Hardvark Tailored Performance merino shirt, £139, www.hardvark.co
AN OUTFIT suitable for bike and office is the bike-to-worker’s sartorial holy grail. In its new ‘Tailored Performance merino shirt’, indoor-outdoor clothing company Hardvark offers a solution to the top half of the commuting conundrum: ‘Should I wear my work garb on the bike and risk sweating into it or carry it in a bag and change when I get there?’
Wrinkling (shirts no longer look perfectly ironed after you’ve folded them for your commute), B-O and time are among practicalities cyclists must consider. How long does it take to change? Is there a shower at work? Are you happy to use chemical deodorants?
Hardvark’s shirt is made of merino wool with some stretchy fabric in the mix and according to the makers, who sent The Irish News one to try out, it ‘warms, wicks, stretches, breathes, won’t wrinkle and resists odour’. Ideal for both saddle and desk, then.
The warm bit is true, unfortunately – though, to be fair, testing a wool shirt in May probably isn’t ideal. But it did give me a chance to test the wicking capabilities – that is, how the material draws moisture from your skin as you perspire.
Not entirely efficiently on my five-mile e/w commute, sad to say, and I fear I would have hummed a bit as the day progressed but for the shirt's odour-resistance.
That said, it looks quite smart, feels nice to wear and I guess its warmth will be handy in winter.
3/5
