Protective Silas long sleeve top

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