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SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING
LATEST UPDATE: APRIL 26th
HOW DO WE DECIDE OUR OVERALL RATINGS FOR PRODUCTS WE REVIEW?
STOLEN GOAT ORKAAN EVERYDAY JERSEY
Long-sleeve XL 422g Juno (as tested) £125
Stolen Goat’s Orkaan Everyday range has been around for a while, but with new designs available for 2018 this seems like a good time to take deeper look. Strong design, great styling, and a high-end spec are what you’d expect at this price point, but there’s a lot else to admire. Even so, any garment that aims to deal with so much, will have some limitations when weather gets extreme.
Pros: potentially a real all-in-one jersey.
Cons: thinking hard, be nice to have bigger a zip tab when gloved-up.
Spec
Stolen Goat’s fundamental philosophy is to produce high quality cycling garments that are appropriate for winter, summer, and those mixed autumn-spring days. The notion is that a “capsule” of gear for each season – from jerseys to bib shorts/three-quarter tights to arm-warmers etc, will see you right as the cycling year runs its course.
The Orkaan Long Sleeved Jersey is offered for temperatures between 8C and 14C, or thereabouts. Their website also suggests 6C to 18C, which is a pretty big range. In truth, Stolen Goat’s parameters are subtler than that by taking precipitation and sunshine into account, too. “Perfect for mild/cool but changeable conditions,” is what they have told us.
They’ve confirmed, too, that the Orkaan Everyday jersey is water-resistant as opposed to waterproof (seams are not sealed). In reality, there’s a balance to be had between comfort, wicking, and keeping precipitation out. Expect to see showers and drizzle roll off. On the other side of the coin, Stolen Goat place an emphasis on speedy drying.
Layering is not Stolen Goat’s bag – a discussion-point in itself. However, you can see where they are coming from. Needless to say, there are winter and summer ranges, too. On that point, there are women’s version available.
Made from UV protected, four-way stretch Tempest fabric, 80% polyamide and 20% elastane, there’s no shell. Building the water-resistance into the fabric makes for a fine soft, silky finish with a distinctly sporty look. That’s not to say it’s aggressively racy; that’s the Race Fit line. However, there’s a much sportier feel in the fabric and the style compared to, say, the clubbable classic The Light Blue Classic jersey.
Sleeves are suitably long; cuffs, hem, and collar more than sufficiently soft and tight-fitting. Zips are my biggest bug-bear with jerseys. The Orkaan’s is a full-length YKK zip. Coming from a firm with a reputation for dependability, it looks about as solid as one can get. There’s no inner or outer flap, rather the zip is recessed into the fabric which overlaps it on either side. The zip tab is quite small, so ham-fisted folk such as I might wish to fashion an extension – say with a suitably colour coordinated cable tie.
Three rear pockets, along with a zipped stash pocket, is not unusual these days. It’s worth remembering that the stash pocket is water-resistant, too. Pockets also feature Pixel 100 reflective material. Our Juno design sports bright red and orange – other versions are equally eye-catching and imaginative.
Worn next the skin, it’s brushed inner feels soft and tactile. Raglan collar comes with a “zip garage” preventing a unwanted day long friction.
Sizing
Orkaan Everyday range could be described as Aero-lite. Looser than Race Fit. Going strictly by the sizing guide, I went for the XL. A perfect length, and, actually a perfect fit. Mind, with base-layer in mind (shsush, that’s a bit against the philosophy), going a size up might be a good idea. Not that things aren’t comfortable. Sizes range from small to XXXL.
Zipped up against the weather, the collar felt a bit tight. Having said that, people say I have a lot of neck, and on cooler, damp days I have been happy to have a good seal.
Care
Advice is that hand or machine wash up to 40C max is ok, although I preferred to stick at 30C, with a little liquid soap. Line dry only and cool iron. No doubt mistreatment will spoil any warranty, whatever its effect on performance. Read the labels and consult the website.
Sans mudguards, country lanes added a good deal of splatter of imprecise content to the jersey. Seemed like a good idea to sponge some of this off on returning home. Certainly, a hand-wash got rid of a good deal of muck, but a delicate cycle with no spin (we are talking washing machine) was needed for more deeply ingrained grime.
Drying time without a spin was around three hours, outdoors on a cloudy day. With a moderate spin, around an hour. Expect much, much faster when riding; a few minutes after a short light shower.
Performance
Stolen Goat recommend a wash before use – jersey that is.
First ride was a fifty miler on a cloudy damp day. Setting off with around 8C in the thermometer, I felt a distinct chill at the 12mph mark. Pumping this up to close to twenty, things were very comfortable. Wicking worked very well. Even when the weather warmed up to 12C things remained temperate whatever the speed.
Fortunately, rain set in. Happily, the water-resistant promise was fulfilled. Drizzle turned to gentle rain. Lovely to see drips running down the sleeves. On the sleeve front, they are plenty long enough to keep things covered, even on the drops, whilst the deep cuffs keep things in place without cutting off the blood flow. Torso of cyclist remained dry as a bone.
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Neither has persistent drizzle offered a threat. Few garments are truly waterproof, and Stolen Goat do not claim that the Orkaan is. Even so, fifty minutes of steady/heavy rain did not get in. Things still felt comfortably warm at a moderate 15mph. My minor concern regarding watery ingress at the zip proved to be unfounded – though a relaxed crouch over the hoods helped, no doubt.
Breaking the non-layering creed, I have combined the Orkaan with a base-layer (Altura’s Thermocool Base). Things quickly get very warm with the temperature just below the Orkaan’s comfort zone. Likewise, with mid-September storms, donning a breathable waterproof to fend of torrential rain worked well. Pushing hard and wicking was pushed to its limits, but not really a problem for short periods of very heavy rain.
Drying out on the bike is speedy. Hard to be precise, though I reckon ten minutes or so, but keep the cadence up.
Generally, I try to avoid scuffing things against walls, and so on. Gentle brushes with undergrowth have made no impression, but I’d not dive too far into the brambles.
Taking things to the letter of Stolen Goat’s all-day creed, I’ve carried all necessary gear in the pockets. Restrained by elasticated hems, multi-tool, tyre levers, tube, repair kit, pump, lock, and that skinny shell jacket (shush), have made no bid for freedom. Cash, phone (6 and SE) and keys, in the zip pocket, have been kept dry. As for the reflective Pixel 100, the entire panel of pockets shimmers.
Conclusion
I have tried to provoke the Goat, but it stubbornly does what it claims to. I’d say that the Orkaan Everyday is ideal for speedy forays, longer day rides, commuting – even touring in the right circumstances. It functions, I feel, best when the rider is working, so it may suit moderate to faster cyclists best. There are jerseys claiming similar properties, but at this level they are matters of degree and personal preference.
Verdict: 4.5/5 Performance matches its considerable claims.
Steve Dyster
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PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2018
