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Protective Silas long sleeve top

8
£54.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Superbly designed and great value winter jersey cum jacket
Weight: 
0g
Contact: 
www.edinburghbicycle.com

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Describing Protective’s Silas as a hybrid of jersey and winter training jacket implies compromise when it is in fact an ideal addition to your winter wardrobe worn with a high quality base layer. Complete with full-length zip and winter weight it feels every bit as inviting as it looks. Tectron Warm is a very sophisticated double-layered knitted fabric proving that not all Polyester garments are the same. The inner layer is brushed for insulation while being soft to the touch-in essence an advanced Roubaix fleece boasting greatly improved ventilation- comfortable-even on milder October evenings with the zip up.

Protective describe the jersey's colour as mud – which doesn't really sell it to you. Mud turns out to be a very versatile olive colour – the Silas also has black bits too – and the combination works well with black tights, technical trousers and ¾ lengths perfectly. Eye-catching reflective logos are surprisingly effective when caught in the glare of car headlamps without looking garish in broad daylight. The increasingly popular pocket configuration sandwiches a capacious mid section convenient for compact cameras, cash or other valuables between two traditional open- top types readily swallowing spare tube and a 500ml water bottle.

Discretely integrated into the upper left arm is an “MP3” pocket and there’s a reinforced cable port in the neck. However, it found most favour with me as a stash point for the mobile phone. Sizing is spot on, the large fitting me perfectly, cut long enough in the arms and back to safeguard against chill or riding up when hunkering low on the drops for prolonged periods. Comfort when combined with merino wool base-layers is superb thanks to tactile materials and sensible design with no irritating flutter on long, blustery autumn rides. Further climate control is achieved by lowering the zip, although this was unnecessary, even on milder October evenings. Water repellency is generally good but given thirty minutes steady rainfall, it starts absorbing moisture and takes a while to dry once fully saturated-although a thin, breathable unlined waterproof worn with it sorts this.

In effect two garments in one, it represents excellent value for money and there’s little to complain about, although an LED tab integrated into or above the middle pocket would make a great top better still.

Verdict

Superbly designed and great value winter jersey cum jacket

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Protective Silas long sleeve top

Size tested: L

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The Silas is a performance jersey cum jacket designed for cooler temperatures and most disciplines.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Tectron warm is an advanced Polyester based fabric that is geared at winter/cooler weather use and better than less advanced polyester when it comes to climate control and wicking prowess. Sharp detailing includes MP3 pocket, suble reflective logos, two traditional rear, open top pockets and a zippered middle for valuables. Full length zipper.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
7/10

460g (large as tested)

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The Silas performs very well in most, cooler conditions but is best teamed with a merino wool type base layers. Stylish and understated, it works with everything from from casual baggies through to traditional lycra. While shower resistant, more persistant, heavy rain can mean longerr drying times than some.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Sharp styling, attention to detail and good fit.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 36  Height: 1m 81  Weight: 70 kilos

I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset  My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)

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