Jerseys

Le Col Pro Air jersey – review

A super-cool, airy jersey for summer riding - just watch out for the cut…

Seldom am I torn when it comes to a jersey – but this review of the Le Col Pro Air jersey is a story of a very impressive garment, let down by only a couple of design quirks.

First of all, it looks great in this ‘Battleship Blue’ colourway, and matches up nicely with the Pro bib shorts (especially the blue ones) we reviewed alongside it – stay tuned for more on those.

It’s constructed of a lightweight mesh fabric for maximum cooling, with a form-following fit that’s perfect for aggressive riding.

The Le Col Pro Air jersey looks great and delivers a superb performance in warm weather – but the cut won’t be for everyone

The cuffs break from the mesh to be made of an elasticated Lycra with some textured grippers on the inside to retain them to the skin.

Specification
Price: £120
Sizes: XS-XXL
Size tested: M
Colours: Battleship Blue, Battleship Yellow, Battleship Orange, Discovery Orange, Discovery Blue, Discovery Grey, Discovery Fluo
Website: Le Col

Once in place, it’s very comfortable, although pulling the jersey on can be an uncomfortable experience if you have hairs on your arms, as it drags all the way up as you do.

The fit around the body is particularly comfortable, with plenty of stretch and length to fit the vast majority of riders, while a medium fitted me well despite my usual dilemma between choosing a medium or large sizing for my jerseys. Overall, therefore, the fit comes up a little larger than most jerseys.

Those with long bodies will appreciate the lengthy cut, and those who find jerseys ride up on their long torsos will be happy with the silicone band around the waist.

However, I found the cut of the ‘ergonomic collar’ neck to be a bit much.

Fully zipped up, it encircles your neck, not in a restrictive way, but in a way that provides a little too much coverage.

I can see why this may be the case, in that it’ll provide a little extra protection from the sun on the back of the neck especially, but I found it to be an annoyance so permanently rode around with it zipped down to the top of the chest, releasing the neck and thereby feeling far less restrictive.

The high neck-line was not to our liking, and we tended to ride with the jersey unzipped to the chest

It means that the overall effect, even in a medium, is to feel like far too much fabric has been used to make the Pro Air jersey.

Even though it remains very light, I can’t help feel I’d be more comfortable if it weren’t quite as long in the body as it is. Just a few millimetres might make the difference, but for me that’s an important difference, certainly.

On the back you’ll find three main, easily reachable and decently capacious, pockets, complete with a zipped security compartment that – hallelujah – is lined so there’s protection from the elements (so often, there isn’t).

It’s claimed to be waterproof, and I’d agree with that assessment in that it can deal with summery showers.

The pockets are an excellent size, however, with a waterproof lining on the zipped valuables pocket

A full-on, prolonged deluge is probably beyond it – although in fairness if you knew one was coming it’s likely you’d have packed a waterproof anyway.

Despite the mesh construction, the quality is excellent too, and it’ll stand up to multiple washes and super-sweaty rides without fading or degrading in any way – handy when that’s the designed purpose of the Pro Air jersey.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, this really is a very good jersey in terms of performance, capable of keeping you as cool as humanly possible in hot weather.

It’s a shame that the neckline is so high, and the long body won’t suit everyone, yet the style and quality is so good. If it fits you well, it’s a great jersey, but £120 is a lot to spend if you don’t get the perfect fit from it.