Santini 365 Classe SS Jersey

Santini's 365 Classe jersey certainly looks classy, while the technical melange fabric is the star of the show, performing superbly on hot rides. It's a pretty good price, too.

• Pros: Cool, light, premium looks
• Cons: Long sleeves, no zipped pocket

The back end of the UK's 2018 summer may not have produced quite the same sunshine and heat as we've become used to, but no matter – I took the 365 Classe jersey away with me on a break to the French Alps, and found it to be light, breathable and really nicely tailored.

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In temperatures reaching the high 20s, the 'melange' main fabric performs very well indeed – feeling cool to the touch for longer than your standard fabrics, while wicking away moisture and drying quickly on the go.

You can't really sniff at the 110g weight, and it's tailored in a classic race-fit style so it fits snugly to the skin. I had a medium on test, and although on the limit in terms of fit, it was comfortable all day long.

It cuts quite long on the body, especially with the dropped tail, and the fabric is very stretchy in all directions, which really helps it to almost mould to the body. That said, aside from a little tightness under the arms (in terms of chest size I'd probably be better off with a large), it doesn't feel restrictive when you're hammering up a climb, for example.

The waist is held by an elasticated band underpinned by two thin lines of silicone, which hold fast, and there are three pockets with thin elasticated tops to help keep contents inside. The fabric's stretch means that you can store a fair bit of stuff in them, even if the capacity isn't the biggest at first glance and the elastic tops make life a touch difficult when reaching inside on the move. There's no zipped security pocket.

The collar sits quite low on the wider part of my neck, yet with the sheer flexibility of the fabric in this area (with the same used on the arms and down the flanks), you can still comfortably zip it all the way up to the nape. Possibly because it's a little lower than normal around the front, Santini hasn't included a full zip garage, but has at least included a backing strip in this area to stop the zip pressing down on the skin.

From the outside, it looks like a very simple jersey, but the heathered look of the blue melange fabric adds an air of premium-ness about it. You can also have it in two tones of grey and a green if the blue isn't for you.

The one downside for me is the length of the sleeves – they're euro-long, giving a little more coverage than I personally like, both in terms of comfort and cultivating acceptable T-shirt tan lines. Still, there are plenty of people out there who prefer such a cut or aren't fussed, so it's only worth bearing in mind if you like shorter short sleeves.

Despite this, they're undeniably very comfortable: laser cut, and with no gripper tape so they sit without pulling or chafing on the skin – perfect when you're covered in sun cream and sweating a lot.

The 365 Classe jersey costs £70, which for a prestigious brand isn't bad at all, and I'd say it fully justifies it with its technical ability and comfort – certainly standing up to the likes of more expensive options from, for example, Alé and Le Col. I'm also satisfied that the quality of the stitching is sound too, if arguably slightly rough-looking thanks, I think, to Santini's choice of white thread on what is otherwise a blue jersey.

> Buyer's Guide: 20 of the best summer cycling jerseys

All in all, it's a surprisingly competitively priced jersey from the prestigious Italian brand, and you're getting plenty of warm-weather performance for your money along the way.

Verdict

Reasonably priced jersey for this much technical ability in summery conditions