Often the gear we test is designed to look extra sharp, and some of it is riddled with technical features, but when those aesthetic and functional properties mingle we get extra stoked. Ion’s recently revised 3-Layer Scrub Amp Jacket is a handsome piece of cold weather riding kit with all of the tech woven in to keep riders warm.
I’ve been wrapping my thorax in the Scrub Amp since local temperatures dipped below 10° C (50° F), and some of those rides have included temperatures below freezing. My favorite aspect of this shell is that it offers enough warmth to accompany a basic jersey on days when the afternoon warms enough to take the jacket off and pretend it’s still summer. Then I only have a jacket to cram in my pack, instead of a load of layers. When the snow flies, I can add a wool flannel and maybe a base layer underneath and stay warm all day. It has proven the ideal breathability and weight for brisk winter riding.
Armpit vents under either sleeve increase airflow to evacuate perspiration and the jacket’s three layers of tough, 4-way stretch fabric breathe better than expected. In addition to keeping the core warm and as dry as possible inside, the Scrub Amp jacket is properly waterproof, blocking snow and rain from your under layers. All of the seams are internally taped, and the billed hood fits over a half-shell helmet with a self-regulating elastic band to keep it in place. Unlike most over-helmet hoods, this one doesn’t interfere with the rider’s field of vision, which means you can actually use it to keep water and mud from entering through the neck opening.
- Price: €249.95
- Weight: 366g (size small)
- Key features: Chest pocket with lens cleaner, hood fits over helmet
- Fabrics: Four-way stretch – 75% polyester & 25% polyurethane
- Water resistance: 20,000 mm
- Wind resistance: 20,000 g/m2/24h
- Color: Rusty Leaves (shown), black
The single chest pocket is large enough to stuff your phone and a pair of glasses inside once they fog over. There is a lens cleaner tethered to the inside of the pocket that will further help with fog and debris on your glasses or goggles. The jacket fits short enough on the hips that riders can easily access their trouser pockets, negating the need for side pockets in the shell itself.
The Rusty Leaves colorway matches precisely with a Root Brown pair of Ion’s Softshell Shelter Pants, which we will be reviewing shortly.
We would like to thank Ion for sending the 3-Layer Scrub Amp jacket along for review.
