Outlier Pivotal Bomber jacket: chuck something at it

Outlier, New York's answer to Rapha, have done a very decent job of reinventing the bomber jacket here, and at the same time given it the kind of bombproof treatment demanded of clothing in capital cities.

The Pivotal Bomber Jacket is at home either on or off the bike thanks to its pivotal sleeve contstruction, uses breathable Schoeller 4Season fabric and is wind, water, stain, muck grease and ketchup resistant.

You'll be asking yourself how you ever got by without one.

Outlier 60/30 chino: coming on in strides

Outlier seem to have nailed it with their new chinos, made from their 60/30 cloth (hence the name) which blends cotton with micro-denier nylon and elastane so they don't go ripping all over the place when you're having a pedal.

"You get all the comfort and good looks of a classic cotton khaki twill, but with the durability of a hiking parka and the four way stretch freedom of a bike short," says Outlier, adding that they built them up using a waistband-free, military style construction with added key loops, a stash pocket and hidden front button.

Available in tan and marine blue here. I just want the dog.

Outlier Liberated Wool Peacoat: button gloom

Peacoats are one of those garments which are fine in principle. The trouble is that in practicality they are useless. It's the double breast fastening - seems quite smart but then just try to get all those buttons done up when you're in a hurry, or undone. And there's that inside button that you can never quite reach to fasten, but if you don't the inner flapp slips down and you look like a wino.

So I gave peacoats up a long time ago. Left them to the sailors.

And then Outlier released this, its Liberated Wool Peacoat, which is manufactured with 2.5 layer technology for weather and windproofness and has an engineered fit for on-the-bike comfort. The wool also stretches.

The most technical peacoat I've seen in a long time and fair play to Outlier for coming up with it. They are, by all accounts, quite proud of their invention.

But the fact is, this is still a peacoat, with all that button fussin'. Which is going to be even more of a chore when you need to ride somewhere in a hurry. I'll make do with a zip, cheers.