Rapha Women's Merino Jersey

Building on Rapha's slow but steady introduction of female specific garments into their range, the Merino Jersey marks the company's first attempt at urban cycling gear for women. Designed to be a casual jersey with performance inherently built in, it is aimed at a huge spectrum of riders, from serious riders for down time use through to recreational and café riders. And of course, WAGs of established male Rapha addicts everywhere!

The first thing you notice about the Merino Jersey is just how soft the 100% merino fabric is. It's seriously high quality merino, that's for sure, with a very fine fibre. The cut and fit are intended to be casual and relaxed, and there's a classic four button neckline to give a polo shirt-esque feel. Perforations are included in the form of a different knit at the sides to add to riding comfort with extra ventilation, and you get a simple button down pocket at the rear for your necessaries.

It was an incredibly comfortable top to wear, with the softness and temperature maintenance qualities that go along with good merino. It wicked moisture well enough for me to not feel sweaty, whilst keeping me at a steady temperature even in changeable conditions. That said, the fabric is not the lightest weave of merino, and as such was slightly on the warm side, although would be fine for spring and autumn use and low speed cruising in high temperatures. Being quite so soft (and expensive), I also feared for its safety as far as pulling and plucking went The neckline is nice in concept, but tended to stay shut even when unbuttoned, meaning less ventilation at the neck. At speed it did flap open, but didn't really stay that way. This also meant the top looked a bit odd off the bike, as it stayed shut with quite a high neckline. Still, it's a good looking top and can happily be worn with jeans or capris on or off the bike. The fit is casually loose rather than performance neat. One other tiny niggle was the pocket. I understand the thinking behind the button fastening, but I was decidedly hesitant about putting anything valuable or important into it. Even if it had one more button in the middle of the flap I'd have been happier that my keys or phone weren't going to end up hitting the deck at a junction somewhere.

£125 is a lot of money for a merino top, especially when there are a few companies, such as Icebreaker and Vulpine offering similar high quality garments for a lot less, but it DOES have that Rapha kudos (albeit without the logo- subtly going for just the iconic cream sleeve band) and it IS incredibly high quality merino that will last and last if you treat it right, so ultimately, it's down to personal preference. I think personally I'd find it hard to justify paying £125 with the slight niggles I had.

Verdict

A great looking top, made from fabulously soft merino wool, but definitely on the expensive side. A more secure pocket and a subtly different neckline would have been nice too.