REVIEW: Ronhill Stride Windspeed Jacket

By: Matt Setlack

This review will outline what I like and what I feel could be improved with the Ronhill Stride Windspeed Jacket. I have also photos of where in the world I have worn this jacket. I have been wearing various iterations and colours of this particular jacket for 3 to 4 years. I have easily run hundreds if not thousands of kilometres in this jacket and am very well acquainted with it.

Description

The jacket is made of a lightweight material that is quite breathable. There is a small zippered pocket on the upper left hand side. The blue/grey jacket shown below has two reflective stripes on the front and one reflective stripe on the back. Previous versions of this jacket, like the lime green one that I have, also had one reflective stripe on the outside of each wrist. The reflective stripes are nice to have because at least half of my run commutes are in the dark and this helps motorists see me better.

Regarding visibility, there is a small black circular rubber disk in the central back area (see photo above right) that stays secured in place inside a circular metal grommet. This black disk can be replaced by a red light disk that is the same size, and blinks. The exact same disk is found on the Ronhill backpacks such as the Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L vest backpack, which I wrote a review about here.

A feature that I really like is the soft black fabric around the neck area and also a strip of soft black fabric in your chin/front of neck area. I have never had any issues with chafing at all in this jacket. It is really comfortable. There is also a little hoop of fabric in the back that is used to hang up the jacket.

The zipper on this jacket works exceptionally well. There have never been any issues with snagging or catching the zipper in fabric. I typically start my run commute wearing this jacket and then take it off (while running) once I warm up after about 10 minutes. As shown in the photo below, there is a narrow strip of black material just behind the zipper, which helps to make the zipper slide very easily. The strip of material behind the zipper also prevents drafts from getting through.

The zipper pulls are nice and small (but still large enough to use even with running mitts on). They snap down in place and do not flip/flop up and down when you run, which is great.

The wrists are simple and effective. A section of the wrist is elasticized and I find the wrist opening to be perfect even while wearing a GPS watch or while wearing thicker fleece running mitts in the winter. The wrist material is cut in a way so that the outside of the wrist is slightly longer than the inside of the wrist.

The back of the jacket is longer than the front of the jacket. The blue/grey jacket shown below has elasticized sections on each side of the waist. Previous versions of this jacket had a thin bungee cord that ran along the inside bottom perimeter of the jacket.

The black rubber disk is shown in the back centre.

What I Like

1. Simplicity of Design - It is a really good, simple, functional design that has undergone minimal change, which I like.

2. Lightweight - it packs up really small and is so lightweight that I can carry it in one hand even for long runs of 30 km or more.

3. Breathable - the material is wind resistant and water resistant, which to me is preferable over a jacket that is waterproof and therefore less breathable.

What I Feel Could be Improved

There is one zippered pocket in this jacket. The nice thing about this pocket being zippered is that you can pack the jacket up into this pocket and then zipper it shut. You can also put a map, keys, credit card, gels, etc in this pocket and nothing will fall out.

The upper end of the zipper has a sheath of fabric that covers the zipper pull (see photo below). This sheath prevents water from entering the pocket when the pocket is zippered up and it is raining.

There is also a fabric sheath on the bottom of the pocket but the length of this fabric sheath is too long. As shown in the photo below, the zipper pull is completely submerged beneath the fabric sheath. When this happens, it is a little annoying to fish the zipper pull out with your fingers. I suggest that the zipper sheath on the bottom of the pocket be shortened.

The photo below shows the Ronhill Stride Windspeed jackets that I own from oldest on the left (lime green) to newest on the right (lighter blue). As you can see, the black circular rubber disk in the back centre of the jacket has gradually moved up as the various iterations of this jacket have been released. The oldest version is the lime green one on the left and the newest version is the light blue/turquoise one on the far right.

I personally feel that this was not a good decision and there are two reasons. First, while sitting/driving in my car before and after a run while wearing this jacket, the black disk is uncomfortable when I lean back into the seat because it gets right in between my spine and the car’s seat. When the black disk was lower down on the back like in the lime green jacket, the disk would fit in the “small of my back” and I would not notice it while driving. When the black disk is removed, the discomfort goes away.

Secondly, when I am wearing my Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L vest pack on the run commute to and from work everyday, the black disk is right in between my spine and the Ronhill backpack, making it uncomfortable. In addition, the black disk is so high in the lighter blue jacket that the backpack covers up the disk. If I did have a red blinking light in place of the black disk, the light would be completely obscured by my Ronhill backpack.

In terms of the reflective stripes, I like that the newer jackets (lighter blue, on the right) have a reflective stripe in the lower back of the jacket. This location makes the reflective stripe still visible while wearing a Ronhill backpack. The reflective stripes on the older lime green and darker blue jackets were obscured when wearing a backpack.

The older lime green jacket had reflective stripes on the outside of each wrist. I liked the location of these stripes because it made me more visible to motorists from the side (laterally). The wrist reflective stripes are no longer on the newer darker blue and lighter blue jackets.

Places I have Worn this Jacket

Kananaskis 100 Mile Relay Race (K100)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Philadelphia Half Marathon in Nov 2017 - you might recognize that arched bridge because it was in one of the Rocky movies.

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

This was just before the Hams and Hamstrings 5k at 7,000 feet ASL in Colorado Springs in Apr 2017. It is the perfect warm-up jacket. I placed 2nd in that race. 1st place was local resident (and world mountain running 2016 champion), Joe Gray.

Pikes Peak, Colorado, USA

Running above 14,000 feet ASL.

Bulgaria

This was what I brought on my way up Masala Peak, the highest peak in Bulgaria. I ran up this peak after the World Mountain Running Championships in 2016.

Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada

This was when my wife, Emily and I ran across Cold Lake and back in January. For a post about it, click here. The lake is massive; about 25km across and nearly 100m deep.

On my daily run commute to and from work all year around.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

It was more than a little cold. I believe the temperature was around -30C. Cold Lake is farther north than Edmonton and it gets noticeably colder there.

Mount Charleston, Nevada, USA

Port d’Envalira, Andorra

Running above 2,400m ASL.

Font Romeu, France

At the National Altitude Training Centre. Font Romeu feels a lot like Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.

Conclusion

Overall, the Ronhill Stride Windspeed Jacket is the best running jacket I have ever worn in my life. I have worn various versions of this jacket for thousands of kilometres and am very impressed with it. If you have any questions or would like more information about it, please feel free to contact me via the “Contact” link at the top right of this page.

Thanks for reading!

REVIEW: Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit

By: Matt Setlack

This post will outline my personal impressions of the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit racing flat. It will begin with how I acquired two pairs of them, then show photos of the shoes from various angles and finally compare these shoes to other Nike shoes that I have worn.

I have worn these shoes a total of 56.5 km so far; broken down as three easy runs and one Chicago Marathon 2018. Nike claims that these shoes are the fastest running shoes in the world. I am not sure that I agree.

At $320 CAD ($250 USD) plus tax per pair, these are by far the most expensive running shoes I have ever worn in my entire life. They are over twice the price of pretty much every racing flat I have worn. Are they twice as good? That is yet to be decided.

On a Quest for the VaporFly 4%

Purchase Attempt #1 - Almost Getting Ripped off by a Scammer

It all started about six months ago when the original version (photo below) of the Nike Vaporfly 4% came out. I looked for the shoes on practically every website online but could not find a size men’s 10.5 US anywhere. Eventually, I saw that a “friend” on facebook happened to be selling them. This friend claimed to be from Kenya and to be sponsored by Nike. He sent me a number of photos of the shoes and I even signed up for a World Remit account in preparation for transferring him the money. However, there were a number of red flags that came up throughout the whole process and I decided not to carry through with the transaction. I am 99% sure that this person was a scammer and am very glad that I did not send him any money.

Purchase Attempt #2 - Online Purchase

I was eager to buy a pair of the newest version of the Nike Vaporfly 4% racing flats called the Flyknit as they had previously “dropped” (i.e. were made available for purchase) in Canada on 01 Oct 2018. Unfortunately, on 01 Oct 2018, I received the text notification while I was sleeping at 3 am and by the time I woke up at 6 am, they were all sold out online. I was determined not to make the same mistake twice. Therefore, I stayed up late on Wed 03 Oct 2018 because I had read online that the Vaporfly would drop on 04 Oct 2018.

