Santini Womens Wool Tech Sleeveless Base Layer

I find a merino vest is a winter essential, and Santini's Women's Wool Tech Sleeveless Base Layer makes a great addition to your wardrobe – albeit at a hefty price for such a minimal piece of clothing. Cost aside, it ticks all the boxes. Made in Italy, construction quality and performance are top notch, and its wicking ability is aided by the snug fit (it's a different model in the pics).

• Pros: Comfortable, breathable, long back
• Cons: Expensive, a bit high cut under the arms

The fine-weave, super-lightweight fabric is two-thirds merino and a third synthetic, making it nicely breathable and also very fast-drying if it does get sweaty. It feels soft and cosy against the skin, with no irritation. It's ideal to wear under a long-sleeve jersey on cool spring and autumn days – Santini says use when 0-15°C – but if the mercury dips lower you'll probably want a more substantial baselayer.

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The vest is simply made from just a front and a back panel – both decently long – with a racer back to prevent any shoulder strap slippage. The close-fitting cut is perhaps a little too high under the arms – I was aware of the seams there when I first put the vest on but soon forgot about them once riding.

Sizing comes up small – I had a medium but think I could have gone for a large (there are seven options from XXS-XXL). It only comes in this purple colour.

> Buyer's Guide: 15 of the best cycling baselayers

I like Santini's vest for its performance but there's no getting away from that high price tag – even Rapha's is 'only' £50 (Tass tested the short-sleeve version earlier this year). Café du Cycliste has an almost identical one for £46, while Mons Royale makes a merino blend vest that has a higher percentage of merino and a longer body for £47. If you want pure merino then Alpkit's Kepler vest looks great value at £29.

Verdict

Good quality and comfortable merino blend vest that performs well, but you're paying extra for Italian style