While I was being shown through the Gore Bike Wear line (look for that post later today), I spied a couple of guys with ‘7Mesh’ t-shirts walking around the Gore booth. I initially thought they were there doing some recon on the competition, but it turns out Gore and 7Mesh have a close relationship, as Gore provides a lot of the fabric for 7Mesh.
Based in British Colombia, 7Mesh started out just over a year and a half ago with about twelve different pieces of cycling apparel. Its jersey, shorts and jackets were all lightweight, sported very clean lines, and were built to perform in unfavorable conditions. Today, its product catalog has expanded to include 42 different pieces appropriate for road, mountain biking and everything in between – all of it still hitting the goal of keeping smart aesthetics and practical functionality.
We got a peek at some of the more road-side of the 7Mesh line up, and there seems to be some nice treats in there. Particularly…
Oro Jacket
Late last year, Gore Bike Wear released its ONE Gore-Tex Active Bike Jacket to much fanfare. It is made from the company’s revolutionary Gore-Tex ONE Active with fabric. Basically this rich black fabric completely sheds water, is extremely lightweight and quite breathable.
The plan has always been for other companies to use this fabric for their own products, and the first one to do so is 7Mesh, with the Oro Jacket. As with Gore’s own application of this miracle fabric, this jacket weighs in at a very light 97 grams…and that’s for the large. Of course it’ll be lighter for the smaller sizes. The Oro uses the Shakedry technology, which means water completely beads on the surface and then falls from the jacket with a simple shake. Meanwhile, the jacket is completely windproof while remaining extremely breathable.
7Mesh says the Oro jacket should be available in February.
G2 Jersey
Perhaps you’d like to wear a nice jersey under the Oro jacket? Something that is designed for comfortable all-day riding? Perhaps the G2 jersey will fill that role. This jersey completely eliminates the use of Lycra, which can retain some moisture. Instead, the G2 is mostly made from Polyester and a bit of a carbon knit. To avoid unwanted stretch in the jersey, especially when the pockets (three rear pockets and two side, zipped pockets) are full, this jersey employs an asymmetric stretch feature, which means the jersey stretches laterally, but not so much vertically.
At 148 gams, it’s still quite light for a jersey, and the fabric also earns a UPF of 50+ for a bit of sun protection.
Keep an eye out for a review of the 7Mesh Strategy Jacket coming in a few weeks.
