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review

Shimano Compact Wind Vest

8
£54.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Impressive windproofing from such a lightweight gilet at a competitive price
Weight: 
95g

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With its black shiny finish and simplistic looks, the Shimano Compact Wind Vest could be mistaken for a glorified bin bag but it is much, much better than that. Keeping you warm where you need it and cool where you don't, it does everything you'd want of a good gilet.

Heading out for a ride into a chilly northerly, you soon notice how effective the Vest is. I could feel the wind on my arms, hands and legs, even though they were all covered, but the front of my torso was warm; no, make that toasty. There was a really noticeable difference between the areas covered by that polyester windproof panel and those not.

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The windproofing covers your front and reaches right up and over your shoulders. The mid-section of the rear uses a much lighter mesh construction, which means the Wind Vest is very breathable. Even working hard on a climb with a long-sleeve jersey underneath, I never got overwhelmed in perspiration.

Shimano Mens Compact Wind vest - shoulders.jpg

The arm holes fit snugly too, and not in an uncomfortable way like I found with the recently tested Condor Professional. This stops any of the breeze whipping in around your armpits.

Shimano Mens Compact Wind vest - riding.jpg

The Shimano has an all-round better cut than the Condor too – close enough throughout to reduce any flappy material, but in no way restrictive to your movements. You also get a decent length dropped tail to keep you covered when stretched out over the bike.

Shimano Mens Compact Wind vest - back.jpg

At the rear there's a zipped pocket big enough to hold a phone and some energy gels or other ride essentials, which is handy as you don't have access to your main jersey pockets really unless you stop.

Shimano Mens Compact Wind vest - pocket.jpg

Weight is key with a gilet like this, and at 95g the Shimano is heavier than the exceptionally light 78g Condor – not that you'd be able to tell in the real world. Stuff it in your jersey pocket and you aren't going to notice it at all, plus it folds down to a very small package size.

The full-length zip has a large material tab on it, which makes for easy adjustment even with gloves on, plus it helps if you want to put on or remove the gilet while riding.

Shimano Mens Compact Wind vest - chest.jpg

A claim of '360 degree highly visible reflectivity' might make you think the Vest could be exactly what you are after for a bit of night riding, but don't get too excited. At best it's a few token reflective patches; the one on the rear pocket isn't too bad, plus you've got one on each side that might get picked up at a junction, but they aren't exactly screaming. Also, the Shimano logo is the only thing that is reflective around the front, and that'll be pretty invisible once you are riding.

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

Looking at pricing, the Shimano is more expensive than both the Condor and dhb Aeron Lightweight Windslam, the latter scoring very highly in our review.

The Shimano has a much better fit for me than the Condor, so I would happily splash the extra tenner on this, but the dhb would just take the top spot thanks to details such as being able to access your jersey pockets through openings in the side.

However, the overall quality and finish of the Shimano is top notch, and if you did pay the little extra you wouldn't be disappointed.

Verdict

Impressive windproofing from such a lightweight gilet at a competitive price

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Shimano Men's Compact Wind Vest

Size tested: Medium

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Shimano says: "Our smallest and lightest protection package. This go-to vest protects your core in cool weather as well as from wind and water."

It does fold up impressively small.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

From the Madison website:

Windproof and water resistant fabric

Packable into jersey pocket

Elastic silicon gripper on back to keep the vets in place

360 degree highly visible reflectivity

Fabrics: 100% polyester

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for fit:
 
8/10
Rate the product for sizing:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

Thirty-degree cycle in the machine sees everything come up clean and tidy.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

As a windproof you can't knock it really.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Windproof performance.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Claim of '360 degree highly visible reflectivity' is stretching it a bit...

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your score

The Shimano gilet is a decent quality bit of kit with excellent windproofing, without causing overheating.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: Kinesis Aithein

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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2 comments

Avatar
StraelGuy | 6 years ago
0 likes

Ha, ha, true. My new winter kit is a Kuro black Stolen Goat jacket and Black Castelli bibs. I'm going to cycle through this winter like a cycling ninja (with very good lights!).

Avatar
davel | 6 years ago
1 like

Uh-oh, the Normanites won't like the fact that it isn't radioactive green or Disney pink.

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