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Vulpine Mens Insulated Riding Overshirt

7
£100.00

VERDICT:

7
10
Smart overshirt with a few subtle cycle-friendly features for low-intensity urban riding
Looks smart
Cut long
Subtle cycle-friendly features
No windproofing
Weight: 
455g
Contact: 

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The Vulpine Men's Insulated Riding Overshirt is a very good option for urban use, coming with some subtle cycle-friendly features that are handy when you're on the bike while looking neat and presentable when you get off it.

> Buy the Insulated Riding Overshirt from Vulpine for £100

Let's first establish the sort of situation where this overshirt is going to come in useful, and also when it won't. It's made of cotton rather than a technical fabric so it's not a great option if you're likely to work up much of a sweat; it's more suited to short urban commutes or those times when you're nipping around town on a bike and don't want the hassle of changing clothes. It's the sort of thing you could wear to the shops, at the office, or in a pub. You know, everyday life.

So what makes this overshirt cycle-specific?

One of the main things is that the body is insulated with recycled polyester wadding. This covers the whole of the front and the back below the yoke. There's no padding on the arms, so you can think of it as if you're wearing a shirt with a lightweight, integrated gilet.

2022 Vulpine Mens Insulated Riding Overshirt - shoulders.jpg

The insulation adds just a touch of volume and the extra warmth is appreciable in use. There's no windproofing here so chilly evening breezes still get through when you're riding downhill, but you certainly feel warmer than in a normal single-thickness shirt. You could always slip a lightweight windproof over the top, of course, for cooler days.

> 10 of the best windproof cycling jackets — packable outer layers to keep out the chill

The back is cut long, keeping you covered when you stretch forward to the handlebars.

2022 Vulpine Mens Insulated Riding Overshirt - tail.jpg

There's zero chance you're going to get exposed skin here, while the body and arms are pretty slim so you don't get loads of annoying flapping when you pick up speed.

2022 Vulpine Mens Insulated Riding Overshirt - cuff.jpg

Two zipped hand warmer pockets at the front come in useful off the bike and there's a rear pocket that's large enough to take any mobile phone. This one is so well concealed I didn't even realise it was there for the first couple of weeks... the zip is hidden in one of the seams for the side panel.

2022 Vulpine Mens Insulated Riding Overshirt - rear zip pocket.jpg

The quality is high throughout. You get Vulpine embossed buttons, for example, and all but the top two on the shirtfront are hidden behind a placket. You can choose between two different buttons at the cuffs. The tighter option helps stop draughts from getting in when you're on the bike.

2022 Vulpine Mens Insulated Riding Overshirt - hem.jpg

There's also a Vulpine logo embroidered on the yoke and a V-circle logo on the left sleeve. They're both blue on blue so they're understated rather than shouty. There's a small amount of reflective piping sewn into each cuff, although it looks grey until it catches the light so, again, it's pretty subtle, and you get a couple of spare buttons inside.

Value

There's really not a great deal of clothing out there designed for on-the-bike and off-the-bike use, although Rapha offers an Insulated Overshirt that's vaguely similar in scope. That has a windblocking outer fabric with a DWR (durable water repellent) coating and a Polartec Alpha lining for warmth, though, so it's more hardcore than Vulpine's. It also looks a little less office-ish, in my opinion (it depends to some extent on the office, of course) and is priced at £150, although reduced to £75 at the time of writing (not available in all sizes).

Overall

The Vulpine Men's Insulated Riding Overshirt achieves what it sets out to achieve. This isn't a highly technical garment that's packed with features, but it will help you stay comfortable on spring/autumn and summer evening rides in town, and doesn't look out of place when you get off the bike.

Verdict

Smart overshirt with a few subtle cycle-friendly features for low-intensity urban riding

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Vulpine Mens Insulated Riding Overshirt

Size tested: Large

Tell us what the product is for

Vulpine describes this as: "A lightweight insulated shirt, ideal for changeable spring weather and cool summer evenings.

"An elegant design, incorporating Corozo Vulpine buttons and ample storage. Adapted for cycling with longer cut at the back, whilst looking as good in the office as it does on a bike."

I think that sums it up pretty well.

The same shirt is available in black chambray.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Vulpine lists these features:

Wide baffle stitched insulated body panels with recycled Polyester wadding insulation

Reflective piping details at cuffs, to aid low light visibility

3 x pockets - 2 front zippered hand warmer pockets & 1 invisible rear zipped pocket

Corozo Vulpine logo buttons with 'V'stitching

Made for riding, cut longer at the rear

Printed care info (no scratchy labels)

Vulpine embroidered logo at rear yoke

V circle embroidered logo on sleeve

Spare button

Biodegradable packaging

Fabric Composition:

Main: 100% Cotton

Insulation: 100% Recycled Polyester

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10

It all looks very neatly made.

Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10

It's not designed to be the most technical, high-performance item of clothing ever, it's supposed to look good while offering a few cycle-friendly features; and that's what it does.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

It's all looking good so far.

Rate the product for fit:
 
6/10

The body and arms are cut reasonably slim so flapping isn't an issue when you're riding. The rear is cut long so you'll have no gaps when you're on the bike.

Rate the product for sizing:
 
7/10

Vulpine's size guide worked well for me.

Rate the product for comfort:
 
7/10

It's a cotton shirt with extra insulation; all good.

Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

You put it in the machine at 30° and it comes out like any other cotton shirt.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

It doesn't have lofty goals – it aims to be an overshirt with a few cycle-friendly features, and it achieves this well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The insulation gives you a bit of extra warmth without affecting breathability.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

'Dislike' would be strong but I think a more hardcore version with windproof front panels would be a welcome addition to the range.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

There's really not a great deal of clothing out there designed for on-the-bike and off-the-bike use, although Rapha offers an Insulated Overshirt that's vaguely similar in scope. This has a windblocking outer fabric with a DWR (durable water repellent) coating and a Polartec Alpha lining for warmth, though, so it's more hardcore than Vulpine's. It also looks a little less office-ish, in my opinion (it depends to some extent on the office, of course) and is priced at £150, although reduced to £75 at the time of writing (not available in all sizes).

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

This is a really well made overshirt that puts in a good performance on the bike and looks neat when you get off it. That's a 7.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 48  Height: 190cm  Weight: 80kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding,

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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