Gore Torrent Breathe jersey

The Gore Torrent Breathe jersey is a lightweight, mesh-style top ideal for hot-weather riding. The fabric lets plenty of air flow through it to keep you cool, and the fit is close if you don't like your jersey flapping in the wind. It's a bit pricey for what it is, but it's well made and comes in a range of four eye-catching colours in both men's and women's models.

> Buy now: Gore Torrent Breathe Jersey for £99.99 from Gorewear

If you're in the market for a jersey, check out our guide to the best summer cycling jerseys, or our guide to the best cheap cycling jerseys.

Steve reviewed Gore's Torrent jersey in spring last year, when he described it as comfortable, stylish and well made. This Torrent Breathe uses the same cut and styling but is made from a lighter fabric with a mesh style designed to improve air flow.

It's made from a recycled polyester blend with a small amount of elastane added to provide some stretch, and the material feels soft against your skin, with no scratchiness or itchiness, so you can wear it with or without a baselayer.

The Torrent Breath uses different size mesh patterns throughout its design, with a more open knit on the arms and side panels to promote the most airflow, while the main section of the body features a tighter knit.

The airflow is really good, though, regardless of the knit size. The end of the review period coincided with some warm weather peaking at around 20°C and the Gore got to show how breathable it is on some steep climbs.

You can feel the air blowing through it too, which means it stays pretty dry, even when you're riding hard.

With a mesh baselayer underneath I found it warm enough down to about 14°C, so it's not a jersey that just going to be limited to those few properly hot weeks of the year that we typically get in the UK.

The fit is what Gore call 'form fit', so it's cut to sit close to the body with little in the way of spare fabric. When holding this large size up it actually looks tiny, but there's so much stretch in the material it delivers a close fit without it ever feeling like it's pulling anywhere or being overly stretched.

The tail is dropped to give coverage to your rear even when you're riding in the drops, with a silicone gripper to stop it sliding up; the front sits higher to stop the fabric bunching.

If I'm honest I'd like to see top and bottom zip garages – the former to prevent any neck irritation, the latter to stop any potential damage to your shorts. In its defence the neck does sit lower than most, so the chance of irritation there is much lower.

The arms are quite long, which could mess with your mid-bicep tan lines and the extra material doesn't necessarily mean better protection from the sun. Gore doesn't mention any SPF protection.

The quality is to a high standard, with the whole jersey looking very well finished throughout, with just the odd stray thread end here and there.

As part of the construction, you get four rear pockets, with three in the traditional layout running horizontally, the two outer ones have a sloped entrance for easier access when on the fly.

You also get a fourth zipped valuables pocket, which I consider to be a given these days.

Value

Priced at £99.99 it's a tenner more than the standard Torrent, a jersey that Steve reckoned was pricey and I tend to agree with him. The Breathe is well made as you'd expect from such a big name – but there is nothing here that stands out as being exceptionally special for the money.

The Van Rysel Road Cycling jersey is a close-cut aero top with high levels of breathability. It costs a mere £39.99 and I really rated it when I reviewed it.

But the Gore is far from alone at this price point. Scott's Premium short sleeve shirt is also designed for warm-weather riding and is now priced at £99.99, up from £90.99 when Ben reviewed it last year.

MAAP's Evade Pro Base Jersey 2.0 is even pricier at £165. That said, Steve did find its performance impressive.

Conclusion

Overall, the Torrent Breathe is a quality jersey that is well made and performs spot on for hot days. It's also good to see recycled material being used. It is pricey, and while not alone at around £100, there are much cheaper options that perform very well.

Verdict

Great fabric for use on warm days, and a fit that will suit those who want a close, aero feel