This website uses cookies to help us give you the best experience when you visit our website. By continuing to use this website, you consent to our use of these cookies.
This website uses cookies to help us give you the best experience when you visit our website. By continuing to use this website, you consent to our use of these cookies.
Sign up for our newsletter
The CCN Core Silver-Back jacket combines good windproofing and water resistance with a level of insulation that’s impressive for its 398g weight, but it does accumulate a lot of sweat and it lacks the the breathability to dissipate it.
CCN is based in Hong Kong and has been making performance cycling kit for years, with a strong emphasis on custom clothing. It’s only recently added UK distribution though, with a UK website dedicated to the brand.
The Core Silver-Back jacket is its winter weight piece. It’s not designed for very cold conditions, but is well suited for the usual UK damp winter weather with temperatures between 5C and 10C. With a long sleeved base layer underneath, it was comfortable for riding in such weather.
Sizing is generous and there’s plenty of room inside the Core Silver-Back jacket to layer up if it does get colder than this.
Body and arm length are good too, helping to avoid any cold spots, and there’s a wind flap behind the front zip and a high, close collar to help keep out cold air.
The arms are finished with thin, raw edged cuffs. They’re not adjustable and the fit isn’t that close, but the design does make it easy to ensure an overlap with winter gloves, so they're not cold.
The CCN Core Silver-Back jacket gets its name from the reflective silver insulating layer on its inside. It’s designed to reflect back your body heat to keep you a bit warmer, like a space blanket.
It does this well without excess bulk, and results in a significantly thinner layer than the typical fleece-backed winter jacket.
The outer surface of the Core Silver-Back is water repellent and does a good job of not wetting out on drizzly rides. It’s also pretty windproof, helping to keep you that bit warmer.
There’s the usual dropped rear, below the three open and one zipped pocket, helping to keep your bum dry.
CCN has built plenty of reflectives into the rear too, with a logo on the central pocket, reflective tabs in the pockets’ outer seams and reflective edging to the waterproof zipper of the valuables pocket.
The flip side of the good windproofing and rain resistance is that breathability isn’t that great. The Core Silver-Back jacket absorbs a lot of body moisture too.
Coming back from a moderately intense ride I noticed that it felt a bit heavy. When I weighed it I found that its dry weight of 398g had been increased by over 100g of sweat.
Despite this it didn’t feel clammy, as some jackets can do when damp, and the excess moisture didn’t result in it feeling cold, but that’s a fair bit of sweat to be carrying around.
With a price tag of £80, the CCN Core Silver-Back jacket is not expensive for a winter jacket with its level of performance and it’s well suited to UK conditions too.
Just make sure that you open things up for a bit of airflow if it’s not actually raining, if you want to avoid perspiration build-up.
That’s made easier by the two way zip with its chunky pullers, which allow you to open from the top and the bottom.
At its core, the new Synapse is a truly excellent road bike
The Officine Mattio OM1 S is an Italian beefcake that provides speed at the cost of comfort
Third time’s the charm for the Tifosi Auriga
We count down the Giro d’Italia’s...
Get excited for the first Grand Tour...
A complete guide to watching and live...
Sign up for Cyclist subscription here.
Shop the Cyclist merchandise here.
Sign up to the Cyclist newsletter here.
The fourteenth instalment in our new series recaps the weekly shenanigans in the peloton, showcasing
Put your feet up and relive the drama on the second rest day of the Giro d’Italia
Welsh hill climber beats WorldTour pros on Mallorca's hottest Strava segment
Copyright © Diamond Publishing 2022. All rights reserved.