Pedal ED Kaze Access Vest

The Kaze Access vest from Japanese brand Pedal ED matches the styling of the Kaido jersey and it fulfils the role of the gilet well – providing excellent protection from the wind and rain for your torso.

The "Access" tag refers to the unusual arrangement at the rear, where there are horizontal slits to give access to the jersey pockets beneath, and a pair of useful sized external mesh pockets.

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Pedal ED has used a waterproof laminate material for the whole of this gilet – there's no breathable back panel like on some gilets. The laminate is a similar type of construction to that used in the X-Bionic and Tenn gilets but more substantial than either. It comprises three layers with the light grey woven part on outside, a similar black woven layer on the inside, and transparent membrane between. It feels pretty durable and hardwearing, and folds up to fit fairly easily in a jersey pocket.

Protection from the wind is excellent – on fast descents on a chilly morning, my torso was completely shielded from blasts of icy air. It does a decent job of keeping your chest dry in showers too. Although the fabric is waterproof, the seams aren't taped, but a gilet is only ever going to give partial protection from the rain so this isn't really an issue. The downside of using a waterproof material is that breathability isn't as good as with a softshell material, but again I'd argue that this is less critical than for a jacket.

When using the Access vest on a warmer day, I did find there was some build-up of moisture around my chest, but this could quickly be dissipated by opening the zip. It's a good quality affair, with a rubberised puller and a flap to protect your neck at the top. On cooler days, even when riding at tempo, I didn't have a problem with humidity.

The fit is on the small side. Per the sizing table, I am a medium, but the supplied medium is very close-fitting – such that I could really only fit a single layer beneath it. The fabric has just enough stretch so that it didn't feel constrictive, but it was a little surprising – the other Pedal ED stuff we've tested hasn't exactly been race fit.

Pedal ED chose the name Access to reflect the arrangement of pockets and access slits at the rear, and it works rather well. There are two horizontal openings positioned to allow easy access to your jersey pockets, with small flaps to stop water running into them. Below this are a couple of large external pockets made from mesh. To my mind, this gives you the best of both worlds – things that need to be kept in the dry are still accessible without needing to hoick up the gilet, and the external mesh pockets are ideal for gels or anything you need to stash quickly without stopping, like arm warmers. You could also stick a race number in the mesh pockets, although your jersey wouldn't be visible through the gilet unlike some clear race vests.

On the front there's a zipped pocket similar to that on the Kaido jersey. It's just big enough for my phone (Sony Xperia Z3 Compact) but wouldn't fit larger devices. The zip isn't a waterproof one, so if you need to keep something dry you'd be better using jersey pockets (or a waterproof cover).

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As elsewhere in the Pedal ED range, the styling is discreet with very subtle branding. I think it looks quite smart, although I'd probably opt for the black version as I found that the grey outer layer tended to show dirt rather readily. A quick pass through the washing machine on a cool setting was enough to have it looking new again, though.

It has the same tiny reflective details as on the Kaido – the sewn-in label on the rear, and the tiny white square on the breast pocket.

At £72 it's more expensive than a lot of gilets from mainstream manufacturers but on a par with or less than offerings from the higher-end niche brands. You can certainly get a similar level of performance for less, but I like the design of the Access vest and I think it represents reasonable value for money.

One final detail that I found interesting – the label on the inside says "Manufacturered by John Boultbee" and gives an address in Italy. John Boultbee was the founder of the Brooks England company, and the two companies have what Brooks describes as a "capital tie-up agreement". The address is that of Brooks' Italian branch office.

Verdict

Quality gilet offering great protection from the elements, with good stowage arrangements at the rear