Santini Pure Dye Jersey

The Santini Pure Dye Jersey is a nicely made, comfortable long sleeve jersey for those chilly days. The tie-dyed look is interesting but you might want one of the two brighter colours if you want many people to notice it...

> Buy the Pure Dye Jersey from Santini now for £120

The Pure Dye Jersey is breathable and comfortable, and wears slightly looser than lots of other Santini jerseys. It's certainly not relaxed to the point of flapping around, though, so if you like a comfortable (rather than race) fit it's a great choice.

I've been particularly struck by the super-soft lining, which feels excellent against the skin. There's a gripper around the entire waist that keeps everything securely in place.

This black version will please many, but if you like to be easier to see there's a pretty bright orange version as well as green or purple options. They all have small reflective patches on the back.

You get three decently-sized pockets (I got a Bluetooth speaker in the middle one comfortably and still had room for all my snacks), but no zipped pocket for valuables, which is a shame.

The Pure Dye Jersey is designed to work as an outer for the cooler days of autumn – Santini says 8-15°C. I found it worked well up to a reasonably toasty 14/15°C without overheating me too much, while layered with a warm base layer – and some outer wind and/or waterproofing – it'll obviously be useful in much lower temperatures than 8°.

The cuffs have enough stretch to go over your hands easily but still give a snug fit, and are thin enough to play nicely with gloves.

The main zip has a nice rubber-like gripper so that it, too, works easily with gloves.

The collar is fittingly middling for height, offering some protection from cold winds without ever acting like a neck warmer.

Value

At £120 this is middling for a jersey from a premium brand. You can certainly get similar things for far less from more budget-oriented companies – Van Rysel does a good option for £54.99, for instance, with its Men's Mid-Season Long-Sleeved Road Cycling Jersey Race – but you can also pay way more.

The similar Le Col Pro Long Sleeve is £40 more than the Santini, for one, while the Castelli Flight Jersey Air is £185 and the Rapha Brevet Insulated Long Sleeve Gore-Tex Infinium Jersey is £240 – though that offers windproof fabric, if not a windproof zip.

Overall

While not really offering anything (besides the looks) that many other jerseys don't offer already, the Pure Dye is nevertheless another strong option – especially if the style grabs you. It's a pleasure to wear, very comfy over hours of riding and really soft against the skin.

Verdict

Comfy, stylish and usefully warm jersey for cool days, and a great fit too