apidura are joining at Via in the evening, for free repairs on any brand bike bags. 👌

Just got my Zoa Insulated through the post as a replacement for a Rab Xenon and it's really very nice indeed. Went for the "lichen" colour which ain't as lairy as the orange but a rather nice shade of grey-green. A few notable upgrades to the Rab, namely, better elasticated cuffs, a handy back pocket for gloves etc and a nicer fit - longer tail will be handy on the bike. I'd have liked the chest pocket to be on the inside but a minor gripe. Very warm, so probably worn more off the bike on all but the frostiest days. 10/10 would recommend. Good work @Chopsicle et al!

I love my insulated Zoa, the cuffs are one of the best features I think. Took it to Nepal last month and was nice and toasty at 4200m still.

Even better that I got it free on an Instagram competition!

Saw the lichen yesterday in Condor and thought it was very nice indeed!

Interestingly I've just realised that the colours of the items on the website are done by photoshop rather than painstakingly re-staging every pose. But I'd say they're pretty accurate to real life. I wonder if there is a secret all-white lineup of albion clothes that they just use for digitally painting colours on...

Clearly not when on the photo shoot on drum.

Dropped by to the first Albion (and Apidura) repair event I could make since being out of London for the longest
Legends
Jumping on the Zoa feedback bandwagon - it's an odd piece for me, really cost effective based on last year's price, appreciate that I can beat it about as it's synthetic so I have the option of rewashing
Is a bit on the heavy side though so suits less arduous missions, wonder if it's possible to do an alpha direct version without the need for an inner face fabric, plus with a lot of us wearing hydration packs or vests, make the back panel lower weight/breathable?
Oh also, loads of the zipper pulls keep coming away. The dual zipper on the side pockets were a bit of a liability as with gloves and moving, I worried I'd 'upzip' and potentially spill pocket contents onto the road
Wish the rear pocket I'd just be able to reach through and yank something out of my jersey to give more storage options and less faff

Just watched the Lakeland200 film. Good stuff! #nospoilers