ashmei Men’s Cycling Gilet

The ashmei Men’s Cycle Gilet is a very lightweight yet high performing piece of clothing. It’s at the upper end of the pricing scale, but the fabric is brilliant, along with the cut and fit of the gilet.

For the gilet, ashmei has used a microfibre ultra-stretch fabric that is very thin yet offers great windstopping properties. It’s very soft too, which means you don’t get that plasticky feel like you do from a lot of lightweight gilets.

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ashmei gives it an optimal temperature range of 6°C to 15°C and that is about right. I’ve been wearing it over the top of a summer jersey and baselayer on rides of 8°C on average, up to around 14°C.

The weather has been steadily improving, but for what has seemed like weeks the wind has been pretty keen. Not a problem though – the gilet just blocks it all from the front, while allowing plenty of air out through the mesh back panel so breathability never becomes an issue.

The material also has a durable water repellent (DWR) coating which sees light drizzle and rain bead off to keep you dry. It works pretty well, only getting overwhelmed when the rain is heavy or persistent. The gilet has been through the wash eight times so far with no noticeable drop in performance.

The fit is slightly relaxed. It’s still cut close enough to the body to reduce material flapping around in the wind, but not figure hugging or race orientated. It still manages to look like a performance piece of clothing, though.

Other neat touches are the long dropped tail for plenty of rear coverage, and the neck is high enough to stop the majority of draughts.

There is plenty of room at the arm holes too, so that your movement is never restricted.

At the rear you get two horizontal zips which give you access to your jersey pockets. They are plenty wide enough to allow you to get things out without having to fight them out through the hole.

The gilet is very packable and will easily fit into a jersey pocket but ashmei has put a small mesh bag inside for you to fold it up into. There is probably a method to get it in there neatly but I couldn’t find it and soon got bored off faffing about so didn’t bother.

If you’re a fan of reflectives then you’ll be pleased to see that ashmei has included some: on the shoulders, all around the hem and the large breather holes running down the back of the gilet. It might not look much but the layout is quite eye-catching.

With a price of £108 the ashmei isn’t cheap, but considering how well it performs and the quality – it’s really impressive, with the stitching being very neat throughout – it sits well against the opposition.

I was a fan of the PEdAL ED Odyssey gilet when I tested it last year. That costs £105 but I’d say the ashmei is more comfortable to wear and performs better too.

Another gilet that offers similar properties of windproofing and water resistance is the Assos Mille GT Spring/Fall Airblock – that’ll set you back £130.

> Buyer’s Guide: 11 of the best cycling gilets

You can spend a lot less though – Lusso’s Aqua Challenge is £64.99, though it’s not as packable.

Overall, the ashmei is a bit of an investment, but it really does perform very well, especially considering how lightweight the fabric is.

Verdict

Very lightweight gilet that performs brilliantly against the wind and light rain, and excellent quality too

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