On Wed 03 Oct 2018, while I was in Chicago, I stayed up late waiting for the release of the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit racing flat. I looked at various options of buying them. Should I buy them online or in person? Should I buy one pair or two pairs? Unfortunately, they did not go on sale in the early hours of 04 Oct so I went to sleep.

On Thurs 04 Oct 2018, I woke up abruptly at 9:12 am when my mobile phone dinged with an incoming message from Nike to say that the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit had “dropped”. I immediately jumped out of bed, pulling the charging cable out of the wall as I frantically opened my laptop and hit refresh. When I signed in, less than 60 seconds later, Nike.com told me that there were no size 10.5s in stock. How can that be, I asked? I then looked at other websites where the Vaporfly was supposed to be sold: runningwarehouse.com had removed the Vaporfly entirely from their website, Eastbay continued to give me an error when I tried to checkout and various other sites simply did not have any stock remaining.

Purchase Attempt #3 - Purchase in Person

In a last ditch effort, I drove to Fleet Feet Sports in downtown Chicago that day as they said they would be selling them at their store starting at 12 pm on 04 Oct. I arrived at the store at 11:45 am but could not initially find parking. I was so focused on buying these shoes, that I even considered parking in a “no parking” area and taking the chance of either paying for the ensuing ticket or possible tow fees. I thought that I would consider that the “Vaporfly tax”.

I arrived at the Fleet Feet store and there were about 20 people lined up outside. The first thing I did was look down at the sizes of other’s feet and make an estimate of how many size 10.5 US shoes they might have left once I got my turn. There was an electric energy in the air and everyone was really friendly and talkative. Strangers became friends. Everyone was really kind and wished “good luck” in the Chicago Marathon to everyone else. They only allowed about 5 people into the store at one time and all of the shoes were stored in a back room. I was surprised when the employee brought out two pairs of 10.5 Vaporflys for me.

I felt like I was part of a drug deal or something (not that I would know). Like on the movie Requiem for a Dream when all the drug addicts show up at a grocery store because there is supposed to be a shipment of drugs there. I walked down the street with many hundreds of dollars of USD cash in my pocket as I didn’t want there to be any complications with the transaction. I am glad that I did not get mugged.

Because the Vaporfly was so challenging to find anywhere, I did not only buy one pair but I bought two pairs! I even thought about buying five pairs after the Fleet Feet store manager announced that each customer was allowed to buy five pairs max. Thankfully, I did not buy five pairs.

My Initial Impressions of the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit

I opened the box and was initially impressed with how they looked but my mind was not blown. Considering how much hype there was behind this shoe, I was expecting A LOT more. I picked them up and immediately noticed how stiff the sole was as I bended it back and forth in my hands.

The shoes fit true to size. They did, however, fit more snug than training running shoes such as the Nike Pegasus 34 and 35. I tried on a size 11 just to make sure and the size 11 was definitely too loose for me. Considering the exorbitant price of these shoes, I wanted to make sure they were perfect.

When I walked around the store in the shoes, I heard a sound as the shoe glue that was attaching the upper to the sole become slightly detached. This is the second time I have had this issue with a pair of Nike racing flats. For a pair of shoes that costs $320 CAD ($250 USD), this should not be happening. The quality of construction appeared to be a bit on the shoddy side,

Running in the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit

I did a short 40 minute jog in the shoes just to make sure they felt good, which they did. The very first thing I noticed was how soft and comfortable the foam was. I believe Nike calls this foam the ZoomX foam. The second thing I noticed was the sound they made when they struck the pavement; exactly the same as in the Nike Breaking 2 Commercials. They have quite a high stack height (31mm in the heel and 21mm in the forefoot, I believe) and do feel similar to the Hoka Cliftons. When I ran in the Vaporflys, I felt almost like I was running on stilts (highly exaggerated, but you get the idea). When you look in the mirror, you look taller because of the stack height.

Photos of the Vaporfly 4% flyknit

The following photos were taken by myself. The shoes that are shown below have a total of 56.5 km on them.

The tongue is integrated into the upper. When you slide these shoes on, it feels like you’re sliding your foot into a sock. The flyknit upper is quite stretchy and breathable.

