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The Leatt MTB 2.0 women's jacket is water-resistant but it's neither light, cheap or particularly breathable. The best thing about it is the packability, and the magnetic hood system neatly stops the hood flapping around when riding. 

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After testing some great Leatt gear recently, the women's MTB 2.0 is more than a penny short of a pound in comparison. Billed as water-resistant rather than waterproof, the fabric gets just a 5.000mm/5.000g/m² waterproof/breathable rating – in other words, neither very waterproof or breathable.

It keeps you mostly dry in a downpour, but this isn't a jacket for staying out all day in and expecting to keep dry. 

The inner lining is slightly odd and makes the jacket feel puffy – there's a lot of material involved, and overall it reminds me of cheaper jackets... and this is not a cheaper jacket. 

The cut isn't the best either. Leatt gear often seems to size up extra roomy, but although this has plenty of space around the torso, it's noticeably short in the arms – I'm a fairly average size, and rarely have issues with sleeve lengths. 

General features include a chest pocket, reflective printing on the jacket's back, and of course that magnetic hood system. This is an excellent concept where the hood contains a small, strong magnet paired with another just below the collar.

Push the hood down and the magnets clamp it in place, with very little flapping then occurring. Stick a suitable magnet on your lid and it holds the hood up as well – Leatt helmets come with adhesive magnets just for this. Ideal. We loved the system on the Leatt DBX 5.0 All Mountain Jacket, too.

The MTB 2.0 just isn't that breathable, and when sweaty the liner sticks to bare skin. It is windproof though and otherwise comfy, despite the short sleeves. Despite that liner, the Leatt MTB 2.0 packs down pretty small too, making it useful for brief, emergency uses.

At £120, not waterproof and with a rather basic fit, this feels expensive. Something like the Cube AM WS Stormjacket is more packable, more breathable and totally waterproof, yet only only £21 more. For men, the Madison Roam jacket gets hot, but does at least keep you dry from the rain for £40 less. 

• www.hotlines-uk.com
• www.leatt.com

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