Hein Gericke Cruise GTX Goretex Jacket

[DaveS]

I had this jacket recommended to me when I had to do an exchange in Hein Gericke on a previous jacket and overall I'm really pleased with it.

I guess it may help to describe the type of rider I am and what I am generally looking for in a jacket.
I do about 20-25 thousand miles per year and I wear the jacket virtually every working day as I commute on my bike and can do reasonable long distances. I want a jacket that's totally waterproof but breathable as it get's used all the year round. I also just slip it on over a work shirt. I also want it to have removable lining as I wear the jacket all year round.
And lastly I expect it to have armour and to protect me to a reasonable extent in a crash.

So there we go, quite a list of requirements!!

I normally like to spend around £150 mark on a jacket, but I do find they only last me about 18 months or so before they start falling apart (Frank Thomas!).

So to the Cruise, as I say it was recommended to me and a was an extra £100 or so over the cost of the refunded jacket. I decided to give it a go.
That was 3 years ago and I have to say it's the best jacket I've ever had.
I'll copy the manufacturers blurb now so that you can see the features....

"So far ahead of [the competition] ... our testers loved it" RiDE magazine

Function: Hard-wearing waterproof, windproof + highly breathable GORE-TEX® climate membrane in Z-liner construction. 5-year quality guarantee. Optimum fit with width adjustment on the arms, waist + hem. Practical seat strap prevents jacket riding up. Waist belt to adjust width. Zip adjustable ventilation system on chest + back. Stretch inserts in flex zones. Removable storm collar. Removable thermal lining. 8 front pockets, (2 waterproof). 1 back pocket. Additional foam padding on lower back, shoulders + elbows. Reflectiver strips for better visibility. Full-length connecting zip.
Protection: SaS-Tec® CE-approved protectors at shoulders + elbows. HIPROTEC® Backshock Air CE-approved back protector. SAFE® stitch seams.
Construction: Abrasion + tear-resistant 500D fabric (100% polyamide). Original Schoeller® Dynatec (100% polyamide). Lightweight lining (100% polyamide). Removable thermal lining (80% polyester, 20% polyamide).

So lets pick out a few features that I like.......

The storm collar is good because it's removable for the summer, but goes back on in seconds for inclement weather.
It's totally waterproof and has a 5 year guarantee to say so.
There are cooling zips on each arm and on each side of the chest and the back that open up the jacket a little to get cooler when it's hot. Note however that this it not a jacket to use in Spain or somewhere hot! Perfect for the UK though.
The top two chest pockets are waterproof and big for wallet, etc...
The storm cuffs I find good as well to stop my short sleeves getting wet.
All HG stuff zips to any of their trousers which is nice. I have the Cruise trousers which are equally as good.
And overall its wearing very well, no buttons or zips broken, yet!

Any bad points?
Well where the velcro continuously touches some of the textile fabric it's beginning to fray. It doesn't seem to affect the jacket though as the waterproof membrane is hidden away.
Pretty much the same with any textile jacket is that when it's wet it stays wet, which could be a problem if camping with nowhere to dry it off.

Go and buy one immediately you won't be disappointed!

[Stormforce8]

+1 on this.

I've only had mine for about a month but it is very dry and comfortable, and I've got to agree with everything Dave has written..

If I had to find something I wasn't 100% happy with it would be the velcro adjusters at the bottom of the pants - not really to my liking as I've been used to zip adjusters - but hey, that's just my opinion.

[Chad]

again got to agree its a great jacket my one minor complaint would be the velcro around the collars force you to do it up a bit tight if your a no neck gorilla like me

but ive cured that by adding a small bit on the collar so i can fasten it a bit looser other than that an ace all year round jacket

[sunnybrook]

I hesitated before I bought mine, as the price is fairly hefty. But, it's GoreTex, and that tends to cost money whatever sort of product it's built into. I'd considered the HG Journey GTX too, but it just didn't quite fit, and it used press studs rather than velcro more than I liked.

I nearly bought the Cruise Daylite jacket, for it is very very bright, but decided in the end that I didn't want to be fluorescent yellow all the time!

It comes with good armour, although it's a little sharp edged on the shoulders without the thermal liner. It has a million pockets, some of which are waterproof, and it has cinch straps and elastic cord in all the places you'd want if you designed a jacket. The zip-on storm collar as Dave said is great.

