Endura Cleaner and Re-Proofer review - it breathed new life into my favourite jacket

Endura is a Scottish cycling apparel brand with - perhaps unsurprisingly - a strong reputation in waterproofing.

The brand can boast some of the best waterproof cycling jackets - both for performance road riding as well as some of the best commuter jackets - as well as some of the best waterproof cycling trousers (also for commuting).

But rain repellent clothing is only one part of the story. Like most things in life, waterproofing doesn't last forever - all garments will need some form of reproofing throughout their lives to ensure they continue to do the job they're supposed to. 

Which is where Endura's Cleaner and Re-Proofer comes, doing quite simply what it says on the tin: cleaning the muck and grime off your waterproof clothes and re-proofing them for continuing water repellency. And, like all of the best waterproof treatments for cycling jackets, Endura's Cleaner and Re-Proofer is fine to use on jackets from other brands, too. 

Re-proofer application process

The re-proofing process is very straightforward. Simply fill up two caps full of liquid, pop the jacket in the the washing machine and hit start on a full cycle as you would with a regular detergent. 

Once the wash is finished, it helps the re-proofing process if the jacket is dried as quickly as possible. If you have a tumble dryer, then that's quite straightforward again. If not, it's possible to use a hairdryer to speed things along a bit - just be careful not to get too close and risk damaging the fabric by overheating it.

The ride: Endura Cleaner and Re-Proofer Review

Just before we get into how Endura's Cleaner and Re-Proofer actually performed, let me give you some context and take you back a couple of winters to when I bought a jacket from dhb which I really, really liked.

I remember when I first took it out in the rain, looking in amazement as beads of water dropped off - now, if the heavens open, I just end up damp. The arms are particularly vulnerable, for whatever reason. 

It was a shame, as the jacket was so good before it lost its water resistance - one of these warm but breathable ones. But I found myself slipping into not wanting to ride when there was a chance of rain, as the repellency got steadily worse.

But since reproofing the jacket, I have noticed a significant reduction in how damp I get when riding in the rain. Water has started beading up on the sleeve again, rather than simply sinking into fabric as it was doing before.

I wouldn't say that the  jacket's water-proofness is on the same level as it was when I first bought it, but the time to saturation was greatly reduced. Given the state that the jacket was in, I tried re-proofing it a second time and I think the wet-weather performance did improve a little bit again - although the returns were diminishing and I wouldn't bother with doing it a third time in a row.

Value

A 300ml bottle comes in at $14.99 / £10.99, with Endura recommending to use 100ml when washing one garment, and adding 50ml more for each additional garment in the same load. So, if you're organised and have a lot of jackets that need reproofing, you could do up to five with one bottle.

In comparison, Granger's Wash + Repel comes in at $15.95 / £11.50 and recommends 100ml per garment and comes in a 300ml bottle - so more expensive per volume and reproofs fewer garments.

Conclusion

In all, Endura's Cleaner and Re-Proofer is a well functioning and sensibly priced from a brand renowned for their waterproof credentials. It didn't make my (previously) waterproof jacket quite like new again, but the improvement was still significant nonetheless. The Cleaner and Re-Proofer definitely represents value for money and is much less wasteful than buying a brand new jacket each time.