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review
Jerseys - casual
Vulpine Women's Merino Button JerseyVulpine Womens Merino Button Jersey

Vulpine Women's Merino Button Jersey

9
by Lara Dunn
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Sep 11, 2012

0
£75.00

VERDICT:

9
10
A sleek, stylish and extremely practical cycling top for all your cycling needs
Weight: 
176g
Contact: 
www.vulpine.cc
How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Vulpine Women's Merino Button Jersey is a gorgeous looking top, with a subtle and stylish v-neck and four button fastening, long sleek, contoured cut with curved hem and neat short sleeves.

It has plenty of features too, with a partial hem gripper, reflective accents, a small light tab at the back and three rear pockets (one with a zip). It's easily non-bikey enough to wear with jeans around town, or in the café.

Merino is a great fabric for cycling jerseys, commuting or recreational styles in particular. It looks good, handles moisture effectively, is comfortable for long durations and, probably most importantly, it has a natural anti-bacterial action so doesn't smell nearly as badly as synthetics.

There have been men's merino jerseys knocking about for a good while, but it's only recently that a few women's styles have appeared with the likes of Bontrager and Rapha both producing a great casually styled top for riding. Vulpine is a new kid on the block anyway, but this Merino Button Jersey is the first women's specific piece they have released. And I hope the first of many.

On the bike, it's capable. The sleek fit (true to stated size) doesn't flap about, and the merino fabric keeps the body a good temperature at all times. The pockets are well placed and nicely designed, although I'd have liked the zipped pocket to be just a fraction larger- it currently takes an iPhone well, but it would be very snug if the phone was in a zip-loc bag for instance. A minor niggle, however, in what is essentially a truly excellent cycling top.

The button neck undoes for extra ventilation, with the result still looking just as good as done up, albeit with more cleavage! The fabric is a little less soft and sumptuous than some merino, but still pleasant next to skin, and it has the upside of being more resistant to catching and abrasion than softer yarns, so it'll last for years.

At £75 it's a pretty reasonable price for a merino top, on a par with most of the decent quality products out there, and less expensive than some.

Verdict

A sleek, stylish and extremely practical cycling top for all your cycling needs.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Vulpine Women's Merino Button Jersey

Size tested: Blue 12

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Aimed at style conscious cyclists looking for performance from a more low key looking top.

Does just that.

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

100% merino

3 rear pockets- 1 zipped

Light tab at rear

Half hem gripper

Reflective tape

Four button v neck

Machine washable at 30

Available in sizes UK8-16

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Extremely well made from high quality fabrics and components.

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

Handled moisture very well, breathed superbly and didn't smell.

Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

Provided you wash it as per instructions and keep use of noxious synthetic antiperspirants (which can build up in fibres) to a minimum this will look good and stay smell free for years.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10

Light weight merino but still heavier than synthetics.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10

Very comfortable indeed.

Rate the product for value:
 
9/10

Excellent value for a stylish and well made, high quality merino top.

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

Performed very well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Style, cut, details such as positioning and shape of pockets and light tab etc, neckline.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Would have liked very slightly larger zipped pocket, fabric a tiny bit scratchy.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes, very much.

Would you consider buying the product? Definitely. And also as a gift.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

Well designed, well made, stylish and effective merino top at a competitive price.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 1.65m  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

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, general fitness riding, mtb,

 

Women's jersey
Vulpine Women's Merino Button Jersey
Merino
Vulpine
Lara Dunn

Lara has been riding bikes for longer than she'd care to admit, and writing about them nearly as long. Since 2009 she has been working as part of the road.cc review team whilst championing women's cycling on the side, most notably via two years as editor of the, sadly now defunct, UK's first and only women's cycling mag, erm, Women's Cycling. 

Believing fervently that cycling will save the world, she wishes that more people would just ride a bike and be pleasant to each other. 

She will ride anything with two wheels, occasionally likes to go fast, definitely likes to go far and is always up for a bit of exploring somewhere new and exciting. 

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