Sportful Pro Sleeveless Base Layer

The Sportful Pro Sleeveless Base Layer impressed me massively on one of the hottest days of 2025 so far, showing awesome moisture wicking, quick drying and having a very soft feel to the fabric. The price for all of that performance didn’t make my eyes water either.

> Buy now: Sportful Pro Sleeveless Base Layer for £40 from Sportful

At 31°C, my final test ride wearing the Sportful pushed its limits probably about as far as it’s going to be in the UK, and it didn’t let me down. With my jersey undone, the heat on the steep, long climbs were stifling, and while I was sweating profusely the Pro was absorbing it well. And even though it was damp from doing its job, it never got saturated to the point it was overwhelmed, highlighting that even with minimal airflow it was still managing to transfer that moisture into the air.

As soon as I hit the descent, or at least the road levelling out a bit, the wind had it dried out within a matter of minutes. I wear baselayers year round, and on that three-hour ride the Sportful left me very impressed indeed.

Underneath a fully zipped-up, quality, breathable jersey, the Sportful Pro works just as well; it has quite a large temperature window, so it isn’t just limited to very hot summer days. I tend to run quite warm, and I’ve found the Pro to be warm enough for me under a short sleeve jersey down to around 12°C. That ties in with what Sportful claims, 10°C to 30°C.

The Pro is made from polyester (93%) with elastane making up the other 7%. This gives a contoured fit while still allowing plenty of unrestricted movement when on the bike, and always remaining in contact with your body so that it can work effectively. It is also very soft and comfortable against the skin.

All the way around, the Pro has vertical ‘ribs’ which Sportful says allows the tight-knit mesh sections between them to sit ever so slightly away from the skin to allow airflow; obviously we are talking microns here, but it seems to work.

Sportful classes the Pro as having a regular fit, so you don’t need to be a lithe racing whippet to get a good fit when wearing it. Sportful is an Italian company and its clothing is made there, which usually means it comes up smaller than its UK competitors, but I didn’t find that to be the case here.

The size guide said the large would be the right size for me, and it fitted a treat. Seven sizes are offered, from 2XS to 2XL, which covers chest sizes of 34.6in/88cm to 45.3in/115cm, and waist measurements of 29.9in/76cm to 40.6in/103cm.

White is the only colour available, which is fine, but I tend to prefer darker colours as, like most white ones, this Pro got dirty very easily, and while it washed up okay to start with, it does stain easily as you are limited to a 30°C wash cycle.

At £40 the Pro is decently priced, and there is a short-sleeved option for an extra fiver. For what you are getting it might seem high, but a quality baselayer has to be lightweight and minimal while still being tough enough that it isn’t going to rip easily, and hold its shape after many, many washes.

The quality on this one is very high throughout, and it’s proving to be robust so far; in my experience, material of this quality should stay looking good for many years. After plenty of washing over the last couple of months the material is still looking brand new with no signs of bobbling or anything.

Value

Looking at its competitors, I bought a couple of Rapha’s Lightweight baselayers last year which work well, but I’d argue that the Sportful Pro feels more comfortable against the skin and wicks marginally better. The Raphas cost £55 for the sleeveless option, and £60 for the short sleeve, but you do get a choice of colours.

We recently reviewed the Ciovita DriRelease baselayer which cost £44 (now £45), but Nick wasn’t that impressed, rating it just 5/10, with a lack of moisture wicking being the main reason for the low score.

A couple of years ago I was very impressed with Altura’s Tempo Seamless SS baselayer, which was also £40 and is still the same price today. I found it to wick excellently and feel soft against the skin; my only slight negative was that this seamless baselayer had seams!

Check out more options in our guide to the best cycling baselayers.

Conclusion

Overall, the Sportful Pro does everything a baselayer needs to and does it really well. Apart from the lack of darker colour options, I don’t really have any qualms about highly recommending it.

> Buy now: Sportful Pro Sleeveless Base Layer for £40 from Sportful

Verdict

Well-made baselayer with excellent temperature control and comfort

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