Nalini Agnedo Jacket

Nalini's Gara Agnedo windproof jacket is essentially a windproof short sleeve jersey with separate arms that attached by zips on the shoulders.

I've deliberately described it that way around, as opposed to a jacket with removable arms. For me, this is down to the fit. The jersey part, without the arms, fits like a relatively tight jersey. It has short sleeves with gripper hems and a gripper hem around the waist too. The arms are a looser fit, more like a waterproof jacket, with enough room to fit a long sleeve jersey underneath.

According to the label, the Nalini Agnedo is made from no less than seven different materials, the most interesting of which is Mantotex, a light and elastic thermo-regulating membrane that is fairly waterproof, very windproof and wicks away sweat. Mantotex panels are used for the front and sides of the jersey and a strip down the back. The removable arms are also constructed from Mantotex. The material performs really well, but is not that nice next to the skin, so you'll be wanting to wear a baselayer (and armwarmers if you're using the removable arms).

One downside to these different materials is that the Mantotex hi-viz yellow loses its intensity at a different rate from the other materials after a dozen or so washes, so the jacket now has different shades of hi-viz yellow going on.

There are four pockets. Three, as you'd expect, are on the back. They're OK, but not great – a bit too loose for my liking. You wouldn't put a loose tenner in the pockets without worrying that it might make is way out. The upside of this is that you can stuff loads in there, if you're that way inclined. The fourth pocket is on the inside of the jersey where the outer pockets are, across the full width. This is designed to stow the arms when not in use. Things get a bit bulky with the arms in there, and stuff in the outer pockets as well. I found that either the weather warranted wearing the arms, and then they'd stay on, or not, and they stayed at home.

I could compare it to the Castelli Gabba or the Stolen Goat Orkaan jerseys we've reviewed, but they're not really aiming at the same market. The Nalini does not have the aero fit. It's probably a bit more waterproof and a bit less breathable. It comes in not-so-fashionable hi-viz (as well as in black). It's got removable arms.

So where does the Agnedo fit in to your wardrobe? You could argue that it's a jersey and windproof gilet in one, and you'd not be wrong. Where it shines is on rides where you're not quite sure about the weather (or you are sure, and you don't like it) but you want or need to ride anyway. Could be an Audax, could be a commute, could be a training ride. Choose the yellow one, and you'll be seen. With the removable arms, its temperature range is greater than a jersey and gilet combo.

Overall, I like the Agnedo. I'm not a big fan of the yellow, but actually the rides where I reach for it are those where I couldn't care less about what I look like. I've ended up using it loads over the winter, and will continue to do so on windy days.

Would I buy one? I'm not sure. There's no doubt that it's expensive. You could see it as a combination of jersey, windproof gilet and waterproof. You could say that it's cheaper than the combination of those. But I like being able to remove windproofness on some days. The Agnedo is not waterproof enough (no taped seams) to replace a proper waterproof either.

Having said that, if you're looking for one garment to do it all in changeable weather, it'll probably do you in most circumstances; it's just not quite as flexible as the constituent parts.

Verdict

Good wind/waterproof jersey/jacket for changeable weather, but a tad expensive