Santini Reef rain jacket with short sleeves

The Santini Reef is a windproof and water-repellent short sleeve jersey for keeping you dry in drizzly conditions without the need to resort to a full-on waterproof jacket.

Many performance-orientated clothing manufacturers have a jersey a bit like this in their range now following the massive success of Castelli's Gabba. As well as responding to the market, that's partly because clothing sponsors were getting so fed up with their riders using Gabbas with the logos blacked out that they've all started making their own versions.

The idea is pretty simple. This is a water-repellent jersey that's stretchy enough to fit closely. You don't get the same level of waterproofing that you do with a jacket with taped seams, but the Reef doesn't flap around like most jackets so it's more aerodynamically efficient.

Santini say that the Reef has been developed with Team Belkin and that it is designed to be worn over the top of a long sleeve winter jersey or over a short sleeve jersey with arm warmers. I've used it both ways and also over the top of just a base layer, with arm warmers. It's a little lighter than a Gabba and a little heavier than the Craft EB Weather Jersey that we reviewed earlier in the year.

The Tempo three-layer fabric (also used for Santini's Anna Meares Signature Series Blackwater women's jacket) comes with a hydrophilic membrane. It stops rain very well while the full-length front zip is highly water resistant to keep ingress through there to a minimum. That zip has a large puller that makes for easy use even with gloved fingers, and it stays put wherever you position it if you want to let some extra air inside.

Water can gradually creep in through the seams, as it can with all jerseys of this kind, and it can soak through the elasticated anti-slip cuffs too. You obviously don't get any protection for the lower part of your arms either, so you can't really compare the level of weatherproofing on offer here to that provided by a waterproof jacket, but you can use the Reef with Santini's H20 water repellent arm warmers. It will help to keep you dry in showery weather and it's more than capable of keeping road spray out. The generously extended tail really helps on that score.

The other thing to bear in mind here is the breathability. That depends on the weather conditions and the intensity at which you're riding, of course, but the Reef can cope with a reasonable amount of sweat. Of course, you don't get the breathability of an everyday jersey and the atmosphere can get damp inside if you ride hard in warmer weather, but it'll keep the humidity down to a decent level in most cooler conditions.

In terms of fit, the Reef is a little larger than a normal jersey – it has to be if it's intended to go over a long sleeve winter jersey. We have a size medium here and it's a similar size to a large Castelli Gabba. The fact that there's inherent stretch in the fabric means you can get a close fit without the jersey feeling uncomfortably tight. I found the neck (39cm/15.4in, size medium) to be close fitting enough to keep the breeze our when worn over another jersey (a little looser when worn without a jersey underneath, obviously).

Santini have gone with two rather than three pockets in the lower back, leaving a small gap down the centre. That means you get slightly less storage space than usual, although you'll be able to use the pockets in your jersey underneath too, if you have one on. Any water that does flow down into those pockets can take a while to drain out because of the waterproof fabric, but it doesn't slosh around in there forever.

There's a lot of reflective material included here to help keep you safe, both at the front and especially at the rear where you get two large panels beneath the pockets.

Overall, this is a strong rival to the Gabba. It's really difficult to split them in terms of performance and the Reef is a tenner cheaper. If you get the chance, try them both and go with the one that fits you best.

Verdict

Windproof, water-repellent short sleeve jersey/jacket for keeping you dry when you don't want to resort to a full waterproof