Italian clothing house Santini has a long history of making quality cycle clothing for women. Here’s a look at a couple of new items from them, plus a quick look at some smart urban gear from Santini’s importer.
Two garments particularly caught our eye at the recent in-house product show of Santini importer Fisher Outdoor Leisure.
Charm jersey
The Charm jersey features in Santini’s year-round 365 collection. It comes in white, black, or blue as a conscious step away from the ‘shrink and pink’ philosophy that has on occasion dictated the designs of some companies in the cycle industry.
The silver zip is a nice touch, as are the two micromesh vents below the shoulders on the chest panel. There’s further venting at the rear in the centre of the back, above three rear pockets. A microfibre fabric gives a soft feel to the jersey.
The Charm jersey comes in nine sizes from XXS to 4XL and costs £69.99.
Rea three-quarter short
The Rea short is made from Newport Lycra, which Santini says offers mildly compressive qualities, said to keep muscles warm to prevent injury and to promote wicking.
Like much of Santini’s women’s legwear, the Reas have Santini’s Gel Intech Ladies insert. Over the years this has become a stalwart of the range, popular with female sportive riders.
The waist features a cross-over design, which Santini claims is comfortable and flattering, and prevents undue strain on the stomach. Santini recommend it for use in a temperature range from 10 to 20 degrees.
The Rea three-quarter short is available in black or white, in nine sizes from XXS to 4XL, and costs £69.99.
U34
Fisher is also behind the U34 line of urban cycling clothing and bags, which we’re hoping to see review samples of soon.
We particularly like the look of the Capital waterprof coat (£199.99) and the Elements water-resistant trousers (£99.99), which look like a great solution to the problem of staying dry without wearing ludicrous rustling waterproof over-trousers.
The Capital coat features highly waterprof, breathable fabric that’s claimed to be temperature-regulating. There’s a hood hidden away in the collar and the belt has a reflective stripe for night-time visibility.
The Elements trousers have this year’s great tech fabric buzzword, nano-technology, in the form of water-shedding Schoeller NanoSphere finishing on the stretch cotton fabric.
