TICCC Omloop Thermal Long Sleeve Jersey

The TICCC Omloop Thermal Long Sleeve Jersey is a jersey with benefits. Sitting halfway between a jersey and a jacket, it's tight fitting and both wind resistant and shower averse. It hugs the body incredibly well, has some well-thought-through features and comes with a high visibility factor.

> Buy now: TICCC Omloop Long Sleeve Jersey for £108.50 from TICCC

This kind of midway-between-a-jersey-and-a-jacket top has become my favourite type of garment for a lot of riding for much of the year. This is because it combines the fit and lighter weight of a jersey with the wind resistance and rain protection of a jacket – but without a jacket's bulk. I find them adaptable and ideal for a wide range of temperatures, and if you combine one with a suitable undervest, you won't have to resort to the bulk of multi-layering.

On the face of it the Omloop doesn't look like much apart from being very bright, but it's laden with well-thought-out details.

The cut is designed to be snug, but not so shrink-wrapped that you can't adapt the layering underneath to suit different weather situations. It's well cut, too, with a short front, long back and decently lengthy sleeves.

This means it still fits perfectly when you're stretched out and riding in the drops, the rangy arms banishing any annoying chilly gap at the wrists, which can be the Achilles, erm, heel of some jerseys, and is a bugbear of mine.

The Omloop has been designed to fit both male and female cyclists, thanks to TICCC's 'Unifit' pattern system and its fabric selection, which allows the garment to work with a variety of body types. It's a system that's helped by the choice of a four-way-stretch material that really wants to stick to your body.

The inner is made from a wonderfully soft micro-fleece material. This has some thermal properties and feels lovely against your skin if you want to wear it over a short-sleeved base layer. All seams are flat locked for extra comfort.

To keep cold breezes at bay the collar is 55mm deep, its inner lined with a fine, soft fleece for extra cosiness. The rear of the collar has a 10mm taller section that sensuously reaches up the nape of your neck, which is a strangely effective comforting detail…

The hem is stoutly elasticated at the front, with the rear section under the pockets bolstered by an internal silicone strip that keeps the dropped tail in place.

The three rear pockets aren't the biggest I've seen, but they have a strong elastic strip across the openings to keep their contents secure, and the stitching between the pockets is reinforced at the top and bottom to cope with any overzealous loading. The hems of the outer pockets are angled down so you can access them more easily, and there's a smaller hidden zipped valuables pocket outside the right-hand pocket. This is big enough to nuzzle a smaller mobile phone, a billfold wallet or a credit card and some keys.

The pockets' bottoms are pleated rather than sewn straight into the back of the jersey, so they fold out when you're filling them. This affords them a little more cargo space while also looking a little less bulgy – and we all want less bulgy Lycra, right?

Another non-standard feature is that each pocket has a ring-reinforced drainage hole for when the weather is especially inclement. Personally speaking, I'm not sure I've ever experienced rain heavy enough to flood my jersey pockets, but it's good to be prepared...

All the Omloop jersey's graphics are reflective – that's every one of the multitudinous spots on the left arm, the single spot on the right, the 'Higher Further Faster' graphic on the right rear pocket and the bold TICCC chest logo.

Combined with the jersey's bright neon-coral colour, it shows that you can be highly visible on the bike without having to look like a school crossing guard. And if this is a little but much for you, the jersey is also available in a more subtle Arctic Blue – though still with all the spots.

The full-length YKK Vislon zip is chunky, with the pull tab hefty enough to find and use with thick gloves on, and it runs up and down easily. There's a wide baffle in front that both hides the zip and hinders any draughts getting through. Unfortunately this can wrinkle and wave when you're bent over the bars and can look a little messy, which is at odds with the attention to detail shown in the rest of the jersey. I'm no tailor but that material baffle might look better behind the zip, and maybe a zip dock added too while you're at it.

The Omloop has a degree of rain resistance, thanks to its DWR M treatment – a sustainable fluorine-free, vegetable-based water repellent. It's no barrier to sustained rain but handy if you're caught out by a shower. The water resistance won't last forever, as it washes out over time, when you will then need to reproof it. This treatment isn't unique to the TICCC jersey, and is a process that it has in common with other earth-friendly DWR-treated tops.

I found the Omloop excellent for autumn, spring and milder winter days. Its knitted technical fabric does a great job of resisting the wind while still staying breathable. You definitely notice those breeze-blocking qualities when compared with a standard winter jersey. It's akin to wearing one of those with a gilet over the top with the added bonus of windproof arms.

The four-way-stretch fabric makes it feel like a tighter-fitting jacket but without the bulk or wind flap that might come with such a top, and even under hard efforts the jacket never became sweaty or clammy, which might be the case with a full-on jacket. With a thick thermal base layer underneath, the Omloop will see you through all but the worst of winter, and working your way down the thermal ratings of your undervests, a short-sleeved base layer would make the perfect pairing for a spring day when the sun's out but the air's still chilly.

Value

While the Omloop isn't cheap by any stretch of the imagination, it's not that hard to spend much more on jerseys with similar jacket-like features.

The Rapha Brevet Insulated Long Sleeve Gore-Tex Infinium Jersey is similar, in that it looks like a jersey but with some jacket personality. However, at £250 it's considerably more expensive, and while Steve liked it, he felt it was lacking in a few areas.

Similarly the Q36.5 Jersey Hybrid Que X Navy Blue is a spendy little number with windproof panelling on the areas exposed most to the breeze, although the arms aren't included in this. But while Ben appreciated the weather protection, at £209 he felt it was too expensive.

The £210 Assos Mille GTS Spring Fall Jacket C2 that George tested is another jersey/jacket hybrid that's at the expensive end of the spectrum. But it does offer Assos's windproof and waterproof Airblock.888 material across the front, with the sleeves made of RX Evo Light, which offers a degree of water resistance against showers or light rain. It comes in black or hi-viz yellow and has a more relaxed fit than the TICCC Omloop.

Conclusion

The TICCC Omloop Thermal Long Sleeve Jersey is a very well-thought-out jersey that does its job so well the only thing I can complain about is the wavy zip flap. And while you can't escape the fact that this jersey-cum-jacket isn't cheap – it is versatile, comfortable, and good against the elements. Throw in the company's responsible manufacturing ethos and I think that TICCC has created a quality product that largely justifies its price.

Verdict

A tight-fitting, highly visible jersey with weather-resistant qualities that make it a very versatile cold-weather top