Nalini Spera Jacket

The Spera Jacket from Italian brand Nalini is one designed for the cold weather, zero to six Celsius by their reckoning and it certainly is super toasty. A nice relaxed fit for a race jacket too.

Nalini have a range of in-house materials that use various top secret coatings to keep out the elements and they certainly do the job they are designed to do. Their Mantovent fabric is used for the majority of the jacket and its job is to block wind and cold air from entering while remaining breathable. A big ask in a fleece lined jacket like the Spera but nonetheless it works well.

At the recommended temperature range the Spera remains dry inside thanks to good wicking properties but keeps even the iciest of winds at bay. If you do push a little hard and start to overheat dropping the zip a bit soon restores the balance.

The cut is what Nalini call a regular fit which gives a bit of room around the body for warm air to accumulate or circulate keeping you a comfortable temperature even if you have to stop.

The water repellent treatment will keep you dry in sustained drizzle or a brief downpour but the Spera is by no means a waterproof. That does make it a viable alternative if there is a small possibility of a shower rather than having to wear a full rain jacket.

Nalini make their clothing range in Italy and quality is something they care about. The finish is top notch on all the stitching and edges. So it should be too for a £120 jacket but there is a good feeling of getting what you pay for here.

The only irritating thing is that the wind flap behind the zip always gets caught as you try to undo it making removal a two handed faff as you move the material out of the way.

That aside though you get a nice high neck which is soft against your skin while providing a snug fit. The proportions of the jacket are good too with plenty of length in the arms and the body. In fact it's quite generously sized for an Italian piece of clothing so need to go up a size.

For storage you get three rear pockets which are deep enough to keep hold of your kit even when crouched in the drops. You don't get a zipped valuables pocket though like we are starting to see on a lot of jerseys these days.

Overall the Nalini is a great cold weather jersey that thanks to its fit and material warrants the £120 asking price. The fabric is hardwearing and with the water repellent bonus makes it highly versatile for the showery days of winter.

Verdict

Generously cut Italian winter jersey that's super toasty, annoying zip/fabric conflict though