I find a merino vest is a winter essential, and Santini’s Women’s Wool Tech Sleeveless Base Layer makes a great addition to your wardrobe – albeit at a hefty price for such a minimal piece of clothing. Cost aside, it ticks all the boxes. Made in Italy, construction quality and performance are top notch, and its wicking ability is aided by the snug fit (it’s a different model in the pics).

  • Pros: Comfortable, breathable, long back
  • Cons: Expensive, a bit high cut under the arms

The fine-weave, super-lightweight fabric is two-thirds merino and a third synthetic, making it nicely breathable and also very fast-drying if it does get sweaty. It feels soft and cosy against the skin, with no irritation. It’s ideal to wear under a long-sleeve jersey on cool spring and autumn days – Santini says use when 0-15°C – but if the mercury dips lower you’ll probably want a more substantial baselayer.

> Find your nearest dealer here

The vest is simply made from just a front and a back panel – both decently long – with a racer back to prevent any shoulder strap slippage. The close-fitting cut is perhaps a little too high under the arms – I was aware of the seams there when I first put the vest on but soon forgot about them once riding.

Santini Womens Wool Tech sleeveless Base Layer – back.jpg
Santini Womens Wool Tech sleeveless Base Layer – back (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

Sizing comes up small – I had a medium but think I could have gone for a large (there are seven options from XXS-XXL). It only comes in this purple colour.

> Buyer’s Guide: 15 of the best cycling baselayers

I like Santini’s vest for its performance but there’s no getting away from that high price tag – even Rapha’s is ‘only’ £50 (Tass tested the short-sleeve version earlier this year). Café du Cycliste has an almost identical one for £46, while Mons Royale makes a merino blend vest that has a higher percentage of merino and a longer body for £47. If you want pure merino then Alpkit’s Kepler vest looks great value at £29.

Verdict

Good quality and comfortable merino blend vest that performs well, but you’re paying extra for Italian style

All the deals displayed on our review pages are pulled from a constantly updating database feed of the best affiliate deals available. The criteria for deciding on what are the best deals is who is offering the lowest, delivered price. In most cases we will be showing the very best deal available online, but sometimes you may be able to find an item cheaper. If you can please feel free to post a link in the comments box below. To find out more about affiliate links on road.cc click here.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Santini Womens Wool Tech Sleeveless Base Layer

Size tested: Medium

Tell us what the product is for

Santini says: “Perfect to keep your core warm on cool weather rides. This extremely versatile base layer can be worn under a jersey or jacket and is breathable, warm and soft. The high performance wool blend is designed for a wide range of temperatures and provides optimal thermal balance.”

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

Santini lists:

67% merino

22% polyamide

11% elastane

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

The fabric is fine so needs to be kept away from Velcro and zips, but if cared for can’t see why it wouldn’t last well.

Rate the product for fit:
 
8/10

Great except I found it quite snug uner the arms.

Rate the product for sizing:
 
7/10

Being Italian it comes up small, so size up.

Rate the product for weight:
 
10/10
Rate the product for comfort:
 
9/10

Would be 10 if not for high underarm cut.

Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Is about £15 more expensive than similar vests from other brands.

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

Machine wash 30 degrees.

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

Very well – it’s warm and breathable.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The decent length and contoured fit.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing really except the price, but the high underarm cut might irritate some.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Only at reduced price.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, if on offer.

Use this box to explain your overall score

It’s a very good tech vest but its high price brings the overall score down as you can buy similar-performing vests for up to a third less.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 45  Height: 170cm  Weight: 62kg

I usually ride: Marin Point Reyes 29er  My best bike is: Whyte T-130 RS

I’ve been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, club rides, mountain biking, audax