Rapha Pro Team Short Sleeve Shadow Jersey

Rapha's Pro Team Shadow is a close-fitting wind and water-resistant jersey that's made to a very high standard, although the price makes it hard to favour over some of the opposition.

There are a lot of rain/foul weather/classics/weatherproof jerseys (we could really do with a single overarching term for them) out there these days. You know the type of thing: they're wind resistant, water resistant and breathable in a close aero cut, designed for riding in the rain, wind and changeable conditions.

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Rapha has taken a different approach from most with its Shadow jersey – developed with and for Team Sky, apparently – in that rather than using a laminate material, it uses a single nylon/elastane layer. The yarn is given a durable water repellent (DWR) treatment before being stretch-woven into fabric. Then a steam-pressure treatment shrinks it by half before another DWR is applied.

The result is a very dense fabric – not thick, but very tightly woven. It's not completely windproof but it is highly wind resistant so not much cold air gets in on cold rides. I'm never going to use a short sleeve jersey when it's below about 12°C outside but you might want to wear the Pro Team Shadow when the temperature is well down into single figures.

Spray from the road just beads up and rolls off the surface and the same goes for fog, drizzle, and light rain. If you're out in prolonged rain, water can gradually seep in, initially through the seams around the arms (not the ones on top of the shoulders or down the sides because they're taped) and any folds in the fabric.

The Shadow's breathability is good, moist air escaping relatively easily, although the difference between this and something like Castelli's Gabba isn't great in this respect. In warmer temperatures – over about 16°C for me – you can start to feel too hot and the atmosphere can feel tropical inside, but for spring/autumn and cooler summer days it'll stop you getting clammy and uncomfortable on the climbs, while keeping the air off your chest on the descents.

> Read 10 spring/autumn/winter survival jerseys... from the Gabba to the Shadow jersey

I've seen and heard quite a few comments saying the Pro Team Shadow's cut isn't great: it's too tight around the middle and the sleeves don't fit right. Maybe I'm just lucky but it fits me really well (that's not me in the pics, by the way). The fabric has masses of four-way stretch and I found it to be close-fitting and comfortable throughout. Both the collar and sleeves fit me closely so no cool air can slink in there.

Those sleeves are 'three-quarter length', meaning they come right down to your elbows. I'm not sure what's three-quarter length about that but I do like that little bit of extra coverage compared with standard short sleeves. The all-round stretchiness of the fabric also means there are very few folds where water can accumulate when you're riding in the rain.

The back isn't as long as you'll find on some other rain jerseys, and there's no foldaway bumflap either. That's not an issue if you're wearing Rapha's Pro Team Shadow bib shorts (£260) because they're made of exactly the same water resistant fabric, but it means you could get a wet arse if you're in normal shorts.

A chunky puller on the full-length zip allows you a degree of climate control. There's a flap behind that zip, by the way, which helps stop cold air and rainwater getting through.

The inner face of the fabric is brushed so it's comfortable next to your skin (personally, I wear a baselayer whatever the conditions), while the collar has a wicking lining to deal with sweat around your neck.

You get three cargo pockets at the rear, each with an eyelet in the bottom to allow water that gets in to drain out again. Those eyelets are a couple of centimetres up from the bottom of the pockets, though, and quite a bit of water can accumulate below that level (Castelli now puts mesh at the bottom of the Gabba's pockets, which is a more effective solution, in my opinion, if not quite as clean looking). There's a fourth zipped pocket back there for your valuables; you can get an iPhone 5 in there, but not an iPhone 6. I've not had any trouble fitting everything I've wanted to carry on a ride into those pockets, and it has all remained stable and easy enough to access.

A black reflective tab will help get you seen in headlights if you're out in low light conditions but it's pretty small – some rivals have far more reflective trim – and the gripper elastic on the rear hem is embossed with sticky rubber so it really does grip.

All good then? Mainly, although some of the rival jerseys out there include features that you don't get with the Shadow. The Castelli Perfetto that I reviewed recently, for example, has a fold-away flap that stops road spray getting through the back of your shorts to your bum. The Shadow shorts do a similar job, but you have to pay a whopping £260 for them...

Verdict

Very good wind and weather-resistant jersey, but that price is hard to handle