Into the waistcoat, out of the waistcoat. Whether at the top of a mountain pass before a rapid descent, in shady forest passages or on an evening ride: whenever the cold wind wants to sap the cyclist's strength, the light, sleeveless shell offers protection from cooling down too quickly and at least wards off splashing water and short rain showers.
Even if the waistcoat has no sleeves and therefore fairly large ventilation holes, the material should be as breathable as possible, because if the protective cover - which it should - fits snugly around the upper body, the shoulder edges will also be fairly tight. The right cut is responsible for the perfect fit, so that the waistcoat does not bulge at the stomach and chest in the typical racing bike position, but covers the back and kidney area. The simple, tried and tested formula here is the same as in the 1980s at the hairdresser's: short at the front, long at the back. Useful details such as airy mesh inserts at the back or under the armpits, small zip pockets, fabric-backed zips with a parking garage for the zip and reflective piping make the wind waistcoat an all-round garment. However, to make it easy to take with you, it needs to be light and easy to fold. That's why we asked the manufacturers to send us their lightest models for this test, with an upper limit of 100 grams in size M and a price limit of 90 euros.
Nine manufacturers sent in a total of 16 models for men and women for testing.
You can find the test results in the PDF download below:
- for men:
Bontrager Sport Wind Vest
Castelli Sottile Vest
Craft Performance Bike Featherlight Vest
De Marchi Men's Contour Light Shell Vest
Endura Equipe Race Gilet
Löffler Men's Vest WS Active
Mavic Helium
Nalini Talco
Vaude Men's Air Vest
- for ladies:
Bontrager Sport WSD Wind Vest
Castelli Leggera W Vest
Craft Performance Bike Featherlight Vest
De Marchi Women's Contour Light Shell Vest
Löffler Women's Vest WS Active
Mavic Oxygen
Vaude Women's Air Vest
Downloads:
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