Vulpine has been teasing us this autumn with the launch of a series of collections aimed to keep us riding into the darker months.
We've already covered the brand’s Nightfall Commute, Rainy City and Indian Summer, collections when they were launched earlier this year. It’s now released its fourth and final urban cycling collection, called Luxury Winter.
Reflective dart in rear of jacket adds night time visibility
Vulpine promises several winter jackets for men and women. Headline garments are the Men’s Cycling Mac and Women’s Trench Coat. They are made of waterproof and breathable fabric, include a dart of reflective material in the tail split and both are sold in navy or stone.
Half zip merino cashmere sweater has suede shoulder pads for your pack
The Luxury Winter collection also includes a men’s half zip merino cashmere sweater with suede shoulder pads so you can carry a sack when wearing it. There are a number of accessories too, such as a merino collar and silk scarves.
Nightfall collection
The Nightfall release consists of just one jacket, the Nightfall Commute, in a men’s and a women’s version, which is available in either Orange (which Vulpine calls Mandarin) or Navy. It’s available in men’s and women’s sizes from XS to XXL.
Vulpine's Nightfall jacket has all-over reflectives
The main feature of the jacket is the reflective fabric used. This has small reflective dashes that cover the whole of the jacket. The dashes are subtle enough not to scream out “reflective”, but extensive enough to provide a lot of visibility in a car’s headlights.
>>> Tips for riding in the dark (video)
Vulpine says that the Nightfall Commute is also waterproof and breathable as well as being well ventilated, thanks to its separate yoke at the back of the shoulder. It features a high, close fitting collar, waterproof YKK zipper and shaped sleeves with cuffs designed to extend some way over the tops of your hands when cycling. It’s priced at £195.
Rainy City collection
The principal piece in the Rainy City collection is the Waterproof Deluge jacket. Like the Nightfall jacket, this comes in either navy or orange, but the Deluge adds extra rain protection. Vulpine says it's fully waterproof and breathable. There are vents on the sides too, angled to let steam out but stop rain coming in and a removable dropped tail. It comes in men's and women's sizes from XS to XXL and costs £275.
Rainy City includes water resistant trousers as well as fully waterproof jackets
Also in the Rainy City collection are Tailored Rain Trousers. At £150, they are water and wind resistant with a cycling-specific cut and buttoned ankle turn up to stop them ending up in your chain. They come in black, olive or navy.
And Vulpine has bundled up its classic waterproof cotton Harrington jacket at £250 and £15 merino socks into the collection too.
New fabrics and features
Vulpine's Indian Summer range includes garments which are part of its new Made in Britain collection and are designed so that you can wear one set of clothes for the commute and for work and after-work.
Indian Summer range is designed for changeable conditions
Vulpine says that Indian Summer is designed for late summer and cool autumn urban riding. It’s designed to be multi-purpose, lightweight and comfortable and cater for cold starts and changeable conditions when out riding.
Watch: buyer's guide to spring and autumn clothing
New fabrics and features
Vulpine has upgraded the fabrics it uses in many of its best sellers, like the Harrington rain jacket with increased wear resistance and stretch and the merino Alpine jersey, now made with extrafine merino. It says that its customers’ feedback has also led to new features including two-way zips.
There are also new stretch jeans for men and women, which are slim cut and designed to offset the seams from the saddle area by inclusion of a diamond gusset.
Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.
He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.
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