Racer-bred, gutter inspired. This is the catch phrase behind Boulder based Panache Cyclewear. One of their marketing team must have been channeling ‘Sunday In Hell’ when they wrote that, right? Turns out they were channeling European racing, but it was no marketing man, it was Panache owner, Don Powell, channeling his days as a Euro pro in the 90’s. When Don wrapped up his racing career he began designing gear for industry heavy weights before branching out on his own with Panache.
Like most smaller clothing outfits they make their bread and butter on custom team apparel, and recently we’ve been riding one of the jerseys available as an inline design and to their teams, the G.S. Panache Superlight Jersey. This jersey has become our hot weather go to jersey, and when we say hot we mean it. The jersey has seen action on multiple days in the triple digits, for rides in the 80 to 100 mile range. It was so effective some days it did back to back duty, only coming off for a quick trip through the washing machine.
The fit is certainly racer inspired, tight and close fitting. While not Italian tiny (I still ride a medium in Panache while a large in many Italian brands) don’t expect any extra material. Over this long summer what we fell in love with was the fabric. Developed with their Italian textile provider it is an open weave four way stretch material that seems to disappear over you. It traps essentially zero heat against your body. While many current jersey designs employ similar material we really liked the feel of the fabric, which Panache dubs, NonCaldo. It still feels like a soft textile rather than a lab created synthetic. We also like the fact that Panache has used the fabric everywhere, not just the back of the jersey.
The rest of the design is premium, with nice touches that truly show you how many miles Don must have put in during his career. The zipper locks like a standard zipper, zip down, but semi-locks when the zip is up. It won’t slip down, but just yank one side and it opens easily. This is a nice touch when you are climbing on the limit in triple digits. As long days often happen in the summer they frequently coincide with hot weather and the G.S. Panache Superlight has you covered with three generous pockets. The stitching is over locked for long life and a smooth feel, the jersey is tagless for comfort and even the silicon grippers have been designed for long life.
Despite the massive amount of miles we have put in wearing the jersey and the hot days still to come this season we feel confident we’ll enjoy many long miles in it next summer as well. The G.S. Panache Superlight comes in white with a simple horizontal black stripe. While we'd love to see some of the more irreverent houndstooth designs Panache is know for on the G.S. Panache Superlight, we can't argue with the jersey's classic look.
G.S. Panache Superlight Jersey
Price: $145.00
www.panachecyclewear.com