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Hoy Vulpine Roubaix long sleeve jersey – review

Warm, comfortable and good-looking, Hoy Vulpine have made a great winter jersey

Although they were only founded in 2012, Vulpine already have a well deserved reputation for creating elegant yet functional bike clothing for serious riders and city bikers alike. Their new Hoy Vulpine winter collection, created in tandem with Sir Chris Hoy, has some great looking kit but the piece that first caught the eye was this Roubaix long sleeve jersey. And, in this case, function definitely matches form.

And form is a good as place to start as any. Vulpine, as with most of their kit, have kept things very simple here and it looks great. Personally I’m a big fan of the minimalist look, and Vulpine have it sorted. The jersey comes in two flavours: the ‘graphite’ we have here, and a ‘cobalt blue’ which looks extremely good as well. The bonus of the grey is that it matches up with the Hoy Vulpine Roubaix bib tights which are the same grey. Presumably they didn’t make matching bright blue tights as most people don’t want to look like a two-wheeled extra from the Smurfs. On the other hand, they might have missed a niche, there… Anyway, the zipper and logos are a slightly bluer grey, and the only other detail on the jersey is the zipped pocket on the back making for a very smart appearance, all told.

The styling is kept simple but the jersey is all the better for it, and there’s an  electric blue version as well as the dark grey we have here

One area in which you’ll really need to take notice, particularly if you’ve previously worn something from the Hoy Vulpine collection, is fit. When I tested their summer Valldemossa jersey I had a test sample in small and it’s fair to say that even that came up a little big. So when it came time to get a test sample of this one, I went for small again, assuming the sizing would be on the big side. This is not the case. The arms were like a second skin and it took about five minutes just to squeeze my arms down the sleeves. The medium, on the other hand, fits perfectly, and I reckon anyone who has the Valldemossa jersey or another summer piece that fits well should definitely check their size before ordering.

Sizing conundrums aside, the jersey fits really well. It’s definitely a closer cut than the summer kit, but not skin tight race wear by any means. Personally, I found the arms a little long, but only to the point that there was a little bunching on the sleeves which wasn’t uncomfortable when riding at all. There’s a generous drop at the back of the jersey which has the added bonus of making the pockets very easy to access but in practical terms means there’s no possibility of the jersey riding up. One minor complaint would be that while the central pocket is quite large, the two side pockets are slightly on the small side, just about large enough to fit a smartphone, but you really need to stretch them to fit anything else in as well. On the plus side, the zipped pocket is easily large enough for a phone, something that a lot of jerseys still get wrong.

The middle and zipped pockets provide plenty of room, but the two side pockets can prove to be a bit of a stretch if you want anything more substantial than a phone in there

The inside of the jersey is lined with fleecy Roubaix fabric (bet you could have guessed that one). Roubaix is a tried and tested insulator and also feels incredibly comfortable against the skin. If I were to choose a winter jersey based purely on comfort, this one would be right up at the top of the list. It’s warm too. Not warm enough to act as your only top layer on days when the temperature dips well into single figures, but more than warm enough for cooler rides and works wonderfully as a mid-layer too, with the lack of bulk being a bonus for layering up.

Conclusion

As long sleeved jerseys go, this one from Hoy Vulpine is a winner. It’s warm, as comfortable as anything I’ve ever used, and looks pretty smart as well. It’ll work as an outer layer for milder rides and a mid-layer when things turn really cold. But make sure you check the fit, as it sizes up differently to Hoy Vulpine’s summer wear.

Pros

– Extremely comfortable
– Warm
– Stylish

Cons

– Side pockets on the back are a bit small

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