MAAP Draft Team Vest

The MAAP Draft Team Vest is a very lightweight gilet that acts as an effective barrier against nippy winds, plus it is conveniently packable and stashable on the go. Don't rely on it for anything beyond mild inclemency, though, as the water resistance is nothing to write home about.

Check out our guide to the best cycling gilets for more options.

> Buy now: MAAP Draft Team Vest for £120 from MAAP

MAAP is known for its more premium apparel – but although other well-reviewed and nicely designed gilets are available for under the £100 marker, the Team Vest does deliver technically, and once you've enjoyed its careful design and durable construction, you're unlikely to feel like you've overpaid.

The Draft Vest is ostensibly here to keep out draughts, so either the Aussie brand MAAP has gotten slightly confused with its spelling, or the model name is referring to the wind-dodging qualities afforded by drafting your mates in the club run.

Either way, this gilet isn't meant for the nasty stuff we get dished up in the UK. It functions well in the early mornings and late evenings, or as a little topper when you're flipping from sun to deep shade. I was wearing it over a jersey and no underlayer for rides up to 20°C with a windchill that felt a good bit colder. At my coffee stop I felt like I'd layered up to the right level.

The wind resistance is contained in the front panels which MAAP claims has "2 Way Stretch" but feels decidedly unforgiving compared with the bungee-like bendiness of the back panel. There is also some shoulder and side wind resistance, but these panels are punctuated with holes to help with breathability.

When descending I could feel the benefit of this blocking material which kept out the worst of the chill. Then, when climbing, the holes allowed hot air to escape, though I normally made use of the reversible bottom zipper, or unzipped entirely.

It was also straightforward to ball it up and stuff into my jersey pocket, though putting it back on is the only time when the reversible zipper can be a slight fiddle as you need to carefully align things.

Though it has a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) treatment, I didn't see much evidence of this when I encountered wet weather. The gilet was soon wet, and so was I. It's super light and airy, though, so it dried off in no time.

It's worth mentioning the internal zip guard which hides behind the zipper to make sure you don't have a vertical zip-shaped breeze throughout your ride. This folds over and becomes part of a neat zip garage at the neckline.

MAAP has added a blue half-moon rear collar tab to match the colour of the top zipper. I'm guessing, but maybe this helps when you're in a rush and not paying attention... a nice little detail, anyway.

Size me up

As well as letting warm air escape, the combination of the mesh panel and OEKO-TEX-certified elastic hem band (it's been tested for harmful substances) means the sizing is handily flexible. It will hug to your frame and adapt, so adding bonus items to your pockets mid-ride won't be an issue. And this hem is a sizable chunk of elastic that grips effectively to your jersey or bibs.

I am always a fan of a double-ended zip. Having it all zipped up with the bottom undone slightly gives you more room to manoeuvre and maintains the majority of the wind protection.

The MAAP website slightly confusingly shows both a 191cm and a 178cm model wearing a small. I'm 188cm and found the medium quite snug, so there's a little bit of fogginess there.

Speaking of which… the 'Fog' shade I tested is actually one of the lightest and brightest of the 11 available colours. I like being visible without promoting myself to head lollipop man, so the reflective MAAP logos were welcome – albeit not wildly lighthouse-like. The other thing about an off-white top layer is spray damage. Even on good days, you're likely to get a bit of dark matter up your back, and this did start to tell a little on the meshy porous material.

Value

One of the cons of Nick's review of Rapha's Men's Pro Team Lightweight Gilet was price, and it comes in £15 less than the MAAP. It's also 12g lighter, also has a double zipper, and Nick was pleased with the wind-repelling properties.

The MAAP is cheaper than the Universal Colours Chroma Insulated Unisex Gilet, but that is obviously offering some extra protection for its £155 price tag, as well as some environmental credentials, though it didn't score quite as well.

It weighs more, 119g, because of the insulation, and has some decent DWR for inclement spells, but didn't perform that well on descents according to Ali.

Conclusion

Spend £120 on a gilet and you might reasonably expect to receive something that offers a bit of water resistance as well as versatility in other conditions. That's not really the case here, but equally MAAP doesn't herald this as an all-weather garment; it falls firmly into its 'Wind' category. If you're happy to be guided by that, and will be satisfied with an excellent quality bit of apparel that will likely last for years (and if you damage it in a crash, MAAP has a 40% discount replacement policy), then the Draft Team Vest is a very good option.

Verdict

This thoughtfully constructed and premium wind shield isn't all seasons, but it is all good