The forefoot/toe box felt quite snug the very first time I tried them on and it didn’t seem to change at all even after I wore them for 50+ km. It feels like you are wearing a sock. I think the flyknit material was a smart marketing decision by Nike because of how stretchy it is, it accommodates a large breath of different forefoot widths, which means more people will purchase the shoe after trying them on in the store (compared to a shoe, like the original Vaporfly 4% or Zoom Fly that has a non-stretchy upper material).

Another thing that I do not like about the Vaporfly Flyknit is that the sole gets crinkles/creases, which make it look much more used than it actually is. This is a pretty minor thing for me.

Durability seems okay so far. In any effort to save weight, I believe that Nike has put minimal black rubber on the outsole. Although it is good that the shoe is lighter, the white foam is not nearly as durable as the black rubber as you can see in the photo below.

Comparison with other Nike shoes I have worn

The photo below shows a few other Nike running shoes that I wear. The two on the left are training shoes and the two on the right are racing flats. From left to right, Nike Pegasus 35, Nike Pegasus 34, Nike Zoom Fly (the predecessor to the Nike Zoom Flyknit that came out in 2018) and the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit.

Weight - I weighed all of these shoes myself. They are all men’s size 10.5 US and the weight for each pair of shoes (i.e. one left shoe and one right shoe) are as follows: Pegasus 35 is 572g, Pegasus 34 is 600g, Zoom Fly is 510g and Vaporfly Flyknit is 416g.

The photo below clearly illustrates how much narrower the mid-foot of the Vaporfly Flyknit is compared to other shoes. You can also see that the amount of grip/tread on the forefoot of the Vaporfly is much less than the amount of grip/tread on the Zoom Fly.

Vaporfly 4% Flyknit versus Zoom Fly

Width of Mid-Foot - One of the biggest differences between the Zoom Fly (left) and Vaporfly Flyknit (right) is the width of the mid-foot. At the narrowest point, the Zoom Fly’s mid-foot is 69mm while the Vaporfly Flyknit’s mid-foot is 56mm. That is a difference of 13mm (1.3cm) or in other words the Vaporfly is 19% narrower in the mid-foot, which is a big difference!

The mid-foot of the Vaporfly Flyknits is the narrowest midfoot of any shoe I have ever worn (and I have probably run at least 30,000 km). One of the first things I noticed when I tried them on was that the inside of my feet (in the mid-foot area) seemed to hang in space off the inside of the shoe; there is no foam beneath the inside of the mid-foot. I personally do not like this. I believe that in an effort to save weight, Nike has trimmed away the foam that would normally be in the inside mid-foot area. In addition to foam weight savings, Nike is also able to save weight (and cost) on the carbon fibre plate that is in the soles of these shoes.

Width of Heel - The width of the Zoom Fly heel is 87mm while the width of the Vaporfly Flyknit heel is 82mm. The difference is 5mm as can be seen in the photo below.

Weight - For men’s size 10.5 US, I personally weighed the Zoom Flys to be 510g and the Vaporfly Flyknits to be 416g. That is a difference of 94g per pair.

Some of my other racing flats are the Brooks Hyperion (390g per pair), the New Balance 1400V5 (438g per pair) and the Brooks T7 (414g per pair). In terms of weight, the Vaporfly Flyknits are around the same weight as some of my other favourite racing flats.

Stiffness - The Vaporfly Flyknit is the by far, the stiffest shoe I have ever worn. This takes a little getting used to. The shoes do seem to give you a pop on every foot strike. I am impressed that even though the shoe is really stiff, my heel does not lift out of the heel cup at all while running.

Drinking the KoolaiD

The Vaporflys will likely make you faster mainly because of the fact that you THINK they will make you faster. I am sure the technology in the shoe will actually make you run faster but 4% faster is quite a lot. In my opinion, the majority of the 4% gain comes from you thinking you will run faster. You think that you have an edge when you line up on the start line against competitors who do not have the shoes (and the runners without the Vaporflys are likely thinking, in the back of their mind, that you have an advantage that they do not).

Nike has done a brilliant job with the marketing of the Vaporfly. What Nike has done reminds me a lot of a story that I read when I was in elementary school. The story went something like this.

