Orro Cycling Gilet

The Orro Cycling Gilet, from the same range as the jersey we reviewed recently, carries the same black and gold theme and gives useful protection against autumnal or springtime conditions.

• Pros: Decent wind and water resistance, excellent fit, mesh back keeps you cool
• Cons: A bit pricey, available only in black

It's September, so it's time to start thinking about kit for cooler rides, or those with a risk of a shower. A good gilet is a great thing to have in your cycling wardrobe, as it will keep your core warm and can be stashed in a jersey pocket if the sun comes out. This, from Orro, is just such a gilet, intelligently designed using three technical fabrics, and it will help keep your torso warm and mostly dry on autumnal rides.

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Gilets come in all shapes and sizes – we've tested insulated gilets, featherweight wind-blocking gilets, waterproof gilets... and each is good in its own right. The Orro gilet is designed, says Orro, "for the rider who likes to travel at speed", and I reckon that's about right.

The front is made from Flier fabric, which is clever stuff. It's wind resistant, as you'd expect, but also offers reasonable protection from water (quoted at 8100mm, which is not on a par with a hardshell, but will keep a shower mostly outside). It's also quite stretchy in the horizontal plane, helping deliver a close fit which isn't constrictive.

The back of the Orro gilet is made from a fabric called Fresh, which is a very airy mesh. It gives no protection from wind or rain, but is positioned to allow your body heat to escape, and it does this job very effectively. When you're riding at speed, this combination of protection at the front and dissipation at the rear works a treat.

There are side panels, made from a third fabric, this time called Stretch. See if you can guess what that does... Yep, it adds some more elasticity to the overall fit, the same trick as used in the matching jersey, helping to achieve an overall fit which is close to the skin and hence free of flapping, while being able to accommodate different body shapes.

On the subject of which, there are five sizes here (no women's version at present), catering for chest sizes between 36 and 44 inches, according to the size chart. Sizing is on the Italian side – I am a medium according to the chart, but the supplied large fitted me just right, and I wouldn't have wanted a smaller size. (It's not me in the photos.)

One key metric for gilets is how well they pack down. Especially at this time of year, you might well want that extra layer just for the start of a ride. The Orro will easily pack down to fit in a jersey pocket, and in most of my jerseys could share a pocket with a pump without any difficulty.

> Buyer's Guide: 9 of the best cycling gilets

That's impressive, especially given that it has no fewer than four pockets (which obviously adds bulk). There's wide divergence in the approach taken to pockets in gilets, with some offering simple flaps through which you can reach your jersey below. Here, Orro has simply replicated the arrangement on its matching jersey, with three decent sized pockets and a zipped valuables pocket big enough to accommodate most modern smartphones. That makes fetching something out mid-ride very easy, although you just need a few extra seconds to transfer the contents from the gilet to the jersey when taking it off – meaning that you're probably less likely to want do do that while riding.

Orro has done a good job on the details too, with comfortable fabric used on the collar and a helpfully grabbable zip pull. I'm always glad to see the presence of some reflectives on this sort of garment too, as this time of year you can get caught out with the earlier dusk. Orro has a sewn-in strip on the central pocket (as you can see above) which helps with visibility, especially given that black is the only available colour here.

Priced at £89.99, this isn't a cheap gilet. That price puts it somewhere in the middle of the range between the value-driven brands and the really high-end stuff. dhb's Aeron gilet is £40, the Huez Moonrider is/was £155... You can get fully waterproof gilets for the same sort of price, but for my money, the arrangement used here is maybe better if you like to ride hard. If you like the black and gold aesthetic and are happy to spend this much, I'd definitely recommend this gilet.

Verdict

Good performance in autumnal conditions and great fit, best suited for riding hard