base layer
layering systembase · mid · shell43 pieces
one layer,
three ways
out.
Every piece here is graded for hiking, for cycling and for the commute — three words, three reasons, on the product page. Not one garment claims to be a rain barrier, because none of them is.
what we would wear here
- basemerino long-sleeve 180180 g/m²
- midgrid fleece full-zip200 g/m²
- shellwater-repellent shell95 g/m²
Forêt de Rennes, drizzle · 8–15 °C · light rain · 4 h out
Scene 1 of 3: trail, Forêt de Rennes, drizzle
A shell, a fleece and a base layer hanging on a wet branch on a forest path in fine rain
A commute shell with a longer back hem and a wind fleece laid over a bicycle frame beside a canal path at dawn
A packable wind shell and an insulated vest on a bench on a wet town street under evening light
01the idea
one wardrobe,
not three
Most people who walk at the weekend also ride, and also have to get to work on Monday. Buying a separate set for each of those is how wardrobes fill up with things worn six times a year.
So we made the crossover checkable instead of implied. Every piece on this site publishes a grade for hiking, for cycling and for commuting — suitable, usable or not advised — with the reason written next to it. When something is bad at one of the three, it says so.
- pieces
- 43
- layers
- 6 + sets
- prices
- €19–€249
- subscriptions
- none
02layer planner
pick the weather, get the three layers
Four questions — what you are doing, how cold it is, whether it is wet, how long you are out. The answer is a specific base, mid and shell with a reason for each, plus the total weight and packed volume you would be carrying.
01
what are you doing
hike · cycle · commute · mixed
02
how cold is it
five bands, below 0 to 22+
03
is it wet
dry · light rain · persistent
04
how long
under 2 h · 2–5 h · all day
Choose persistent rain and the planner will tell you, before anything else, that none of these garments is an answer to it.
03
the six layers, and the sets
Organised by where a piece sits on you, not by activity. That is the whole point: the same mid layer belongs to all three days.
01
base layer
Next to the skin. Moves sweat, decides how the rest feels.
8 pieces
02
mid layer
Holds the heat you make. The layer you add and remove most.
8 pieces
03
shell
Takes the wind and the spray. Water-repellent, with the limit stated.
7 pieces
04
bottoms
Legs, measured standing and — where it matters — riding.
7 pieces
05
accessories
Hands, head, neck, feet. None of it is protective equipment.
8 pieces
06
commute-specific
Built around the ride in and the desk after it.
3 pieces
07
sets
Three pieces that work together, priced against their own listed prices.
2 pieces
or
let the planner choose
Four questions, one base, one mid, one shell, and the reason for each.
open the layer planner
04
the pieces most people start with
Hover any card to see the same garment in the place it is graded highest.
base layer
mid layer
shell
95 g/m² · 0.7 L packed · standard repellency
- hikingsuitable
- cyclingusable
- commutingsuitable
shellreflective trim · not protective equipment
105 g/m² · 0.9 L packed · standard repellency
- hikingusable
- cyclingsuitable
- commutingsuitable
mid layer
60 g/m² fill · 0.6 L packed · light repellency
- hikingsuitable
- cyclingsuitable
- commutingsuitable
bottomsreflective trim · not protective equipment
shell
48 g/m² · 0.4 L packed · light repellency
- hikingsuitable
- cyclingsuitable
- commutingsuitable
set
three-layer trail set
€249€303
1.6 L packed · standard repellency
- hikingsuitable
- cyclingusable
- commutingsuitable
05limits, not promises
three things
we will not
say
01
we do not say a shell is a rain barrier
Every shell here is water-repellent — déperlant. That is a finish on the face fabric, and a finish wears out. We print which finish it is, roughly how many washes it lasts, and how you can tell it has gone. In rain that does not stop, water gets in. The alternative word, imperméable, would need a hydrostatic test we have not run, so we do not use it.
02
we do not print a temperature on a garment
No harmonised standard exists for rating a jacket in degrees, and the same jacket behaves differently on two people walking at two speeds. So instead of a figure that would look precise and mean nothing, we publish fill type, fill weight in g/m², and fabric weight. You do the rest with the planner.
03
we do not sell protective equipment
Reflective trim appears on 8 pieces here, and on each of them a notice says the same thing: it is decorative trim, not personal protective equipment, and it conforms to no high-visibility standard. We sell no helmets and no certified safety clothing at all, so nothing on this site needs that certification.
06
buying from us
- 14 days to change your mind
- A standard withdrawal form is on the site, filled in or not as you prefer. Sealed next-to-skin items are the one exception, and it is stated on their pages.
details - two legal guarantees, listed separately
- The guarantee of conformity and the guarantee against hidden defects are different rights with different deadlines. We set them out one after the other.
details - free delivery over €120
- Rates, carriers, times and destinations are on one page. No countdown, no pressure — the threshold is simply a threshold.
details - a person answers the email
- support@ouestactive.online and +33 6 37 36 59 74, Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00 (Europe/Paris). We answer email within one working day.
details
two or three emails a year
When a piece changes, when a finish gets reformulated, when a size table is corrected. Free, no account, no membership of anything — leave whenever you like with the link in any email.