Santini Adapt Wool Men’s Long Sleeve Jersey

Santini's Adapt Wool Long Sleeve jersey is a perfect three-season top that can be paired with a jacket on the very coldest days. The use of Polartec's Power Wool with artificial fibres offers an excellent blend of protection and temperature regulation.

The jersey features a good strong zip and a nice high neckline, so it offers good protection from the wind. When riding down in single temperatures I tend to wear a Buff, but for anything around 10°C this is enough on its own: everything I needed to keep warm was kept warm by just this jersey in combination with a merino baselayer.

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The front panel is definitely effective at keeping off self-generated wind chill, as well as deflecting any breeze on a not-too-cold day. If you're out there in a biting north wind it might really put the jersey to the test, but it's not designed for deep winter conditions so it makes no sense to criticise it for that. Santini itself suggests it works well with a jacket in those conditions, and I've been pairing it with a very lightweight windproof and found it a perfect combination. I wore it with a short-sleeved baselayer on a couple of occasions, too, and my arms were fine.

The jersey also has a good level of water resistance if you're caught in a shower, especially a light one, though it's not claimed to be waterproof. Its thermal regulation is excellent, so you won't get too cold in passing light rain. For anything longer or heavier, it'll need pairing with a jacket.

I'm very pleasantly surprised how warm the jersey is wearing nothing else but a baselayer on a pretty typical milder winter's day in the UK. We've had a couple of cold spells where you want to pull out the deep winter jacket, but so much of our winter – and certainly our spring and autumn – is around 10°C these days that full-on winter jackets are almost a more niche product, and with modern fabrics the need for bulk that used to exist to keep you warm has disappeared.

The jersey fits true to its medium sizing, if you accept that Santini's sizing has always been at the lower end of each range... a medium is a pretty snug fit on me these days, which is just right for purposes of this jersey. My days of being a small in Santini kit are probably behind me forever now, unless I can muster up a concerted effort.

The wide, comfortable gripper at the bottom of the back of the jersey keeps everything in place, so wherever you are on the size spectrum there's little danger of the Adapt Wool jersey riding up.

I think the orange colourway looks good and provides you with some visibility in the daylight hours, and then there are reflective strips at the sides of the rear pockets, so as things get darker, headlights should pick them out.

The standard three-pocket design was sufficient for me to carry all I needed on my test rides – snacks, lightweight jacket, pump, phone and keys – and although there is no additional zipped pocket, I rarely use them and didn't miss it.

Value

There's a lot to like about this jersey – colour, style, fit – but one thing that's less appealing is the price. At £155 that's a hefty amount for a winter jersey, no matter how well made or pleasing to wear. Okay, it's not as expensive as some – Café du Cycliste's Claudette jersey is £172 (though the Breton striped incarnation scores extra style points for me) – but there are many very good options out there for less. Chapeau's Etape scored well with us and costs 'just' £129, while Lusso's Merino Long Sleeve Jersey is £99 and, as usual, dhb is very competitive on price with its Merino Long-Sleeve Jersey for £90.

> Buyer’s Guide: 18 of the best winter cycling jerseys

Overall, the Santini Adapt will do a good job of keeping you warm and comfortable into single-figure temperatures, so long as you don't push it too far in that direction.

Verdict

A great option for autumn, winter and spring riding, if you can run to the £155 price tag