Monton Women’s Lifestyle Bamboo SS jersey

Offering high performance, a good fit and attention to detail, the Monton Lifestyle Bamboo Jersey would score big with a couple of well-placed tweaks. Recent years have seen a refreshing availability of bright, bold jerseys on the market, and Monton's range only adds to this trend. The China-based brand offers a vast array of colourful designs – although the jersey on test is a more understated number in its range.

• Pros: Understated looks, stays dry, washes well and a jolly good zipper
• Cons: A little short in length and a couple of itchy seams

Size and fit

In a four-collection range that caters from commuter to pro (literally, it sponsors UCI Continental team RTS-Monton), this women's Lifestyle Bamboo number sits at the more relaxed end of the scale. That's not to say it's baggy – it's still snug, but there's some wiggle room.

> Buy this online here

Despite Monton's guide claiming its sizes run small, I tested my usual size – an EU small, which corresponded to the height/weight scale perfectly – and it almost fitted like a dream. Unfortunately, two areas came up a bit short of the mark in the fit stakes. Namely, the sleeves and the overall length – both cropped higher than other brands in this size, and higher than feels comfortable.

When twinned with summer shorts, the result is a back-gap that even the elasticated gripper can't fix. Nice bit of ventilation, sure, but I prefer the streamlined look. If you don't class yourself in the 'long torso' category, though, or you always wear bibs, this might not bother you.

Pocket-size is ample, with three to fit a day's-worth of riding without any hint of a sag.

Material, performance and durability

Monton Lifestyle Bamboo is 100 per cent polyester and stays dry even when you've got a serious sweat on – perfect for long, hot days – aided further by the generous oval meshing paired with 'prismatic fabric'.

A downside, though, of exceptionally ventilated white material is that it's pretty transparent, so your sports bra options are slim: wear white, or run the risk of it interfering with your colour scheme.

With only the underarms featuring a silky, non-mesh material, the Bamboo is a wicking sensation with a slightly scratchy penalty. While overall comfort is good, the material could be a little smoother, and seams a little softer.

Points for Monton on the zipper stakes. As someone who is terrible at no-handed cycling but gets hot in a race, I always look for an easy, unsticky zip. Here, the Bamboo delivers – performing fuss-free time and again without any resistance.

A spell of summer rain rendered the bright white jersey splattered with brown muck on-test, but it washed up as good as new at 30°C, and subsequently snuck into a 40°C wash or three without any shrinkage.

> Read more road.cc reviews of women's cycling jerseys here

For £90, I'd expect this jersey to be up there with the best of them, and while some of the other material options in Monton's range might provide more overall comfort, I felt that the Bamboo didn't quite match up to price tag expectations. At its current 55% off RRP offer, it's a good deal, but at rrp it's up against the likes of Santini's Volo jersey at £80, and Alé's Graphics PRR Strada, for £10 more, both of which Ashia was impressed with.

Verdict

A snug, sweat-wicking top with good looks, but length could be an issue