Arenberg Zero Vest

While most gilets are flimsy, lightweight affairs, Hincapie’s Arenberg Zero Vest is a more substantial garment. The front panel is made from windproof fabric, perforated on the exterior but with a smooth finish inside. At the rear, a super Rouabix fabric has been deployed: brushed to a light fleece on the inside, and with a smooth, stretchable lycra finish externally.

The numerous features are what have the making of this garment, however. Tail pockets – standard fare on jerseys and jackets – are inexplicably absent from most gilets, but not here we’re pleased to note. Set out in the classic three-in-a-row configuration, they measure some 200mm deep and have the same fleece lining as the back panel.

At the other end of the gilet is a very deep collar, some 60mm deep, with a further section on top of that, adding a further 20mm of protection at the nape of the neck. This section, like the single strip on either shoulder, is made from a material Hincapie calls HyperOptic Roubaix, and which looks like it will offer a reflective quality under lights. A reflective Hincapie Sports logo can be found on the collar and on the middle of the three rear pockts.

Further reassuring details include a robust, full-length zip, in bright red and bookended with fabric ‘garages’ to protect the chin at one and to prevent damage to shorts at the other. On the ‘runners’ are mounted two zip ‘pulls’, which should offer some flexibility with ventilation. One is from YKK; the other sports a metal Hincapie logo.

The Hincapie Zero vest is available in black, and in five sizes from S to XXL. It costs £92.25.