Deus Ex Machina Sage Riptide Jacket

A half-zip hooded smock in Cordura nylon, with a waterproof jersey backing and taped seams. Deus built the Riptide to deal with howling wind and sideways rain, and built it out of a fabric that will not wear through first. Sage reads softer than the black and shows the texture of the Cordura more clearly in daylight.

What Cordura actually does

Cordura is not a waterproofing, and that is the most useful thing to know about it. It is a high-tenacity nylon — the same fabric family that ends up in motorcycle kit, military packs and luggage that outlives its owner — and what it buys you is abrasion resistance. It survives being dragged across things. A bike seat, a tailgate, the corner of a board bag, the wall you leaned on while the swell filled in.

That matters because technical shells almost never fail at the membrane. They fail at the cuffs, the hem and the shoulders, where the fabric goes thin and fuzzy and then lets go. A Cordura face has a different lifespan in exactly those places.

The weather is a separate job, handled here by a waterproof jersey backing and taped seams. Shell takes the abuse, backing takes the rain — rather than one thin membrane attempting both and doing neither well after a winter.

Construction

• Half-zip smock — pulls on over the head, zips to the sternum
• Aqua seal zips at the neck and side seam
• Fully taped seams over a waterproof jersey backing
• Two angled zip pockets low on the front, plus a drop-pouch centre zip pocket
• Adjustable drawcords at the hood and hem
• Hook-and-loop tabs at the cuffs
• Woven Cordura tab at the right chest, Deus tab at the hem

Specifications

• Shell: Cordura nylon
• Backing: waterproof jersey
• Seams: taped
• Closure: half zip, side-seam zip
• Colour: sage green
• Sizes: S to XXL

Fit

Relaxed through the chest and shoulders. It goes over a hoodie without pulling across the back, which is the point of a smock. If you are between sizes and want it as a mid-layer rather than a shell, size down.

What it is not

Not a packable emergency layer. It has weight to it and it does not stuff into its own pocket. This is rain gear you put on at the start of the day and forget about.