A group of elementary school athletes were about to compete in the national track and field championships. They were all very nervous considering the level of competition. Before the day kicked off, the young athletic team were called together for a meeting with their head coach. The coach, who was very intelligent and had worked as a professional chemical engineer in a previous career, had with him a couple bottles of a clear unknown liquid. The coach told the athletes that he had been working on this liquid for years and that it had been proven to improve athletic performances in all events. It was simply spread onto the muscles and it would work. The athletes trusted their coach and so they genuinely believed that this liquid applied to their muscles would certainly improve their performances. All the athletes the liquid before competing and sure enough, the runners ran personal best times and the jumpers jumped higher than they had ever jumped before. This clear liquid was amazing; everyone who used it was setting new personal bests.

It was not until the competition was over that the students were again called together. The coach explained that what he had given the athletes to spread on their muscles was simply baby oil, no special potion or scientifically proven magic gel. The athletes had performed because in their minds, they felt like they had a technologically advantage over the other athletes and that helped push themselves harder than ever before. Remember that whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re probably right.

Racing a Marathon in the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit

I wore these racing flats for the Chicago Marathon on 07 Oct 2018. It was raining and the road was wet for the entire race. When I lined up at the front of the start line, pretty much “everyone and their dog” was wearing a brand new pair of these shoes. Nike deliberately released these shoes just a few short days before Chicago Marathon, one of the biggest marathons on earth.

Lack of Grip - The grip/tread on these shoes is not great for wet roads and very poor when you are running on the painted sections of roads (such as white painted crosswalks and centrelines). When I ran on the paint (the was wet from rain), the shoes slipped backwards. I reverted to running in between the painted lines.

“Suction Cup” Issue - Another issue I had while running in rain in these shoes was that they had a tendency to “suction cup” onto the road (for heel strikers). Based on the cutout sections in the sole beneath the heel, when your heel strikes the ground, the soft sole squashes outwards, then when your heel lifts back off the wet pavement, you feel a suction under your heel. Kind of hard to explain; it is something you have to experience for yourself.

Stiffness - These shoes are very stiff and if you’re not used to it, then I think you might possibly end up using different muscle groups.

Fit - The forefoot of the Flyknit is quite snug and fairly narrow; more narrow than the Nike Zoom Fly. When I ran the marathon in the Flyknit, I got pretty major blisters down the centreline of each of my feet between the ball of my foot and the outside edge of my forefoot. It looked like my foot skin had folded over down the centreline.

Rounding Turns - When I ran around a 90 degree turn in these shoes, I felt like there was very little support for the ankle and that my foot was almost going to flop over on the side. I felt like I need to be very conservative on the turns because the upper is not very supportive and because the stack height is so high.

For Sale - Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit (men’s SIZE 10.5 US)

Brand New - If you would like to purchase a pair of size 10.5s, I have a brand new pair available. They are brand new and have never been used. They are in the original packaging. Located in Alberta, Canada. Willing to ship anywhere in Canada. Please see photos below.

Second Hand - If you would like to buy a lightly used pair of size 10.5s, they are also available. They have been worn for 56.5 km and are still in excellent condition. The photos at the start of this review show the condition of the second hand shoes. Update: as of 15 Jan 2019, the used pair of Vaporflys are no longer available.

Overall thoughts oF the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit

Overall, I am impressed with the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit racing flats. I like that they are fairly lightweight, I like the bounce/pop that I get from the carbon fibre plate in the sole (and possibly because of the ZoomX foam as well). They are very comfortable if they fit your foot.

The biggest issue I have with these shoes is that the forefoot is a little too narrow for my foot. I have never had any issues with the Zoom Fly forefoot width (but the longest I raced in those was only 21.1 km rather than 42.2 km). I am also not a fan of the exorbitant price tag of $320 CAD ($250 USD) per pair, which is over twice the price of nearly every other racing flat I have worn in my life.

If you are looking for a pair of Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit racing flats in size 10.5 US, please contact me using the “Contact” link at the top of this page. If you have any questions or would like me to expand on any particular area of the shoe, please let me know.

