In the height of summer, some people like to go without - but for the vast majority of the road cycling year, hardly any cyclist goes on tour without a vest under their jersey. And there is hardly any other textile, with the exception of cycling shorts, where cyclists are as sensitive as when it comes to functional shirts for underneath.
No wonder: firstly, you wear the shirt directly on your skin, and secondly, it is crucial for your well-being on the bike. And although the tasks of such a vest are quickly outlined - wicking sweat away from the body, drying quickly, cooling in the heat, warming in the cold - discussions about who likes which shirt are often endless. The physical requirements and personal preferences are too individual and too different. The range of functional shirts on offer is correspondingly large and confusing. However, despite all the differences, four basic "systems" can be identified that largely cover the market in a more or less homogeneous way. We have tested these four systems in the laboratory and in practice for their characteristic properties. Our test results serve as a guide to finding the right vest depending on the intended use and type of rider.
The four systems can be categorised as follows:
Number one is the mesh vest, usually made of polypropylene fibres and represented in our test by the Brynje "Super Thermo Shirt".
System number two is lightweight, highly elasticated vests made of polyester, the surface of which can be either smooth or textured. We have chosen the "Zero Extreme Roundneck Longsleeve" from Craft as an example.
Our candidate from Smartwool follows the trend towards natural products with the "M's Microweight Longsleeve" made from merino wool.
Our fourth representative is "Accumulator Energy EVO" from X-Bionic, a compression vest made of polyamide fibre with air channels knitted into the fabric on the inside and outside. It virtually represents itself, as it occupies a special position on the market. No other manufacturer offers this elaborate knitting technique.
All synthetic fibres are hydrophobic (hostile to water) and hardly store any water. They wick sweat away either along the fibre surface or through their hollow interior, whereby the temperature difference determines the direction, namely from warm (inside) to cold (outside). This allows the sweat to evaporate, which is perceived as a cooling effect. The knitwear experts at X-Bionic promise that this evaporation effect is optimised by the moisture stored in channels, which acts as a coolant during exertion and air movement and warms during breaks.
SHORT & SHORT
The range of functional vests can be roughly divided into four categories. The classic polyester vest is light, flexible, skin-friendly and a good sweat transporter, but is even slightly outperformed in this discipline by the natural product merino wool. Coarse-meshed mesh vests made of polypropylene warm well but do not cool much. The polyamide knit from X-Bionic represents a compromise between insulation and sweat transport.
The test results of these models can be found below as a PDF download:
Brynje Super Thermo Shirt
Craft Zero Extreme RN Longsleeve
Smartwool M's Microweight Crew
X-Bionic Energy Accumulator EVO
Downloads:
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