Vulpine Mens Insulated Riding Overshirt

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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