PEdAL ED Kawa Essential Jersey

PEdAL ED's Kawa Essential Jersey's plain design will appeal to those who like to dress stylishly understated, but an average performance and quirky fit make the price tag rather tough to swallow. It's certainly one for the more petite riders out there.

Comfort and cut

Just like PEdAL ED's 3/4s that I also tested, the Kawa Jersey is made of a combination of nylon and elastane to create a supersoft, stretchy garment. If you are wearing it without an undervest, it feels great against the skin.

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It moulds to the body shape without being restrictive and also holds its length without stretching; normally that would be a good point, but because of the cut I could have done with more length – more on that in a minute.

I rarely zip jerseys right up, not liking the feel of excess coverage at the neck, but I was more than happy to with the Kawa, whose collar is lower than many jerseys. There's also an effective zip garage at the top and base, to stop it irritating your neck or damaging your shorts.

Some of the issues I've had with the jersey could come down to it being on the small side, but the sizing chart put me in a bit of a conundrum. I'm a medium in most clothing, occasionally a small. Using PEdAL ED's sizing chart, my height puts me as a large (just – I'm 176cm and large is 176-178cm), my waist is medium, and my chest a small. (It's not me in the photos, that's Tass, whose measurements would put her as medium-bordering-on-large.)

Medium seemed the obvious choice, but while it fitted perfectly around the shoulders, chest and waist, it came up very short in length. Even off the bike it struggled to cover my lower back and stomach, so adopting a low riding position put it even higher.

Efforts to pull it down while riding were fruitless, with the fabric springing back to its natural length despite the wide, elastic band at the rear hem (though it does do a decent job of stopping the jersey from swinging round).

I tested it in combination with PEdAL ED's non-bib 3/4s, but really it needs to be teamed with bib-shorts to avoid lower back exposure.

The sleeves are also shorter than many out there, and like the main body of the jersey they keep to their length and slide up somewhat when you lean over the bar. On cooler days you'll need to get your arm warmers pulled right up.

Another consequence of the jersey's length is that the pockets are really hard to access as they sit a good way up the back. Not only that, but I often keep my phone in the middle pocket and the excessively high position meant it sat on protruding vertebrae. After two hours of being bent over the bike, it was really causing discomfort.

I know this won't be an issue for everyone – I do have a particularly bony back – and the simple answer is to move the phone to another pocket, but ultimately this wouldn't be happening if the jersey was longer and the pockets lower. No one wants a battle to extract things from pockets while riding.

Performance

On a more positive note, when coupled with a baselayer the jersey does a great job of keeping you warm during steady rides in temperatures between 12 and 15°C.

Up the tempo, though, or use it in warmer weather, and it's not as breathable as some. It's made with a heavier fabric than many summer jerseys, with no variation. I found that moisture would quickly build up under the arms and on my back. Without a baselayer the top became rather clingy and cold; with a baselayer I just felt I was carrying around excess moisture that was reluctant to evaporate, as it doesn't dry out quickly either, albeit not causing me to feel chilly.

> Buyer’s Guide: 24 of the best summer cycling jerseys

To be fair, PEdAL ED doesn't seem to be trying to sell this as an exceptionally high performing jersey, describing it as 'ideal for long trainings, as well as easy rides in the city'. I'd say it does the latter reasonably well if you're riding at a slower pace and in a more upright position (so not encouraging it to ride up your back), and if you aren't working up a sweat on a long training ride then it's fine. Up the tempo to cause sweating, though, and its performance drops.

Features and durability

As I mentioned, the jersey has the standard three rear pockets. It may look like the middle one is mesh but this is simply an aesthetic feature – a panel of transparent fabric sewn over the actual pocket.

The strip of elastic that lines the top of the pockets offers security for contents, but it pulls excessively on the lateral seam. Without reinforcing-tabs that some manufacturers use, the fabric is already showing significant wear/thinning after only four weeks of use.

There is also a zip pocket, though the opening is very small and I struggled to make much use of it with my rather large hands.

To help you be seen, there is a reflective tab on the rear of the jersey and the PEdAL ED logo on the front is also reflective; neither are really big enough to have a serious visual impact, but every little helps.

If you don't like this red, it's available in three other colours – a lighter red/pink (coral), navy blue, and 'clay'. It also comes in six sizes, from XXS to XL.

Value

Last year, we tested a real range of short sleeve jerseys, from Decathlon's £34.99 Van Rysel 900 to Rapha's £140 Souplesse Aero.

At £106 the Kawa offers a decent saving over the Rapha, though the Souplesse is a lightweight, high-performance design.

> Read more road.cc reviews of women’s cycling jerseys here 

Funkier's Prima Pro offers a similar thickness of fabric and protection and a more conventional cut for only £45.

Sarah liked Lusso's merino jersey, another understated design that wicks and breathes well and costs £69.99.

Conclusion

I'm sorry to say that I have the same sentiments about the Kawa as I did about the PEdAL ED 3/4s I tested: the women's collection feels like an afterthought. Although the Kawa does have some good points, ultimately it seems to be a shrunken version of something that could easily fit a man. A lack of attention to detail and the female anatomy has resulted in a garment that will simply fall short for many women.

Verdict

Below average performance and a cut that will suit only short-bodied riders