The Performance Clear Rain Jacket is the cheapest rain jacket I own—it is also the jacket that has seen the most use. This jacket was never intended to be a high-end rain jacket for touring. It is designed for you to stuff in your back jersey pocket on cloudy days and pull out when the rain starts.
I have owned this jacket for four years and take it with me on 20 to 30 rides a year, and end up using it on about half of those rides. The jacket rolls up easily and I use a Livestrong armband to keep it wrapped up in my jersey pocket when I am not wearing it.
This jacket is made of vinyl and is both windproof and waterproof. Due to a full-length mesh strip that goes from the cuffs up to the armpit and back down to the waist, the jacket is fairly breathable. Instead of a zipper, this jacket closes with a strip of Velcro that makes it very easy to adjust. Unfortunately, the Velcro strip is not well attached to the jacket, so be careful when opening the jacket. If you spray a bit of Elmer’s Fast Tack Spray Adhesive on the back of the Velcro strip it should stay in place for a long time.
This jacket is available in both clear and yellow. The clear jacket allows people to see your jersey, but the yellow one makes a lot more sense for use on rainy days. Both jackets also have a reflective strip on the back for added visibility.
The Performance Clear Rain Jacket has a retail price of $20 and is available at Performance Bicycle stores and on their Website.