REVIEW: Ronhill Infinity Merino L/S 1/2 Zip Tee

By: Matt Setlack

This review will cover my thoughts on the Ronhill Infinity Merino L/S (long sleeve) 1/2 Zip Tee. This Ronhill top is hands down the best long sleeve running top I have ever worn. 

I have been running in this top for about 1.5 years, mostly while running outdoors in the winter and while running/climbing in the Canadian Rocky mountains in the summer. The top is made of merino wool and is very lightweight yet warm at the same time. The merino wool is very soft and comfortable and does not make your skin itch. I typically use it as a base layer and even wear it by itself sometimes.

Please note that this top may be discontinued but I believe that you can still purchase it online from various websites such as amazon.

The two photos below are of the top after wearing it for about a year. It has held up incredibly well and shows very little signs of wear. Note that the thread stitching is different in the top below compared to the top above (from the Ronhill website).

View fullsize

View fullsize

The 1/2 zip is a nice touch because it allows you to unzip if you are getting a little too warm and also allows you to easily put the top on even while wearing a helmet or ball cap. The zipper pull is small/unobtrusive and flicks/locks down so that it does not bounce around while you are running. I wear a size medium and the neck is the perfect snugness around my neck when fully zipped up. I believe my neck circumference is around 15" to 16".

There is a small triangle of fabric at the very top of the zipper that covers up the zipper. This also ensures that your lips/face do not stick to the metal zipper. There is a long tab of fabric between the back of the zipper and your skin, which prevents wind from blowing through the zipper and also makes it very comfortable (there is not rubbing or chaffing).

I wore this Ronhill top a lot while running in Washington State. The tuque (beanie) I am wearing in the photos is also made of the same merino wool material.

There is a reflective triangle on the upper back, which allows you to be a little more visible to motorists.

The multi-coloured stitching reminds me of the crayon art (scratch art) that I used to do as a child. I would first use wax crayons to draw vibrant colours on a page, cover it all up with black paint and then scratch part of the black paint away to reveal the vibrant colours beneath. 

The photo below is an example of scratch art.

The BASELAYER THERMO-SYSTEM logo on one arm is reflective.

The quality of construction of the Ronhill top is exceptional. There is not a stitch out of place even after wearing it for about 1.5 years. There are little thumb holes in each of the wrists. This is a nice touch.

You can see in the photo below the high level of craftsmanship that went into making this top. The backing of the Ronhill logo has been carefully trimmed away. This is the typical high quality that you can expect from Ronhill products.

A size medium in the Ronhill Infinity Merino L/S 1/2 Zip Tee weighs only 183g. 

The Ronhill Infinity Merino L/S 1/2 Zip Tee is the first top I bring whenever I am planning a climbing trip to the mountains. This is my friend, Scott (left in photo below) and I (right in photo below) before heading up past the Abbot Pass Hut (the oldest Alpine Club of Canada Hut, built in 1922, in the Canadian Rockies). We then continued to climb the South Summit of Mount Victoria. 

I also wore this top while skiing/climbing up Mount Columbia on the Columbia Glacier with my friend Josh. I wore it for three days straight (I even slept in it) and it was a perfect base layer. The nice thing about the lightweight fabric was that when we were skiing on the glacier during the day, the ambient temperature was quite warm (esp. with the sun reflecting up from the snow) but the merino wool material dried very quickly and did not make me overheat. The long sleeves were nice to have to prevent my arms from getting burned from the sun.

I wore this Ronhill top while running in Washington State, USA during one of the biggest snowstorms they have had in recent years (photo below). I also wore this top while run commuting to and from work everyday in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada.

I hope you have found these photos and brief commentary on the Ronhill Infinity Merino L/S 1/2 Zip Tee useful. This top is extremely high quality, warm, lightweight, it dries fast and I think the fit is perfect for me. This is the best running top I have ever worn and I highly recommend it.

REVIEW: Ronhill Infinity Torrent Jacket

By: Matt Setlack

This review will focus on what I like about the Ronhill Infinity Torrent jacket and what I feel could be improved. I have included as many photos as possible in this review (taken by myself) as I feel a photo is worth a thousand words. For an overall description, please visit the www.ronhill.com website by clicking the photo below. Note that the current colour (charcoal/fluo yellow) is different than the jacket that I have (blue and red) This review will focus on my person observations after running in this jacket for 3-4 months.

