The La Passione Duo Women's Jersey is a lightweight, breathable jersey that's made from high quality materials and feels lush to wear. It's great that this comfy performance jersey is also available in several stunning colours.
La Passione has expanded its female-specific offerings to include the Duo jersey. It comes in a selection of beautiful two tone options: Graphite/Burgundy (as seen here), Natural Sand, or Cherry/Blue.
Various blends of polyester and elastane have been used in different locations. The fabric feels almost silky smooth, and it's also super thin.
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The stretchy material gives a skin-tight fit – the jersey sits close, but is still comfortable for longer outings. The low-cut collar sits flush against the skin.
The downside of the lightweight fabric is that it's slightly see through, so your bra could be visible, depending on its shade.
The sleeves are laser cut at the end, and there's no stitching here or and silicone grippers. This is great as there are no pressure points or irritations, but the fit needs to be spot on for the sleeves to stay put while riding.
Following La Passione's sizing guide puts me at the bottom end of a size medium, and though I found the fit spot on around my chest, the sleeves didn't quite hold my proportionally narrow arms tightly enough. They shifted upwards, creating some bagginess over the shoulders. Sizing down to the small, the fit was much improved. The sleeves hugged my arms and were unnoticeable while riding.
Given the stretchiness of the material, if you're on the edge of sizes and have particularly skinny arms I'd say it's worth sizing down. The size small still fitted me well across my 88cm chest – it wasn't too tight at all.
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The arms extend halfway to the elbow, slightly longer than some, but not ridiculously long for aero gains. This is my preferred length; it's long enough for easy pairing with arm warmers, but still provides plenty of tanning potential.
The hem is elasticated at the front, while the rear has a silicone strip tucked inside. The tail is only slightly dropped, but still provides enough coverage when shifted forward, and it stays in place well.
The Duo has three standard, evenly-sized pockets at the rear, with slightly angled sides for easier access. There's no zipped pocket though, for safely stashing valuables.
As the pace ramps up, the Duo works well thanks to the mesh side panels and perforated back.
It's been a rather cool spring so I haven't had blistering hot sunny weather for testing, but I've worn it on the turbo during killer workouts and found the breathability is excellent.
The thin fabric dries incredibly quickly after rain, and also gives UV 50+ sun protection whenever the summer heat finally does arrive.
High quality fabrics are used and there's lots of attention to the detail. The zip is colour-matched with the burgundy shade that covers most of the jersey, and there are hidden zip guards top and bottom.
Priced at £80, the Duo is very good value for a close-fitting, lightweight summer jersey. Rapha's comfortable aero-fitting Pro Team Crit jersey is much more expensive at £110, and the Duo is even a tad cheaper than Bioracer's high-quality Epic Women Jersey Camo Dot (£88).
Overall, the Duo is a stylish, light and effective jersey that's stretchy, breathable and very comfortable to wear.
Verdict
Brilliant, breathable jersey with looks that match its top performance
Make and model: La Passione Duo Jersey Woman
Tell us what the product is for
La Passione says: "Duo Jersey Woman features great breathability and a great fit thanks to its stretchy and ultra-lightweight fabric."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
La Passione lists: "Four Made fabrics
High stretch, close-fitting Pro cut
Laser raw-cut long sleeves
Covered reversed full length zip with Cam Lock puller
Inner bottom zip cover for safe Bib Shorts
Silicone waist gripper
Three reinforced rear pockets
3M Scotchlite rear reflective stripe
Hold the Line logo on the back
La Passione wordmark on the right sleeve"
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
Rate the product for fit:
9/10
Rate the product for sizing:
7/10
If you have skinny arms, I recommend sizing down to ensure a flush fit. As the fabric is stretchy I found it still fitted nicely around my chest in the size smaller.
Rate the product for weight:
8/10
Rate the product for comfort:
9/10
Rate the product for value:
6/10
How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?
All good.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
An excellent performance jersey with plenty of breathability.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Soft, comfortable fabric, close fit, attractive colour schemes.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Only three standard rear pockets – no zipped one for valuables.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
Cheaper than other top-quality performance jerseys from Rapha and Bioracer.
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
The Duo is a very breathable jersey made from high quality materials that sit softly against the skin - in the size small the fit and cut was absolutely spot on. The colour options are good, too. There are no compromises going on here. It's excellent.
Age: 23 Height: 177cm Weight: 62kg
I usually ride: Road bike My best bike is:
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, Gravel riding, indoor turbo and rollers, track
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