Sunderland Whisperdry Pro-Lite Jacket Review

Sunderland Whisperdry Pro-Lite Jacket Review

I test a lot of golf apparel and when it comes to the Autumn and Winter months which means testing a reasonable number of golf rain jackets and rain pants. However one such brand I hadn’t tested before was Sunderland so I was excited to get my hands on the new range, and especially the Whisperdry Pro-Lite Jacket which is the garment sitting atop the tree in the range. 

Starting with the looks, I think simplicity is the ethos used here and as such I do think it is slightly bland. Models from Galvin Green and adidas always offer something a little different so despite the Sunderland logo on the arm and the contrast zip color, I think a more distinguishable aesthetic could’ve been achieved here. But that being said, this does make it versatile so this is a subjective point for you guys to decide on. I do like how many colors it comes in though, up to seven, and you can also get this jacket with cool logos from the Ryder Cup and Open Championship too. 

But a way more important point to move on to is the protection because this is what the best golf rain gear gets right. Pleasingly, the Whisperdry does, as after testing it in some complete deluges of rain, the waterproof protection was very good with water beading off well. I also think the wind protection was solid too thanks in part to all the excellent adjustability on offer from the jacket - including the inner storm flap, chin guard and cord-adjusting high neck, and the Velcro adjusters at the cuffs and waist. That being said, the lightweight nature of the jacket means you will definitely need to pair it up with more mid-layers, or a hoodie, to get sufficient protection from the cold weather.

During the golf swing the lightweight fabric, along with the stretch, made it very easy to move freely and swing in, especially in the variety of stances I found myself playing from in testing. This was also true when I was wearing layers underneath too, I cannot stand it when I can’t really swing freely because of several garments but this wasn’t an issue here.

The final point I wanted to mention which is a slight negative are the front pockets are slightly small but to me this is such a minor quibble that it would not stop me entirely from getting this jacket. In crucially important factors like protection and movement, it performs very well indeed, with only slight tweaks needed to make it a five star jacket.