Initial Impressions

The very first thing I thought about when I pulled this jacket out of the package was how incredibly lightweight it is. I measured it to be 195g, which is even lighter than the Ronhill Momentum Victory Hoodie. I really like the vibrant blue and red colour of this jacket and I love the simple, elegant and functional design. To me, excellent design is when there is nothing left to remove but the garment still fulfills everything that it was designed for. Simple is good. Simple means lightweight. Simple means easy to use because there is no complicated mechanisms. 

Fit 

The fit of the Ronhill Infinity Torrent jacket is a little bit looser in the torso than the Ronhill Windlite jacket. The length of the arms feels the same. I wear a size medium in this jacket and the sizing is consistent with other Ronhill garments I have worn in size medium.

What I Really Like about this Jacket

Front Main Zipper

The zipper works really well and seems very durable. There is a flap of material behind the zipper which eliminates the possibility that wind (or rain) will blow through the front of the jacket. The zipper itself is also waterproof so you have two layers of protection. 

#RunEveryDay Logo

I really like how Ronhill has printed "#RunEveryDay" on the inside of centre back of the jacket. This is a great reminder for me and also shows that Ronhill is with the times. 

Waist Cinch Cords

One each side at the bottom of the jacket are places where you can tightened up the waist cinch bungee cord with one hand. They are easy and intuitive to use.

Excellent Worksmanship

As you can see in all of these photos that I took, the level of care that was put into manufacturing this jacket is very impressive. It is very high quality and there is not a stitch out of place.

Hood

The size of the hood is perfect for me and there are also two different adjustments that you can make. One adjustment is done via two red bungee cords in the front of the jacket. These two cords cinch down the front opening of the hood (where you look out of).

The second adjustment is via a red cord loop on the back of the head. By pulling this red cord loop, the hood beak is brought closer over the top of your head (similar action to tightening up the back of a baseball cap). They work really well and make running with the hood up very comfortable. 

When you don't have the hood over your head, you can easily cinch it up by putting a flap of material over the bunched up hood, which will prevent the hood from flapping up and down as you run. Ronhill has done a phenomenal job of making this "hood strap down system" exceptionally intuitive to use (really well done, Ronhill!). The very first time I wore this jacket in the rain, I wanted to strap down the hood. Somehow, without ever seeing the system, I managed to figure the system out within seconds while running and not even being able to see what I was doing because everything was going on behind my neck! Incredible!

All you have to do is roll or bunch up the hood behind your neck, then open the fabric "strap/trapezoid" (as shown in photo below). Take the black rectangle of velcro on the bottom of the trapezoid and stick it to the blue rectangle of velcro on the outside back of the jacket. That's it! It works perfectly, is very secure and lightweight. 

Black Face Rub Rectangles

Really nice touch by Ronhill. When you zip the front zipper all the way up to the top, there is a nice soft black cloth material that your face/mouth can rub against, if necessary. This is really comfortable. My face does not rub against the jacket at all when it is zipped all the way up. 

Cuffs

I like the simplicity of the cuffs. There's nothing complicated about them. I like that only half the cuff is elasticized, which allows you to easily pull the cuff over your GPS watch to start/stop/check the time and/or pace. 

Aqualite is the material used to manufacture the jacket. The tags that come with the jacket reads, "Key benefits: Total waterproof and windproof barrier" and I would agree.

Packable Size

It packs up to about the size of a water bottle, which is a bit larger than the packed up Ronhill Windlite jacket. It is very easy and convenient to carry if you want to take it off while running if it stops raining. The weight is only 195g as well, which is less than half a pound. 

What Could be Improved with this Jacket

Red Bungee Cords in front for tightening up the front part of hood

As it is now, one red cord on the left and one red cord on the right hang out the front side of the jacket (see photo below). When you are running, they have a tendency to bounce/faff/jostle about, which I find a little annoying. It would be much nicer if these red bungee cords were routed INSIDE the front of the jacket rather than OUTSIDE the front of the jacket.

