Road Cycling Clothing

Sportful Allure Softshell Jacket and Thermal Jersey Reviewed

Winter kit that keeps out the cold

Still on the lookout for winter kit? TWC writer Beth Hodge takes a look at the gear available from Sportful to keep you toasty. She had a ‘first look’ at the full range in October, but now after several months in the kit brings you a thorough long term review.

The bottom half: Sportful Women’s Fiandre NoRain Bibtights Reviewed

Sportful Allure Thermal Jersey

The Sportful Allure Thermal Jersey is a handy piece of kit for any riders seasonal wardrobe. This long sleeved lightweight fleece lined jersey is cosy and comfortable whilst providing a technical piece of kit that we are used to seeing from a Sportful collection.

The Thermal Jersey is described as being for cool weather riding, of which I would agree with. This is not a jersey to be worn by itself on the coldest of winter days, but more so for a seasonally changing day with a quality base layer and perhaps a gillet to pair with. It’s thermal but breathable utilising the ThermoFlow material which is said to help the evaporation of moisture which means it should stay comfortable for longer. In a nutshell, don’t rely on it by itself for the coldest days (Sportful recommend wearing for rides on days between 10-20 degrees). The three spacious pockets provide gilet storage if the tempo increases!

It would have been great to see a zipper pocket on the jersey making it a touch more useful as a standalone piece for milder days, but you can’t argue with the quality for the price point (rrp £65).

The arm length on the Sportful Allure Thermal Jersey is good, no gaps between cuffs and gloves for maximum comfort and I’m a massive fan of the high neck close fitting collar. Such a sucker for comfort, but also giving the garment a really good fit and look. This jersey is supposed to be close fitting, so bear that in mind when choosing a size. I’m a size 8-10 and a small fits perfectly.

The Allure Thermal Jersey has a few points of reflective detailing with the Sportful logo on the middle pocket and chest, and then two reflective ‘strips’ on the pockets as well which haven’t been completely stitched into the material which keeps stitching at a minimum for further comfort.

The Allure Thermal Jersey comes in three colourways: turquoise, pink and grey.

Pros:

Good comfortable fit with a cosy feel whilst remaining technical
Nice mid layer for mild days on the bike

Cons:

No zip pocket

See it here on the Sportful website in sizes XS – XXL for £65.

Sportful Allure Softshell Jacket

Looking for a warm deep winter riding jacket? The Sportful Allure Softshell Jacket might be it. The Allure Softshell Jacket is described as being for cool weather riding, but I’m going to stick my neck on the line on this occasion and say that it’s actually got the weight and quality to be suitable for colder days.

It’s pretty tricky sometimes to get layering right on cold days, you start off freezing and then as soon as you hit the first hill you’re pulling off layers and your glasses are steaming up. For a medium or steady paced ride I think this jacket ticks a lot of boxes for chilly days. It’s been my go to jacket for wizzing around town on short trips but also has performed well on longer social rides when there is appropriate time for instagram stops and lots of faffing.

Weighing in at 377 grams this is a jacket you put on a commit to wearing for the entire ride. There is absolutely no way you could take this one off and stuff into a jersey pocket. It is the perfect sort of jacket for wearing with a merino base layer only, and perhaps a buff, so that body temperature can be adequately regulated.

It’s not the most breathable, but I do not know of a winter garment that can provide maximum breathability and maximum warmth, so it’s certainly a jacket for a cold day. Softshell material however does give the jacket a performance edge, as by its very nature it is stretchy and comfortable with it’s fleece lining, whilst giving a close fit. Sportful have used the Thermodrytex Material for the Allure Softshell, which they say does wick away moisture quickly and it did do a reasonable job of doing this. The material around the armpits is slightly lighter weight assisting with moisture removal and temperature regulation.

Sportful state that the jacket will resist light showers of which I can testify, it did a really good job of beading the rain during light showers. Material that beads water is great, meaning you can shake or brush off the water droplets and keep moving for longer. Riding on a cold wet day I would wear this jacket but paired with a waterproof top layer, which can be easily stashed in one of the generous three pockets on the Allure Softshell.

I have been seriously impressed by the cut and fit of all of the Sportful products I have tested, and the Allure Softshell Jacket has a lovely fit making it look super smart on and off the bike. It comes in three colours, Black/Anthracite, Cherry/Bordeaux and Turquoise/ Ocean. All three jackets use the same colours in some sort of order, from the satin detailing across the chest to the piping on the sleeves and collar which for my personal taste is a little fussy.

Pros: