Altura Nightvision Men’s Short Sleeve Cycling Jersey

Designed with commuting in mind, the Alutra Nightvision Men's Short Sleeve cycling jersey has a relaxed fit and plenty of reflective detailing for when your trip to work or home takes place after dark. It's well made overall and offers good levels of breathability too.

It's a lightweight design that is ideal – although not reserved for – commuters riding a range of bikes. The relaxed fit is flattering, and should you want to push on at speed you'll find it very breathable thanks to mesh panels under the arms giving a blast of fresh air as you ride along.

The fabric used for the main body is breathable and seems to wick sweat away quickly as well. On sections where I was pushing hard it could get a little overwhelmed, with the material beginning to feel damp, but a slowing of the pace or a decent breeze would soon dry things out.

If you do get caught out on your morning commute in the rain, I found that hanging it up to dry should see it ready to go for the ride home.

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Sizing-wise Altura's clothing is often more generous than brands from continental Europe and tallies nicely with the UK market. This large fitted me nicely over the shoulders and chest without any excess fabric flapping around when riding. Things are a bit more generous elsewhere, giving plenty of freedom of movement, and the cut means you can wear it with either a pair of baggy shorts or Lycra and it won't look out of place.

The tail is dropped ever so slightly, but not so much as a race jersey, so coverage is limited should you get down in the drops.

You also get a full zip that runs smoothly and a little garage to tuck it into at the neck, which is a nice touch on a jersey of this price.

At the rear you'll find two pockets in basically a road jersey position but with the middle one missing. They are deep enough for even today's oversized smartphones and don't sag too much when fully loaded.

It would be nice to see a zipped valuables pocket for storing a key, bank card or cash; Altura lists the jersey as having one, but I certainly couldn't find it. It looks as though the blurb is carried over from the previous design that Shaun tested last year.

There are plenty of reflective details and they're well positioned: across the chest, a band on each arm that'll help when indicating, and a pattern on the two rear pockets that won't be affected by wearing a rucksack. None of the patterns scream reflectives, which means the jersey doesn't look out of place during daylight hours in either this blue or the yellow that is also available.

The Altura logos are also reflective, and you get a neat little tab to hang a light from.

At £55 it's an affordable jersey for the daily commute or general training rides. The quality is good throughout and I see no long-term issues with durability.

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It's a little cheaper than Madison's £59.99 Roam Merino jersey, another relaxed design for all styles of riding. I tested it last year and it performs really well, though it doesn't have the Altura's reflectives. 

dhb's simply named Short Sleeve Jersey is cheaper, coming in at just £30, and the only real downside according to Steve, who tested it last year, is that the pockets can sag. It even has a few reflective details, though they're not in the same league as the Altura's.

Conclusion

Overall, the Altura is an ideal jersey for all kinds of riding and looks good with either Lycra or casual shorts. The reflectivity is well done, too – all it really needs is a zipped pocket.

Verdict

A relaxed fit, decent breathability and effective reflective detailing make this a good choice for commuters