Kreis CMYK Nachtschatten Regenshutz Jersey

KREIS is essentially a company that produces designs to sit on top of the Czech made Kalas kit. I've been testing their winter jacket at the same time and was pretty impressed with it - so I was hoping for big things from the Regenshutz jersey.

Marketing this jersey as a water-resistant racing jersey puts KREIS's offering right into the firing of a certain Castelli offering known as the Gabba. I like any cycle product that challenges the trend so was eager to find out what we had in store.

On to the jersey itself. The skin tight lycra sleeves are a nice touch, and extend a good distance down my biceps which I liked a lot. I spent all of my time with trusty Underarmour base layer underneath the jersey. The baselayer you choose - if you do wear one - has to be either short sleeve or skintight otherwise it looks a bit odd protruding from the tight sleeves.

At the back, the pockets were nice and deep for storing all spares and food I would need. There is also a good flap that folds out to protect your bum a bit more from the dreaded rear wheel spray (if you ride without mudguards that is). A mild annoyance with the flap was that there is no storage pouch or pocket under the jersey to fold it away into if you don't want to use it, and it tended to flap out again a few kilometers down the road.

I also found the main zipper slightly disappointing. It was very small, and not smooth to engage, leading me to constantly feeling like it could break over a longer testing period.

With its layered, membrane construction I found the wind proofing of the jersey actually very impressive, and warmth in my core was always pretty good. But with none of that same construction on the sleeves, my arms got cold quickly. In order to stay warm you'll need to be going rather fast.

The neck of the jersey was nice and high, and again kept my core warmth in. I found this to be an odd contrast with the short sleeves. Breathability and water resistance were about as good as I expected for a jersey of this spec and price, on drizzly days it kept me relatively dry. However in much heavier rain than that - you will be getting wet.

Moving on to the design and look of the jersey, I like it. I like to stand out every once in a while and there's no doubt that this garment makes you very conspicuous. However if you like to blend into the peloton a bit, I don't think that bright purple will be for you.

As with the CMYK Nachschatten winter jacket I tested, this was a size 4 - correlating roughly to a size large in other cycling clothing. And like the jacket, the Regenshutz came up perhaps just a bit too big for me.

This is one of two bits of KRIES kit that I have had to test this Winter. And I have to admit, the Regenshutz jersey saw a bit less action than the other piece, just because it is suited to such a specific set of weather - and riding - conditions. Having said that, if you are planning on doing a lot of racing in cruddy weather or cyclocross racing, then this jersey is certainly worth a look before immediately heading down the Gabba road.

Verdict

A good alternative windproof jersey, but has a very narrow range of usage conditions