The Endura MT500 Polartec jacket helps you insulate yourself from the worst of winter riding with its clever thermal management.
Endura’s MT500 Polartec jacket is cheaper than my favourite cold-weather top, and more practical too
Endura’s MT500 fleece is a new hooded mountain biking jacket designed to offer ‘incredible temperature regulation’. It uses multiple textures and panels in different zones, along with a swathe of Polartec’s waffle fleece fabric with the aim of optimising heat retention. In this respect it is a direct rival to one of my favourite biking tops ever – 7 Mesh’s Chilco Thermal anorak. It’s not designed to do the same job as the best waterproof jackets, instead it’s aimed at those winter days when the mercury hovers in the low single-digits.
Endura labels it a mid-layer piece, but I’ve also been using it as an outer layer even on colder days, because the stretchy front panels block wind and drizzle effectively. There are six sizes right up to XXXL and also three colours, including this snazzy mustard yellow.
Design and specifications
The MT500 cut is bike-specific with a dropped tail and longer asymmetric cuffs for better wrist coverage while riding. The fabric on outside of the cuff is longer, to cover more hand without getting in the way, and there’s a fleecy hood that fits under, not over, a helmet.
Designed to be snug-fitting, the whole jacket is really stretchy and flexible, and I found the size large was plenty roomy in both arms and torso, and long enough in the sleeves, body and tail. The entire jacket is made from Polartec’s tufted fleece, that I’m assuming is the brand’s Power Grid fabric. This has small raised cubes of fabric, that look like the inside of a waffle maker, with each square separated by grooves to encourage ventilation and holding air in a layer. On top of the fleece – that sits next to skin (or whatever you’re wearing underneath) – extra front softshell-style panels cover down to the waist, across the shoulders, and the outside of sleeves with a windproof, stretchy, layer.
One of the main differences between this MT500 and the 7Mesh Chilco I rate so highly is the quantity of pockets; Endura has provided large zipped hand ones, and an external front chest pocket. There’s also a full-length front zip compared to the quarter length one on the Chilco’s pullover, so the MT500 is a bit heavier (140g more) but also more convenient. 7Mesh’s interior is also even tuftier and more textured than Endura’s gridded fleece.
Performance
Endura’s claims of excellent temperature regulation really stack up and I can’t really ask for more in terms of warmth, wicking, and heat management. The MT500 balances the tasks of being very cosy with never becoming too stuffy, and it also had the ability to dump loads of heat fast by zipping the jacket wide open and letting the breeze feed in as I rolled along.
Like the 7Mesh Chilco, front MT5000 stretchy panels appear permeable to air, but by just the right amount. There’s enough through-flow to let hot air out without being so much of an open weave that the front is excessive chilly in cold weather.
The interior is comfy and soft, and the construction is so stretchy, the fit feels light and doesn’t cling. Despite being lighter, the more-tufted Chilco stayed drier than the Endura when I was working really hard. But the MT500 is warmer in the cold, and when I did build up a head of steam, I could just open the zip to regulate the temperature.
One flipside of the stretchy, slightly loose, fabric is the MT500 tail is quite flimsy, so it can get a bit heavy and floppy when covered with wet spray and mud, and because the fabric is cut away each side, the structural integrity of the lower back is slightly compromised. It’s also worth noting that the back side is much cooler against wind than the front, so if you’re out on a freezing cold and very windy day, I really noticed the icy breeze on my back.
Verdict
Endura’s MT500 jacket offers the right balance between warmth, ventilation and wicking. Thicker, stretchy, front panels really keep the chill off while riding, but it also dries fast and is easy to regulate heat build-up with that long front zip and effective gridded Polartec fabric. This top works well in single digit temperatures with just a base layer, but you could add another long sleeve top underneath on very cold days, or for just hanging out doing jumps or enduro laps, rather than continually pedalling. I run pretty hot, so it would have to be very grim out, or exposed and elevated with windchill and ambient temps below 5º C to want to add an extra waterproof jacket over the top.