Icebreaker Hyperia Lite jacket review

Icebreaker is progressively expanding its range beyond baselayers. But it retains its emphasis on merino wool, with the Icebreaker Hyperia Lite jacket using merino for its insulation layer. Called MerinoLoft, this consists of 88% merino wool batting under a water repellent outer shell layer.

It’s designed to be machine washable, with the advantage over down that the insulation doesn’t ball up and lose insulation efficiency when it gets wet. The outer shell of the Icebreaker Hyperia Lite is made of Pertex Quantum Air fabric, which is very lightweight and also water resistant.

The Icebreaker Hyperia Lite jacket is designed as an all-round cold weather piece, rather than being cycling specific, helping to justify its price. So it’s something that you could use for hiking too and would feel comfortable wearing around town.

You get zipped outer pockets and a very large third zipped inner pocket in the Icebreaker Hyperia Lite jacket, so there’s plenty of room to carry around odds and ends. The inner pocket doubles as a stuff sack or a small pillow too when folded up.

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Although it doesn’t pack small enough to fit into a cycling jersey’s pocket, the Icebreaker Hyperia Lite jacket would fit into a backpack if you did heat up on your commute.

For commuting duties, the Icebreaker Hyperia Lite jacket has displaced shoulder seams and is unpadded over the tops of the shoulders, so that it’s more comfortable under the straps of a backpack. The collar is high and insulated and the cuffs are close to prevent draughts. There’s a slight drop to the tail, to help keep your lower back a bit warmer too.

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So the Icebreaker Hyperia Lite jacket would make a good option for the bike commuter. It’s also useful as a warm up/cool down piece before and after winter events like cyclocross races or just the average chilly winter ride.