Smartwool Women's long sleeve jersey

Made from an impressive 97% merino wool, this is a mid-weight, full-zip jersey/jacket with appealing good looks.

On putting it on, the first thing you notice is how soft it is, shortly followed by how good it looks and how generous the sleeve length is. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not unduly long, just long enough to be useful on the bike for even women with longer arms. The cut of the jersey itself doesn’t skimp in length either, so taller ladies should check this one out. The cut is contoured but not neat, and probably best suited to training rides and casual outings rather than events where every second counts. A subtle pattern on the shoulders and rear pockets lifts the design nicely.

It would happily do double duty as an outer layer with a sleek base layer underneath for really cold days, but on its own its one of the most comfortable spring/autumn or cool summer morning jerseys I’ve ridden in. It’s by no means windproof, so if it’s a breezy day, you might want to consider a gilet over the top, but for reasonably still days with a little bit of a bite in the air, it’s a superb combination of warmth and moisture management. There was no feeling of stickiness, nor was I chilled at any stage in the ride.

In addition to the decent body and arm length, there is a small zipped MP3 pocket on the upper arm, two good sized rear pouch pockets, and a hem gripper stops the jacket from migrating while you ride. Pretty much the only niggle I had with this jersey was the neck. It’s a jersey that you’d at least want the option of zipping all the way up, and the height of the collar is fine, it’s good and cosy, but it’s really rather narrow. I don’t have a particularly chunky neck, yet I found it sufficiently tight when done up that it was too restrictive to wear that way. A shame, as other than that, it’s a great cool weather riding top.

Verdict

A good cool weather top, let down by the tightness of the neck when zipped up fully.