Megmeister Ultrafris Pro Cool Jersey

The Megmeister Ultrafris Pro Cool offers a relaxed fit, and its smooth fabric is comfortable next to the skin. However, it lacks the claimed cooling effects, the sleeves are prone to creeping up and the deep, open pockets bounce around with even minimal cargo.

Megmeister is a Dutch brand that specialises in seamless knit fabrics, and the Ultrafris Pro Cool is a new material. It's designed to be worn next to the skin and claims to offer 'sweat activated cooling' because it '...uses the athlete's own sweat to cool them down, turning a negative side effect of heat into a performance enhancing cooling agent.'

[It's worth pointing out here that sweat is a cooling agent, and is not a negative side effect of overheating unless you plan to die of heat exhaustion.]

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The Ultrafris Pro Cool jersey is available in sizes from XS to XXL, although the size guide doesn't actually list the specs for XS. As I am just under the numbers for size small, though, I tested XS.

I would describe the fit as relaxed, even in this smallest size. The sleeves are quite short though, and have no elastic or grippers to hold them in place. They're also quite wide, and I found they constantly moved upwards to a point this almost felt like a sleeveless jersey.

The fabric is very smooth and can easily be mistaken for velvet on the look and feel, although it is thankfully much lighter and has some stretch to it.

The pockets

The hem does get an silicone gripper and is a bit more secure, but the three large, deep pockets cause considerable problems. Even when carrying just a small amount – such as a phone and few items of food – the stretchy fabric lets everything bounce around. It's particularly bad during standing climbs, but even seated I found it frustrating. Hit a few bumps and everything moves around.

The hem elastic/gripper aren't enough to stop lopsided loads from twisting the whole jersey around your body, either. Even the weight of a few cereal bars saw me constantly shoving the pocket contents back in to line while riding.

You do at least get a zipped pocket to the side, which is big enough for a smaller phone, card or keys. With such deep, generous pockets it would be very easy to take more with you, but I would very much advise against this.

Despite the 'Pro Cool' name, airflow through the tightly woven fabric is quite low, even at speed – while it is not a complete wind block, cooling feels limited.

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And while the fabric does wick moisture away from your skin, it seems to hold onto more than is ideal, noticeably increasing the weight.

With temperatures into the low 20s, I found the thickness and weight made it uncomfortable, despite the full length YKK zip with its easy-to-find puller.

The fabric is perhaps more suited to spring, autumn or cooler summer days, although anyone who likes to use arm warmers may have issues with the sleeves rising up to leave gaps.

Value

The Megmeister Ultrafris Pro Cool retails for £99.95, which puts it among tough competition from well-regarded brands. The also slightly relaxed Rapha Men's Classic II is £110, for instance, while Endura's new GV500 Reiver SS is cheaper at £89.99.

Even heavily discounted – Megmeister is already offering it for £59.97 direct – it's still up against some very good jerseys, such as the £59.99 Madison Roam Men's Merino SS jersey that impressed Stu recently.

Overall

The Ultrafris Pro Cool really doesn't deliver on its promises – I found it almost the opposite, with limited cooling and slow evaporation hampering comfort and performance. The insecure sleeves and pockets do nothing to improve the situation either; unfortunately, it's hard to recommend whatever the price.

Verdict

Seamless construction is comfortable, but creates problems with baggy pockets and short sleeves – and it's not very cool