My only gripe so far is that the cuffs are fairly neat, so you won't be fitting big gloves underneath them and getting the velcro adjusters in place. My Spada gloves are, admittedly, a bit on the bulky side around the wrists.

But all in all, it's a jolly good piece of kit.

[Monsieur]

The only jacket I've used that keeps me warm and dry in winter but also when I take the jacket off on a very hot day I'm not soaked from sweat!
Looks good too with no garish badges on

[Twosheds]

Just bought one (no more black 54's left in the country, mine came from Dusseldorf on special order, apparently HG are changing the design slightly) and it's very nice. Small gripe is that the arms are a bit tight, the rest is spot on, just the arm's. Loads of pockets, neat touches like the storm collar, pass holder on the left sleeve and the bum bag for bits and bobs. The crotch strap tends to....lift and separate somewhat, but useful nevertheless. Uh...How do you vote on the review panel? I wasn't given the option!

twosheds - done for youAnnette

[DaveS]

I need to add some more comments in to mine now.....

It leaked on a trip down to Brighton.
I had done 50 miles or so in the more or less constant rain, but it wasn't torrential. I got down to just south of Salisbury stopped at the MacDonalds and was wet through on my backside and on my right shoulder.
I decided then that the jacket had to go back as it had a 5 year Goretex warranty.
I took it back to Hein Gericke, who as ever are really great at these things. They offered me a loan jacket. They sent it back to Goretex and rather frustratingly it was returned as no fault found in either the trousers or the jacket!!! I had a talk with the Customer Service Director at Hein Gericke who did say that Goretex were normally very thorough with their testing.
I still haven't resolved this yet, and as soon as I get wet again I'll be taking pictures as evidence!
All in all a bit frustrating really as I don't think they tested it or.... their tests are very basic and not equivalent to a 50 mile ride in the rain.

[Chad]

I need to add some more comments in to mine now.....

It leaked on a trip down to Brighton.
I had done 50 miles or so in the more or less constant rain, but it wasn't torrential. I got down to just south of Salisbury stopped at the MacDonalds and was wet through on my backside and on my right shoulder.
I decided then that the jacket had to go back as it had a 5 year Goretex warranty.
I took it back to Hein Gericke, who as ever are really great at these things. They offered me a loan jacket. They sent it back to Goretex and rather frustratingly it was returned as no fault found in either the trousers or the jacket!!! I had a talk with the Customer Service Director at Hein Gericke who did say that Goretex were normally very thorough with their testing.
I still haven't resolved this yet, and as soon as I get wet again I'll be taking pictures as evidence!
All in all a bit frustrating really as I don't think they tested it or.... their tests are very basic and not equivalent to a 50 mile ride in the rain.

thats a shame when we did the longest day we rode aprox 500miles in torrential rain and both trousers and jacket kept me bone dry


looking forward to hearing how you get on dave

[Lord Vader]

I need to add some more comments in to mine now.....

It leaked on a trip down to Brighton.
I had done 50 miles or so in the more or less constant rain, but it wasn't torrential. I got down to just south of Salisbury stopped at the MacDonalds and was wet through on my backside and on my right shoulder.
I decided then that the jacket had to go back as it had a 5 year Goretex warranty.
I took it back to Hein Gericke, who as ever are really great at these things. They offered me a loan jacket. They sent it back to Goretex and rather frustratingly it was returned as no fault found in either the trousers or the jacket!!! I had a talk with the Customer Service Director at Hein Gericke who did say that Goretex were normally very thorough with their testing.
I still haven't resolved this yet, and as soon as I get wet again I'll be taking pictures as evidence!
All in all a bit frustrating really as I don't think they tested it or.... their tests are very basic and not equivalent to a 50 mile ride in the rain.

If you got no luck ,send it up to me and i sort it out for you

[jasonbc]

If you got no luck ,send it up to me and i sort it out for you

I rode from ben nevis back down to cornwall yesterday and from tiverton to camborne it p**sed down all the way back to camborne (130miles ish) and i was bone dry. My zip on my left arm snapped while in scotland last week so it's just gone back to hein gerike in plymouth and has been sent back for a new zip under warranty. Even with the zip stuck open in all the rain my arm stayed dry