RH+ Climber Jersey

by Robert Thorpe

ITALIAN STYLE FOR CYCLISTS
RH+ Climber Jersey

Cycling fashion is a minefield. Too often, people believe that they can come up with a ridiculous name and mortgage their house on the basis of over-priced and frankly poorly designed garments. Thankfully we have Italy to come to the rescue – yes, the country with the heart of cycling and the eyes of fashion gods. RH+ have Italian style running through their veins and work with a number of outdoor sports athletes to ensure that they only produce kit that cyclists both want and need. No egos are mortgaged in the production of their kit – but hearts are definitely massaged.

Living here in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, we’re surrounded by hills. This means that the kit we choose has to perform while we’re working hard all day long. In summer, it also means that the breathability is crucial and thankfully RH+ from Italy understand this. Their Climber specific jersey has been a revelation to wear over recent weeks. Let’s take a look at the reasons why.

Firstly, it’s a supper light jersey, made from a high quality mesh style weave fabric, which simply maximises air flow. This 4 way stretch fabric is used on the front, back and sleeves, with a wider mesh used full length on the sides and inside of the sleeves, where most sweat is produced. It’s a pure race cut fit, designed to be most comfortable in the riding position, and in practice it is. RH+ call this their SKIN FIT, and it does feel close like a second skin, and yet allows free unrestricted movement. The lightness of the jersey and the softness make it super comfortable. Checking inside the jersey, it’s a quality finish, with flat lock stitching and everything well put together. I especially love the fabric grip of the raw cut sleeves.

The hem at the back and around towards the front hem is a wide and super strong elasticated webbing with silicon print anti-slip on back bottom hem. Moving to the front hem, RH+ have used a technical elastic hypoallergenic grip fabric, ‘Biomorphic Ultra Compact Adaptive Stretch’, to keep the lightness and aero design of the jersey. I really like the understated modern collar, cut low around the neck and shoulders, producing a very modern look and again maximising the aero race credentials. There’s a string full length zipper, and an added zipped pocket to the side of the 3 ample rear cargo pockets, where RH+ have used a stronger fabric, which in practice works well to keep your extra items from moving around.

The aesthetics of the jersey are simple and understated, with a very modern use of block colour and minimal branding. It simply looks and feels amazing in use and it’s a super comfortable jersey that you’ll like – especially on those long climbs, where the breathability has meant that the jersey has stayed zipped. Price wise, this is placed as a high end jersey, and thankfully in test here, it’s definitely performed at that level.

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