Q36.5 Adventure Jersey: a versatile gravel-biased jersey

Italian clothing brand Q36.5 has raised its profile over the last year or two with sponsorship of a pro team that now includes Britain’s Tom Pidcock. The name stems from the ‘optimal body temperature of the human body’ combined with the word 'quaerere', Latin for research, thus suggesting that Q36.5’s products strive to help you perform at your best by managing your body’s temperature.

As well as producing performance clothing for the road, up to and including Grand Tour level, they also have a range of garments for more gravel-based adventures. This includes shorts, vests, jackets and jerseys as well as shoes and gloves.

Tattoos, stubble and moody visage optional.

Construction

If the condescending cliche for making women's cycling clothing is ‘pink it and shrink it’, then I’d like to suggest ‘dull it and wool it’ as the gravel equivalent. Inevitably, Q36.5 has added 55% merino wool to the polyamide/polyester mix along with silver threads. The wool/silver element is said to help keep the body cool in the heat and warm when it’s cold, as well as resist odours better than a purely synthetic fabric, all of which should make the Adventure Jersey suitable for multi-day, mixed-conditions riding.

Q36.5 says that the blend will also ‘protect from the negative impact of naturally occurring electric charges produced by the body during exercise’. Nope, I don’t know what that means either.

The shoulders, neck and pockets are made from a black, thin-but-tough-feeling synthetic material which adds a bit more structural integrity to the garment. The sleeves are slightly shorter than the modern road jersey style, with a less skin-tight fit too. The hem is elasticated, but there is no silicone gripper - instead, the elastic material is slightly textured to help hold it in place.

The full-length zip is pale grey, in contrast to the dark green jersey and the zip locks in position so it can’t come undone inadvertently. There is no zipper garage at the top, though. There are three open rear pockets with a lip of fabric for more security, and a vertically zipped pocket on the right-hand side.

The Q36.5 Adventure Jersey is available in XS to XXL in Anthracite Grey, Forest Green and Navy Blue. There is no female equivalent, although there are other options in the Adventure range for women.

The ride

Wool has never been my favourite material for performance clothing; it works well in static applications when warmth is important, but for me, it just retains too much moisture for too long and doesn't hold its shape well either. Luckily, my time with the Adventure Jersey was warm and dry, so it helped it dry as quickly as possible. In fact, it was too warm for the top on occasions as the mercury nudged over 30°C, even here in Yorkshire, and I wouldn’t have wanted to use it for fast-paced rides or big efforts, but for off-road jaunts and on-road cruises it was fine.

I liked the decent height collar and shoulder fabric, but I was less enamoured with the pockets. Although the pocket material was OK, the combination of looser fit and lack of structure in the main body fabric meant that they never felt very secure or quite deep enough (although, at 17cm, they are the same depth as those on my usual road jerseys) - I spent a lot of time patting my rear right pocket to check that my phone was still there after any rough section of trail. To be fair, I never did lose anything, and the pockets were straightforward to access and fine for overall volume - perhaps I’m just more used to the constrained fit of road jersey pockets.

The general fit was good and the cut well-judged; size medium (my usual jersey size) was not road-tight, but not baggy either - relaxed is probably the best word for it, and it worked whether standing upright or in a riding position. In fact, the Q36.5 Adventure Jersey is the only top I’ve worn on road, gravel, and mountain bike rides - the style and fit are such that it doesn’t feel out of place on any terrain.

Much to my wife’s disgust, I decided to try out wool’s famed anti-bacterial properties on a two-day, 250km ride around the Yorkshire Wolds by not taking any fresh clothes for the second day. I am pleased to report that, despite some decent temperatures and many rolling hills, the jersey was not too offensive by the end of day two. Had I been riding on my own, I might even have pressed it into service for a third day if required.

I also didn’t experience any negative impacts from all my naturally occurring electrical charges either, so that was a relief too…

Value and conclusion

£150 for a premium branded, merino-based jersey doesn’t feel too outrageous (which is not the same as good value) in this day and age. Furthermore, given that it can be worn for more than one type of cycling, its versatility serves to soften the financial outlay a little too.

Merino is still a bit of a buzzword in outdoor clothing, particularly when the word ‘gravel’ is involved. I understand why Q36.5 has chosen to use it in this jersey, but personally, I would have preferred a quicker-drying synthetic material that would most likely have better structural integrity too, giving a more secure feel to the pockets and a lower cost. I also have reservations about how well the merino will stand up to regular wearing and washing, as my experience with wool garments is that they do not hold their shape or last as long as their synthetic counterparts, but it would be unfair of me to count this against the Adventure Jersey just yet.

None of which is to say that the Adventure Jersey is a poor garment; it worked well for me, and I have no doubt that I will pull it out of the wardrobe in the future, too. I think that 4 stars is a reasonable rating for me - it loses a star for the combination of slightly insecure pockets, cost and the merino wool element.