Vulpine Merino Button jersey

The Vulpine Merino Button Jersey is soft and comfy with good cycle-specific features, although it's subtle enough not to look too out of place off the bike.

It's 100% wool – fine, medium-weight, non-itchy merino. Even a few washes down the line, it feels good without any prickliness at all, and flat-lock stitching throughout adds to the comfort. Plus, as usual with merino, it wicks moisture away from your skin well and is very resistant to odours. That means you can sit indoors at a mid-ride café stop without feeling guilty about putting other customers off their cappuccinos.

The Merino Button Jersey is quite unusual in that... well, it has buttons. The clues are all there if you think about it. That means opening the neck to let the breeze in is more difficult than it is with a zip, but we're guessing that most people who use this jersey aren't going to be too bothered about that; it's a casual riding jersey rather than a top for people who are training or racing. The buttons are actually on the left-hand side – you know, the women's side – which makes things more tricky if you're a bloke and you're used to them on the right, but you'll probably leave them done up most of the time anyway.

The cut is slim – not skin-tight racer style, but certainly close to the body – so there's not a whole lot of excess fabric to waft about as you ride. The rear is long so there's no risk of you showing any bare flesh back there. If anything, I'd say it's maybe a touch overgenerous. I'm 1.90m tall and had the medium sized jersey and it still reached way down. The hem is elasticated and there's a silicone gripper inside so there's no danger that it's ever going to ride up.

There's plenty of storage space around the back although the pocket arrangement is unusual. You get a deep, slant-topped pocket on each hip, and between them a zipped pocket that'll take a wallet, phone or MP3 player. This one sits much lower – it's only 9cm high. Why have Vulpine done that? It's to keep your stuff out of the way if you're wearing a backpack. It's a good idea and it works well.

You get reflective trim back there too, and a loop from which you can hang an LED – again, out of the way of a backpack. Embroidered logos are a stylish finishing touch.

Who should buy this jersey? Although I love the feel of merino, I'm not a massive fan of it for high-intensity riding in the summer. Yes, it wicks sweat really well but if you do manage to get it sopping wet in the heat it gets heavier than synthetics. Anyway, the relaxed design of this jersey suggests it's more suitable for leisure riders, commuters, tourers... people who are perhaps going to carry on wearing it once they reach their destination. If that's you, this is a really high-quality choice.

Verdict

Extremely comfortable cycle-specific jersey that doesn't shout 'bike kit' if you wear it around town too.