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review
Jerseys - short sleeve
Craft Active Basic jersey Craft Active Basic jersey Craft Active Basic jersey Craft Active Basic jersey Craft Active Basic jersey Craft Active Basic jersey
Craft Active Basic jersey

Craft Active Basic jersey

8
by Shaun Audane
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Apr 21, 2013

2
£45.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Flattering jersey with nice detailing and good moisture management
Weight: 
165g
Contact: 
www.craftsportswear.co.uk
How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Craft Active Basic jersey has been a real hit with me thanks to a blend of flattering fit and classic design with contemporary twists.

There are several colours on offer but our 'Olympia/Silver' (vibrant blue with silver detailing by another name) would've been my first choice anyhow.

Fabric-wise we're talking 100% polyester, which may sound a little low rent but rather like a good frame, the way it's constructed is just as significant as the materials used. Craft employ a 'waffle weave'; a popular means of enhancing moisture trafficking and odour management.

Flatlocked seams go unnoticed against the skin. Full-length zippers continue this theme with optimal, tuneable airflow whether showing off your medallion in August's blistering summer sun or slaving through December on the indoor trainer.

A diagonal change pocket adds a useful modern twist to the time honoured elasticated three and will even manage smaller smart phones.

Silicone hems keep the jersey snugly in situ when hunkered low on the drops.

Pulling ours on, I was smitten by the flattering cut that flows gracefully over one's contours without highlighting those regions we'd wish were more Adonis-like. Sleeves have a more relaxed tenure but I consider this a blessing, overcoming tell tale elastic branding come time to hit the shower. They are also more conducive to long sleeve base layers, thus extending service through winter.

Having taken to dead of night sessions, lanes and B roads deserted save for foxes, rabbits and the odd badger; I was quickly impressed by its ability to sustain a temperate inner climate when sandwiched between man-made technical fibres.

Common to all polyesters, they need to reach a certain temperature before the waffle system comes on full stream but even on the trainer, with my new oil-fired heating system turned to tropical, we're talking ten to twelve as opposed to twenty minutes, so soggy patches don't develop or linger so readily. Dropping the zipper to half mast or so for instantaneous air conditioning is a single handed affair in thin full finger gloves and the jersey's ready to wear within twenty minutes of doing a tour de washing machine.

Verdict

Flattering jersey with nice detailing and good moisture management.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Craft Active Basic jersey

Size tested: Large, Blue and Silver

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

"Ergonomic construction for freedom of movement

- Shaped collar construction

- Mesh inserts for enhanced ventilation and moisture transport

- Reflective logo

- Four back pockets (one zippered)".

Craft are another brand who clearly feel their garments speak for themselves. Essentially the basic is a very flattering take on the classic road jersey with excellent climate control and detailing.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

100% waffle weave polyester, silicone hem grippers, full length zipper, flat lock seams.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Overall Craft's Active Basic is a comfortable and moreover, very flattering jersey. Slightly relaxed sleeves and flat seams prevent tell tale branding when its time to hit the showers and better accomodates winter weight base layers, extending its horizons beyond spring, summer and turbo training.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Pretty much everything.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 1m 81  Weight: 70 kilos

I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset  My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

 

Craft Active Basic jersey
Craft
jersey
short sleeve jersey
Shaun Audane

Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)

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2 comments

Avatar
Leviathan | 11 years ago
0 likes

Erk, saggy, cheap looking but not really cheap at all. This looks average across the board at best. You would be better off with a funky Heinz Beanz jersey that fitted well.

Avatar
ALIHISGREAT replied to Leviathan | 11 years ago
0 likes
bikeboy76 wrote:

Erk, saggy, cheap looking but not really cheap at all. This looks average across the board at best. You would be better off with a funky Heinz Beanz jersey that fitted well.

In fairness is designed with a certain type of cyclist in mind.. one that doesn't have the same body shape as being modelled in the pictures.

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