Giro Chrono Expert Rain Jacket review

Giro’s Chrono Expert is a close-fitting and sleek-looking jacket that offers performance without a huge outlay. It’s lightweight, comfortable and packable, plus it’s well made and the material feels soft to the touch, and certainly isn’t noisy like some.

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The jacket uses a 2.5-layer laminated construction, but the inside never felt overly clammy against exposed skin. It has a respectable waterproof rating of 15,000mm, with a DWR (durable water repellent) treatment on the polyester outer fabric.

Combined with the taped seams, this ensures that rain is kept at bay on all but the longest and wettest rides, when some water inevitably started to penetrate.

Breathability is rated at 15,000g/m², which is solid, but I did feel some dampness when climbing or upping the pace. A small vent across the back allows some sweat to escape, but this was never a major issue on easier paced rides.

The Chrono Expert is cut for the slim racer and sizing is small, so most people will need to size up. Fortunately, the fabric is stretchy and forgiving, and moves with you as you pedal. This fitted cut also meant there were no issues with flapping or noise even on windy days.

The rear is dropped but isn’t as long as many waterproofs available, and despite the elasticated hem I found that the drop tail did tend to ride up, reducing spray protection.

The tall collar with a soft inner and zip garage adds to the overall comfort, while the front zip seals well and the inner flap blocks wind and rain. Subtle reflective details keep you visible.

Also, the sleeves are short by about 5cm, leaving my wrists exposed to wind and rain. While the elasticated cuffs seal well, the length is an issue. With longer winter gloves this is less of an issue, but with regular length gloves drafts and water got in.

The Chrono Expert is a lightweight, tight-fitting jacket that performs well, and looks and feels good on. It does a decent job of keeping the rain out, but the short sleeves and tail that rides up make it by no means perfect.