dhb Flashlight Long Sleeve Jersey

Wiggle's in-house brand dhb has an ever-growing range and they generally do a good job at most price points. This year they've added a big new range of cycling clothes with an emphasis on being seen, particularly at night. The Flashlight range includes jackets, jerseys, shorts, gilets and tights (and more) with generous use of 3M Scotchlite reflectives, mostly in a smart hexagon motif as seen on this long-sleeve jersey. It's a lightweight option so you'd need other layers in the colder months, but it's well made and the reflectives work well.

Wiggle is pricing the whole Flashlight range keenly, undercutting the equivalents from Altura's popular Night Vision by 10-20%. Here this long-sleeve jersey is significantly cheaper than Altura's long-sleeve jersey, but don't be fooled, they're not really competitors. This jersey uses a thin and extremely breathable polyester fabric which is more akin to a base-layer than a winter jersey, whereas the Altura is a warmer top.

The Flashlight jersey is well made, with neat flat-lock stitching and good quality reflective YKK zips; there's a quarter-length zip at the front and a zipped "phone pocket" at the back in addition to the standard three pockets. Unfortunately, the water-resistant phone pocket is too small for most modern smart-phones, but you could keep a key or some coins safe there, I guess. The other pockets are of a generous size and have reinforced stitching to cope with you stuffing your other layers in there when it gets too hot.

The first time I loaded up the pockets, though, I found that they tended to swing around a bit. I attributed this to the fact that the cut on this jersey is fairly loose, but after a couple of cool washes I did notice that the jersey fitted more closely. I was testing a medium, and the fit improved having shrunk a little so bear that in mind when you first try it on. There's a silicone gripper strip across the back at the bottom, which also works better once the jersey is a closer fit. I've not had any issues with the reflectives coming off in the wash but I am fairly careful, using maximum 40 degrees and non-bio detergent. I'll update if this changes down the line.

As I mentioned, this is not an especially warm jersey. I found it was comfortable over about 12 degrees, or a bit lower when paired with a wind-blocking gilet. The jersey fabric itself does next to nothing to keep the wind out. It's a curious choice for a reflective jersey; surely the majority of use will be in the evenings of the cooler months, and after October you'd certainly want a jacket over the top, covering those nice reflectives.

You could always put a good thermal base-layer underneath, and this works well up to a point, but when it's colder you really need some windblocking to avoid discomfort. The reflective patches on the shoulders remain partially visible when you're wearing a gilet, which does improve your visibility from front, but there won't be much visible from the rear. In short, I don't anticipate getting a lot of visibility benefits over the winter as I'll be mostly wearing this as a base-layer. It is much more effective for late summer evening rides when you're glad of the sleeves and the well-positioned reflectives do a great job of getting you seen. One area where this could be improved is the sleeves - it is a strange omission to have no reflective details at all to help drivers see your turn signals.

You've got a choice of colours - for my money the "charcoal" grey we tested is the pick of the range, but the royal blue is also attractive, or you could have it in fluoro yellow if you really want to. With the possible exception of the yellow, I like how the aesthetics don't scream SAFETY too loudly; you can make sure you get seen without looking like a lollipop lady.

In short, this is a well-made and attractive jersey with well-positioned quality reflectives which catch headlights brilliantly. It's very keenly priced, but is by no means a winter jersey - the wind whistles right through it. Best saved for evening rides in the spring or late summer, but makes a decent base-layer in the colder months.

Verdict

Stylish top with excellent reflectives to get you seen but shouldn't be mistaken for a winter jersey - it's very lightweight