Castelli Endurance Pro 2 Jersey

The Castelli Endurance Pro 2 Jersey is a very impressive hot-weather jersey that offers great breathability, wicking and fit.

Our best summer cycling jerseys buyer's guide covers our choices for warm weather, with our best cheap cycling jerseys buyer's guide rounding up top tops from just £21.

I was lucky enough to get this jersey right at the end of the particularly hot June, which considering July was a write-off proved very fortunate indeed – as this is very much a jersey that has been designed with hot weather in mind.

This is clear from the materials used, the jersey featuring mesh pretty much throughout, with a slightly thicker mesh on the body sections and a tighter mesh on the arms.

Mesh jerseys have come in for a fair amount of criticism since a single Instagram picture of Chris Froome back in 2014 that showed him with an incredibly sunburnt – and painful-looking – upper back and shoulders. This won't be the case these days, as Castelli has included a multifilament fabric on the back of the Endurance Pro 2 jersey that is claimed to block 94% of UV rays. I wore this jersey on several very sunny days – remember those? – and suffered no sunburn at all, so that suggests it is effective.

The jersey fit tends towards the aero, with longer arms and a figure-hugging design. One thing I like about the Endurance Pro 2 compared with some other mesh jerseys is that the material has a fair amount of stretch to it. This means you can wear it comfortably even if you don't have the physique of a yellow jersey contender – ie most of us! – as it moulds around your various lumps and bumps well.

Castelli has also ensured that the Pro 2 is as comfortable as possible by identifying some of the areas of mesh jerseys that can become irritating. So the collar is doubled up with softer material around the neck, and there's soft and stretchy material under the arms to prevent chafing and to allow you a greater freedom of movement.

I was able to test this jersey during rides in which the temperature hit the mid 30s and I have to say I found its wicking and breathability excellent. The more recent variable spell meant I was also able to test it through its full claimed 16-35°C temperature range. I found it consistently comfortable, and during the hottest rides it performed as well as any hot-weather jersey I've ever worn.

The jersey's breathability is complemented by a full-length zip, with a pleasingly large tab, which allows you to cool yourself down even more. In practice I found the jersey's breathability was so good that I rarely needed to do so, except when the thermometer rose into the 30s.

The Endurance Pro 2 has all the features you'd expect in a modern high-end cycling jersey. This includes effective silicone grippers around the hem, which kept everything in place and stopped any bunching even when the jersey pockets were empty.

It has the familiar three rear pockets and a separate zipped security pocket on the right-hand side.

These were big enough to carry everything I needed and with enough elasticity to keep everything in place while riding.

Value

The Castelli's £115 RRP is a good price for what is a very impressive jersey, and it compares well with others we've tested.

The Sportful Bomber Jersey is a fiver dearer at £120 and Bryn liked pretty much everything about it – the ventilation, fit and quality – except the price.

The Pas Normal Studios Men's Mechanism Jersey was £150 when we tested it last year and is now £160. Jamie found the ventilation impressive though he was not so keen on the jersey's short cut… or the high price.

For under £100 there's the option of the Aeron Lab Ultralight SS Jersey that's ultra-light and so transparent that Iwein said it left nothing to the imagination…

Conclusion

The Endurance Pro 2 is comfortable, impressive in the heat, and has all the features you want to see in a modern jersey too. It might not be cheap, but it isn't the most expensive we have seen by a long shot.

Verdict

A well-designed hot-weather jersey that works well in summer even when the temperature is over 30°C