The Le Col Pro Insulated Gilet sits alongside the uninsulated Pro Gilet in Le Col’s shoulder season range. It’s aimed at striking the balance between warmth and low weight, with the name-brand technical insulation reserved for targeted areas.
For £30 extra, Le Col also sells the Pro Insulated Jacket, with similar technical features plus sleeves.
Le Col Pro Insulated gilet features
Chris Teagles
The Le Col Pro Insulated gilet, despite its name, is not fully insulated, with the insulation confined to the chest and the area around the rear of the shoulders. The rest of the gilet is made of uninsulated Pertex Quantum Air fabric.
This is claimed to be water resistant and has a PFC-free DWR coating but still allows some air permeability. It’s also low in weight, contributing to the Le Col gilet’s 108g weight in size M – not the lightest gilet of ten tested, but still reasonable for a gilet with extra insulation. There are stretchier side panels to help keep the fit close.
Chris Teagles
The Polartec Alpha insulation also contributes to the low overall weight. It’s turning up in an increasing range of highly functional clothing, due to its low weight and high loft, quick drying characteristics, with Velocio majoring on its use in its jackets, gilets and long sleeved jerseys.
Le Col includes a long reflective stripe at the lower back, a larger reflective Le Col logo between the shoulders at the rear and a smaller one on the left front. There’s a backing flap behind the top half of the zipper. Le Col offers a wide size range, from XS to 3XL, and two colours, but the Insulated Gilet is sold in men’s sizes only – women are only offered the uninsulated version.
Wearing the Le Col Pro Insulated gilet
Chris Teagles
Le Col has struck a good balance between warmth and low weight with the Insulated Gilet, which can also be packed away into a jersey pocket if you do decide to remove it during a ride.
I found that Le Col’s design decision to keep the insulation only on the chest and shoulders worked well. You’ll almost certainly already have adequate overlapping areas of clothing over your stomach from your bib tights to keep that area warm and, hunched forward, it’s less in the airflow than the chest, which the gilet insulates well.
The same is true at the rear, where all-over insulation can result in a sweaty back, while the shoulders – depending on your ride position – are likely to catch the breeze more. I found the warmth on offer just right for rides around 10°C.
Chris Teagles
There’s enough warmth and airflow to keep you comfortable without draughts, thanks to arm openings with plenty of stretch, elastic at the rear of the tail and a high, close-fitting collar.
The rear features a long tail, which helps avoid the gilet riding up and provides some extra protection to your rear end. You don’t get pockets though, so you need to hoick the back up to access your jersey pockets for food or other contents.
Le Col Pro Insulated gilet review verdict
The Le Col Pro Insulated Gilet offers plenty of warmth where you need it, in a piece that packs away pretty small and doesn’t tend to get sweaty. There’s good cover at the rear and plenty of protection from stray draughts. The quality name-brand technical fabrics help to keep the gilet’s weight low and to justify the highish price.
Le Col Pro Insulated gilet details
Price: £150 / $N/A / €180
Weight: 108g (size M)
Sizes: XS – 3XL
Colours: 2