Pistard are a young Italian cycle wear company from Milan who have a compact range of garments for road and urban cycling. Milan is the fashion capital of Italy, Europe and the world and the cycle wear from Pistard more than confirms this status.
The most striking thing about the Pistard wind jacket is the style, put this on and you will look a million dollars. The luxurious black fabric actually glitters in the light. The attention to detail is excellent; it looks and feels well made. The collar is warm and comfortable and the length of the arms and the front and back is good, not too long and not too short.
In practice, the light weight windproof jacket fits nicely over a jersey or top. The material is a heat-regulating membrane that is water repellent and wind proof while remaining breathable. Quite simply, the jacket delivers the goods. It is not a heavy jacket designed to keep you warm during the longest and coldest rides however using correct layering with an active undergarment, cycling jersey and the jacket – I found that in colder temperature down to about 8 degrees, I remained warm enough and was well protected from wind. Also, with correct layering, breathability is good and it doesn’t suffer the problems of a thicker jacket that would keep the sweat in.
On the inside there is a rubber strip lining the waist and prevents the jacket from slipping and give a nice snug fit. The waist can also be tightened on the inside to ensure a good fit.
Rubber in the Pistard Windproof Jacket
I was able to avoid being caught out in the rain while reviewing this jacket so I took a more practical approach to testing the water proofing capabilities. With a good spray of water, the water doesn’t pearl, rather it soaks into the fabric, but not through to the skin. After some time it does start to slowly seep through the membrane however as a wind jacket it will keep you dry and warm during a light sprinkle while for a torrential downpour you should be better prepared.
One of the highlights is that it is a very comfortable compact wind jacket and for casual urban riding is a good alternative to a thicker robust jacket; this one will keep you looking good and make riding more comfortably. The mebrane fabric is more sensitive than the run-of-the-mill jerseys and jackets so it goes without saying that you do need to take more care of it.
For road riders, it is actually possible to fold the jacket and squeeze it into a back pocket however it is a tight fit and not very comfortable on long rides. For night time riders, the black windproof jacket is not really the best option in terms of cycling safety however two small reflective strips have been added on the back to catch the glare of headlights.
I can highly recommend the Pistard for cool weather riding. It is a stylish and comfortable windproof jacket for both performance cyclist as well as the urban cyclist who can free themself of logos and just enjoy riding.
The Pistard windproof cycling jacket retails for ?135 (approx. $190) plus shipping and can be purchased directly from Pistard online: www.pistard.cc
