Designed for chilly two-wheeled adventures, the SCOTT Trail Storm long-sleeve women's shirt offers a soft, welcoming warmth. Despite the dropped back hem for riding, I found the length to come up slightly short, and the fabric does begin to bobble fairly quickly, which I wouldn't expect from a jersey at this price.
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As part of their Trail Storm collection, both the men's and women's range of winter mountain bike apparel feature this long-sleeve jersey. Constructed with 92% Polyester and 8% Elastane blend, this thick-feel jersey has a lovely, soft luxury feel. There are mesh inserts on both sides that aid ventilation, also made using Polyester and Polymide materials. This overall combination results in a regular fitting long-sleeve jersey that utilises DUROxpand 4-way stretch and DRYOxcell quick-dry technology.
Other jersey features include a dropped rear hem for coverage when adopting a riding stance, a lens wipe on the inside of the hem and those mesh underarm panels for ventilation. I must point out that SCOTT's website says there is a "Hidden zippered side pocket with integrated lens wipe", but there isn't a pocket whatsoever. I've triple-checked this to within an inch of my sanity - there is no pocket. Funnily, the same thing happened with the Nukeproof jersey I tested last year.
And finally - The SCOTT Trail Storm women's jersey is available in two colourways; ochre red and breeze/dark blue. Sizes range from XS to XL, accommodating a chest size between 31" to 42".
SCOTT Trail Storm women's jersey | Fit & Performance
My chest size is approximately 35", so I've been testing a small size, which fitted well, providing enough stretch where it's needed. The only issue I had with the fit is that the body length comes up shorter than I would have preferred. I like to tuck my jersey into my bottoms, especially on cold days, because midriff exposure is a young person's game, and I'm all about the warmth nowadays. Even though I could tuck in, the jersey hem would often creep up from the waistband with some twisting and turning.
Aside from the length, this jersey is extremely comfortable to wear on the bike. It stretches and flexes with the body as you ride, and the ventilation panels did well to disperse some body heat. I like how the soft brushed inside feels against the skin; it's cosy and warm, which helped take the edge off the winter's chill. However, I soon noticed the soft brushed inside began to show through to the outside, creating a bobbling effect that somewhat tarnished the aesthetic of the design. Patches of the white fluff gave the jersey a tattered look after a few rides and machine washes (and yes, I washed to the label's recommendations of 30-degrees and no tumble dryer).
It must be said, though, that this unsightly effect isn't isolated to the SCOTT jersey alone. My Madison Zenith Thermal jersey is constructed with a similar blend, and that also began to bobble and show external fluff. Even Liam noticed this in his review of the men's version. So rather than this being a design flaw due to poor material choice, it looks to be a negative property of these fabrics in general. And to be clear, external fluffing may look a bit naff, but it did not impact the jerseys' performance whatsoever. No holes emerged, no diminishing effect in the warmth factor, and the fluff didn't teleport itself to other garments or accessories.
SCOTT Trail Storm women's jersey | Value & verdict
As I mentioned, there's a similar jersey on offer from Madison, the Zenith thermal jersey. This retails for £50, which is more than £20 cheaper than the SCOTT Trail Storm jersey. The Madison jersey feels much thicker and doesn't have mesh ventilation panels or a lens wipe.
Altura's Esker thermal jersey retails for £50 and uses Polartec PowerGridTM windproof fabric with a DWR finish. Unfortunately, it's made with only men in mind, but Liam really rated it.
Endura also offers a fleece jersey for winter riding, the Singletrack Fleece, at £65. The more MTB-looking version is, again, men's only. However, there is a female version for the same price, but it's collared with a half-zip and actually features a little zip pocket in the rear.
To summarise, the SCOTT Trail Storm women's jersey has a cosy luxury feel; it's warm and soft against the skin while offering an excellent level of flexibility. Unfortunately, there is no stash pocket as described; it runs a little short on the body length, and the internal brushed fleeced quickly began to pull through the fabric. Then, of course, when compared with a few other similar options, the £73 price tag is really hard to justify when there's little extra being offered.
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