There is no official moisture vapour transmission (breathability) rating for the Fox Neoshell fabric and during our initial testing we did get quite sweaty. The jacket does have massive pit-vents, and we did run these open all the time during the latter half of the test period.

Read more: The best waterproof mountain bike jackets for getting through winter

Like the majority of the jackets, the Neoshell has an over-the-helmet hood and a high collar. The former is adjustable but the draw-cords are on the inside of the hood and are a single string, so they’re not easy to nd when wearing winter gloves and we also had di culty getting them to stay in place. The hood is massive and comes quite far down over the front of the helmet, but the jacket is not gure hugging at the neck and tends to billow out when riding. The same is true of the sleeves and chest area, and when leaning forward that excess material creates a fold for water to sit in. Like the Endura MT500 the Neoshell is big though, so down-sizing may reduce this somewhat.

Although the Neoshell has a nice soft touch and feels comfortable against bare skin, the DWR surface treatment on our sample was one of the least effective on test. We noticed quite a bit of wetting out on the sleeves and chest and there was some water ingress through the rear vent.

We really can’t fault the build quality of this Fox Neoshell jacket, but that initial DWR defence needs to be better and Fox really needs to add some shape to the neck and sort out those cords. The deal breaker for us though, is the high price.