Kalf Club Men's Softshell Jersey

You can buy a lot of softshell tops these days, most of which claim to be weather resistant, and good across a range of temperatures. I'll wager you can't buy many better than this Kalf Club Men's Softshell Jersey, though. It really does do an excellent job and I can highly recommend it.

• Pros: Excellent temperature regulation, good weatherproofing, good fit
• Cons: Three pockets would be better than two

The eVent membrane within the jersey is charged with stopping the wind, keeping the external moisture (ie rain) out, and letting the internal moisture (ie sweat) through. A lot of the time those all seem like mutually exclusive goals, so it's always a wonder to me that membrane fabrics work at all, let alone so well. I've had good experiences of eVent membrane fabrics in the past and this is no exception: the Kalf Club jersey is really impressive in its ability to regulate moisture and temperature.

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A case in point: I wore the jersey for a 120km ride across the Mendips, with a starting temperature of about 4°C and a finishing temperature somewhere in the mid-teens. I was riding an e-road bike, so for the most part of the first half I wasn't doing much work at all. Then I did a timed loop around Cheddar as part of the bike test where I was going at about 75% of my maximum as it warmed up. After that, I headed home and got into a two-up smash across a flat section where I was going pretty hard and it was getting towards short-sleeve temperatures.

At no point during that ride did I feel the need to adjust the jersey. I didn't freeze on the long downhill into Wells early on, with just a sleeveless summer baselayer underneath. I didn't have to unzip it climbing up Cheddar Gorge. I didn't boil in it going hard on the flat much later in the sun. It coped in one day with a good proportion of the range of temperatures you can expect for UK riding, without any problems at all.

It certainly moves sweat away from your body effectively. My phone in the rear pocket was dripping wet at the end (a point to note if your phone isn't waterproof!) but the inside of the jersey felt dry to the touch, and never got clammy at any point during the ride.

Water moving the other way hasn't been an issue: I've not ridden in the driving rain in this top but it's more designed for showery days and it copes with them admirably. The rain beads well on the surface and runs off, keeping you nice and snug. It's not a full waterproof but it copes with the rain just as well as, if not better than, similar jerseys.

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The two rear pockets have a storm flap, which makes them a bit harder to access but does keep the weather out. There seems to be a bit of a trend to move to two pockets from three at the moment. I can't say I'm in favour: it makes the pockets too big and stuff tends to rattle around a bit.

Finishing is good. The gold colour is visible without being shouty, and the cut is good. I'm a bit bigger than Harvey who's modelling in the pics, so I filled out the Large sized jersey a bit better; Kalf's size guide seems accurate. The sleeves are the right length and cuffs and collar are snug and windproof without being tight. There's a decent dose of reflectives for after dark.

Realistically, with a couple of baselayer choices and maybe a shell gilet for really wet days you could probably wear this top on every ride from the day you put your spiked tyres away to the day you finally crack out the guns. You can spend a lot more than this on a softshell jersey and not get the same level of performance. It's a proper good top, this.

Verdict

Excellent softshell jersey that'll be a year-round choice for UK riding