Review: Dare2b Mindset Stretch

Check out this great review of Dare2b's Mindset Stretch jacket after 4 months of intense testing and review by Evolve MTB's Tony Williams on behalf of MoreDirt... Enjoy!

After a long dry, hot summer (mmm, dreaming again), my then waterproof jacket had seen enough rainy days to last a life time. Just as was about to go on the search for another faithful jacket, Carl & Angus from MoreDirt asked if I fancied reviewing the Dare2B Mindset jacket.

First impressions were that it was colourful to say the least, feeling like a member of Kermet the Frog’s gang I adorned the brightly coloured jacket. Actually the colour is spot on, leading groups of school children on mountain bike trips; it’s great to be visible at the front of the group. The colour really grew on me to the point where I really like it! They do come in black for those who like to be a bit more conspicuous.

The jacket that I had was a large, usually I go for a medium, but the extra size enabled really good layering without any flappy bits whilst riding, or the feeling of being overly bulky, even when worn with just a base layer underneath The arms were of a good length, not riding up whilst on the bike. With a nice drop tail, the jacket kept the worst of the Dartmoor slop off my backside.

This is Dare2b’s premium jacket, meaning it comes with a host of features and some serious armoury at keeping the elements at bay. It’s full on Waterproof and breathable with an Ared V02 20000 polyester 4-way stretch fabric.

Other features include:

• Durable water repellent finish
• Taped seams
• Mesh lined
• Grown on technical wired peaked hood with high collar and adjusters
• Roll away hood function
• Underarm ventilation zips
• Hi-tech water resistant centre front zip with inner zip guard
• 2 lower zipped pockets and 1 zipped chest pocket with hi-tech water repellent zips
• Bonded tape detail
• Articulated sleeve design
• Adjustable cuffs
• Adjustable shockcord hem
• Internal zipped pocket with MP3 player headphone port
• Reflective detail for enhanced visibility
• Weighs less than 630g, based on size L

As you can see this is the real deal. Its got all the bells and whistles that you could ever need from a good MTB specific jacket.

As my mother & fiancé will testify, I go through kit like crazy. Since a child I would wear through shoes in weeks, giving them a good, hard earned life! As I’ve gotten older, nothing’s changed. A waterproof will be lucky to last a full season with me, coming out at the end like it’s done 12 rounds with David Haye. So I was a little susceptible to this green wonder. How wrong was I!!

It got its first taste of water along Brighton seafront, whilst out for a gentle blast along the front with a mate, the waves were crashing over the sea wall. Following my mate, he swerved instinctively to avoid a huge breaker of a wave. His front wheel was having none of it, spitting him onto the concrete. Being 3metres behind I managed to stop myself from slamming into him, but got a good 100 bath loads of sea water landed right on top of me. My trousers, shoes, socks & pants were soaked. Yet the jacket merely shrugged it off, with a “is that all you’ve got” type attitude. The water beaded up nicely & rolled off, keeping my core nice and dry.

4 months on, some hefty day long downpours on Dartmoor, frost, snow, biting wind, some more rain, 3 washes and the jacket is still performing like it did when I first put it on. This is one mean waterproof jacket; I would highly recommend it to anyone who spends more than a couple of hours in the rain, on or off the bike. It’s highly breathable, so when we do see some sunny days again, with the inevitable shower thrown in, this is the jacket to take on your ride. Great value for money, hardly noticeable whilst riding, go get one!!

This is one mean waterproof jacket; I would highly recommend it to anyone who spends more than a couple of hours in the rain, on or off the bike.

Tony Williams, Evolve Mtb