Morvelo Merino Pimento jersey

The Morvelo Pimento jersey uses a combination of merino wool and polyester to give cosy comfort against the skin and a durable outer layer. It's a low-bulk winter jersey that's great for layering and pretty comfortable.

• Pros: Comfortable, low-bulk warmth, should hold its shape better than pure merino
• Cons: Pricey, not weatherproof (but not claimed to be)

Morvelo is a British brand hailing from Brighton. Having started out with a range of T-shirts, today it makes some pretty cool cycling gear, using a range of technical fabrics. Here it uses what it describes as a unique Italian fabric to offer the benefits of natural and synthetic fibres. It's 40% merino wool and 60% polyester, with the wool on the inside (for comfort) and the polyester on the outside. If that sounds familiar, it's because Sportwool (used by Rapha and a bunch of other brands) has a very similar construction. But hey, it works, so don't knock it.

Although the fabric here is relatively light and low bulk, it is surprisingly cosy on colder days. The combination works fantastically when layering up, and I found I used it a lot through autumn and into the start of winter. I wore it on its own when the temperature was around 12°C, and added a baselayer and then a jacket over the top as the mercury dropped. It doesn't have any weather resistance, so if the weather is iffy you will need a top layer over it. Many modern jerseys now feature some windproofing and even water resistance, meaning you can get by with fewer layers on changeable days, but this is not one of them. That's fine, though, because you can also get very breathable and pocketable rain jackets too.

The wool inner surface feels really nice against the skin, so what are the benefits of the synthetic outer surface? It helps give greater stability to the garment, meaning the pockets don't sag and it should survive several seasons of wearing and washing without changing shape, both things that pure merino jerseys can be rather prone to. It can also be printed. Morvelo is definitely not a brand to shy away from graphics – it has a very different aesthetic to Rapha, for example.

This jersey is available in this Pimento design as well as a grey with stripes that reminds me rather of velodrome lines. Pleasingly, both are available in men's and women's sizing. If you're not so keen on the slightly faded green it's worth checking out the Stripes design.

> Buyer's Guide: 13 of the best winter cycling jerseys

I tested a large, as that was what Morvelo's sizing tool recommended. It generally fitted well, although I felt the sleeves were longer than they needed to be. That's not me in the photos, but you can see the sleeves bunching around the model's wrists too. Not a big deal, and I'd rather they were a centimetre too long than too short.

The details are all present and correct, with zip garage and baffle, reflectives around the back (both the logo on the central pocket and the tab below it) and the full complement of good-sized pockets, including a hidden zipped one for valuables.

We're spoiled for choice with modern cycle wear these days. For this sort of money you could buy a jersey with built-in weather proofing, but it wouldn't be as breathable or likely as comfortable as this, so there is still a lot to be said for layering. The Pimento jersey's low bulk fabric makes it a perfect choice for that, and it's just so cosy against the skin.

Pricing is very similar to options from Rapha and Podia that we've tested. It's not a cheap jersey but I expect it will last longer than pure merino jerseys I've used. I like it a lot.

Verdict

Harnesses the strengths of natural and manmade fibres to give a great jersey for layering – cosy yet low bulk