Breathability

If you make a jacket that is waterproof/water resistant, then it will not be very breathable (i.e. allows water vapour to escape from the inside). If you make a jacket that is very breathable, then it will not be waterproof/wear resistant. PERIOD. A lot of companies have tried and they claim that they have manufactured a jacket that is BOTH waterproof AND breathable but I have not worn any jackets yet that do both of these things extremely well. It is not a fault of Ronhill (or any other clothing manufacturing company for that matter), it is simply a characteristic of the material. It is kind of like using all season tires all year around rather than summer tires in the summer and winter tires in the winter. The all season tires will work okay all year around but will not be particularly good or bad in any season. However, to be fair, Ronhill has done a better job than any other company I know in creating a jacket that is waterproof while being fairly breathable.

A possible solution to this issue could be to maybe add arm-pit zips (although this would add weight) to the jacket. And if you're wearing a jacket in the rain, then you would not want openings in the arm pits for rain to come in and get you wet. Perhaps a small panel material that is thinner and breathable could be placed in the arm pit area. 

Zipper Pulls

I personally prefer the small YKK zipper pulls that Ronhill uses on almost all of their other garments; the mini-flip lock kind rather than the long string/cord pulls that this jacket has. The zipper pulls on the Ronhill Infinity Torrent jacket have a tendency to flip up and down when you run and I personally don't really like this. This is a really minor annoyance though. 

Conclusion

Overall, I am very impressed with the Ronhill Infinity Torrent Jacket. If you do a lot of running in the rain, I would recommend that you consider this jacket. Ronhill products can be purchased at Running Room.

REVIEW: Ronhill Infinity Space-Dye Short Sleeve Tee

By: Matt Setlack

This review will focus on what I like and what I feel could be improved with the Ronhill Infinity Space-Dye Short Sleeve Tee. I have been wearing it for two months now mostly during my daily run commute and occassionally during indoor runs on the treadmill.

Ronhill website

If you are interested in finding out specifics about this tee, please visit www.ronhill.com.

What I like

Sizing - The sizing of this tee is consistent with other Ronhill apparel. I wear a size medium in this tee and a size medium in pretty much every other piece of Ronhill apparel I have. Medium fits me very well.

Fit - The fit is relatively relaxed. The torso and sleeve length of this Ronhill tee is noticeably longer than all of the other running tees I own. The long torso length makes it easy to tuck into your waist band if you like or leave it untucked. The long length is nice when I am doing stationary rowing in the gym and do not want the skin of my lower back exposed.

Very comfortable - I like the way it feels. The textured portions on the lower torso (the lighter "V" in left photo above and the lighter "up arrow" in right photo above) remind me of the textured stainless steel plates that you find at construction work sites. It stretches in every direction, which makes it very comfortable.

Breathable - I have never had an issue with this tee getting wet from perspiration and staying wet. I hang all of my clothes to dry after washing them and this tee hang dries very quickly.

Stitching - The stitching between the torso panel and the arms (as shown below left) is flat and can easily stretch perpendicular to and along the length of the stitch. 

Material - When you flip up the bottom front of the shirt (see photo above right), you can read the tee info, "Made in Portugal www.ronhill.com 60% polyamide 40% polyester Size M (and washing instructions)". There are no paper labels/size tags/material tags in this tee, which is really nice. I find that with other tees that have little paper labels, when I want to remove the label I do one of two things. Cut the label off but then there is a bit of paper left over scratching your skin or rip the label right out of the stitch but this often opens up the seam/stitch and you have to resew the stitch. Having the text printed right on the bottom of this Ronhill tee is a very good idea. A lot of other Ronhill apparel even has #runeveryday printed onto the inside of the apparel. 

Another minor but important fact about the printed tee info is the location. It is conveniently located on the front inside of the lower torso. It is also "upside down" (as shown above) but when you flip it up while you are wearing the tee, you can clearly and easily read the tee info right side up. This makes total sense and is an example of how Ronhill is making very functional and innovative products.

What could be improved

I don't feel like there is really anything that could be improved with the Ronhill Infinity Space-Dye Short Sleeve Tee. Some people might prefer having a shorter torso length and short sleeves. However, this doesn't affect the function of the tee whatsoever.

I recommend the Ronhill Infinity Space-Dye Short Sleeve Shirt. If you are interested, it is sold at Running Room. More product info can be found at www.RunningRoom.com or by clicking here.