GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket

Review by Erin Trail

The GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket is a versatile jacket for all of your cold weather adventures.

Details

• ePE WINDSTOPPER® Liner by GORE-TEX LABS
• Airpermeable face fabric
• PrimaLoft® Active Evolve Insulation
• Windproof AND breathable
• Water resistant
• Weight: 10.3 oz

Fit and Function

GOREWEAR has the CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket in it’s running line, but don’t let that stop you from using it for other activities.

I’m a size medium on the GOREWEAR site and found that the GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket fits true to size.  The arms are tapered at the wrists, providing a little extra coverage over the top of your hands. There’s also a small section of elastic fabric on the inside of the wrist, making it super easy to pull up the sleeve to check your watch stats. The hem is a drop hem, giving a bit more coverage to your backside.  The bottom sides have that same elastic fabric, giving you room for additional layers or movement.

GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket

The GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket has both an outside nylon shell and an inside nylon lining with PrimaLoft® Active Evolve Insulation sandwiched in between.  I love the PrimaLoft® Active Evolve Insulation on it’s own – it’s so soft and snuggly.  I was more than a bit bummed that GOREWEAR decided to encapsulate the fuzzy goodness, but I also fully recognize that the jacket would NOT be nearly as windproof without the inner nylon liner.  This is a battle of function over snuggly softness, and I admit, function was the right way to go.

The GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket’s other features are fairly basic, but smartly done.  There are two size zippered handwarmer pockets, plenty big enough to fit your phone. The main front zipper is a dual sided zipper, which is a feature that I really appreciate, especially as I get warm and need to unzip the bottom for venting and heat management. The hood is a pretty standard SCUBA hood that fits well, even under a bike helmet.  The inner hood and collar / neckline uses a softer fabric that’s different from the crinkly inner liner fabric, making for a nice texture at contact areas at the neck and face.

I do wish that there was an inner zipper pocket for keys or a phone, but I will chalk that up to personal preference and paranoia for losing things on the trail.

Performance

I have mainly been using the GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket on bike rides this late fall and early winter, along with colder hikes and dusky walks. This jacket is under the GOREWEAR running line, but it has been too warm in Colorado to wear this jacket running.  It is WARM and I guestimate that I’d be wearing it in temperatures in the teens.

As a jacket, it is fairly crinkly and noisy, due to the inner liner.  That inner liner is likely where the wind proofing magic happens, and as I was moving, I didn’t really notice the sound.

I’ve been loving the GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket as a cold weather cycling jacket, especially in shady areas or where it’s windy (or I’m moving fast enough to generate my own wind).  I most recently wore the jacket on a post-holiday mountain bike ride at Maryland Mountain, an area with an exposed pedally climb and shady descents. The jacket accommodated my hip pack nicely, still allowing access to my hand pockets. I did get warm as I climbed to the top of the trail, but thanks to the double sided zippers, I managed to get the right amount of ventilation and didn’t need to take the jacket off.  Once we hit the downhill switchbacks – shady enough to hold snow from 4 weeks ago – I was perfectly warm with ZERO wind coming through.

GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket

The GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket has also been great on faster gravel and bike path rides, providing the right amount of wind blocking and ventilation.

I’ve also been grabbing the GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket the most as I head out the door on my daily walks, as I try to heal my angry Achilles tendon. I have a habit of putting off my walk until dusk, and the jacket is the perfect option for a breezy walk with plunging temperatures.

The GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket has performed so well that I forgive their decision to cover up my beloved PrimaLoft® Active Evolve Insulation.  Function definitely won in this case.

Closing Thoughts

The GOREWEAR CONCURVE WINDSTOPPER® Insulated Jacket is a well designed jacket that will keep you warm on windy, cool to cold active adventures. The jacket is available for both men and women, in jacket and hooded options.

Erin Trail

Trail Boss of Stoke

Erin Trail on her mountain bike at the World Tri Cross Triathlon World Championship race

Erin Trail on her running at the World Tri Cross Triathlon World Championship race