Since its establishment in 1992, Primal Wear has been providing the cycling community with quality apparel. However, a lot of the in-house kit designs have erred more to the Fred end of the style spectrum and seemed to be in dire need of panache and artistic guidance. With its recent rebranding, Primal, as they’re now known, has given their art department a much-deserved shot in the arm, as well as improved their materials to make for a killer new lineup. Primal sent a kit my way for review and I put the new goods through their paces for you, loyal Singletracks reader.
Full disclosure: I’m kind of dense, so I had no idea why this jersey was called the Folsom until two weeks after the fact, when I was listening to Johnny Cash. A jersey with black and white stripes, Folsom is the name of one of America’s most infamous prisons, inmates wear stripes… you get the picture now. Regardless, the jersey is much more comfortable than your local penitentiary’s standard-issue garb (not that I would know or anything), has a great fit, and the material is quite nice.
As far as cut and features go, the Folsom is a full-zip, raglan cut, 100% polyester, SPF35-rated, double-knit, stretchy jersey that kept me comfortable for a number of multi-hour rides. Primal describes their Speedpro fabric as a “plaited double knit fabric with a micro yarn on the face that is simultaneously comprised of higher denier filament materials” which, to the layperson like myself, means that it feels great while riding and does a very respectable job of wicking away all that sweat generated during time in the saddle. As an added bonus, the jersey seems to be quite stank-resistant, as I’ve only had to wash it once (don’t judge me) after two weeks of pretty intense riding.
My only gripe, and this will vary on a case-by-case basis, is that the jersey did tend to creep up on me a bit over time. I’m sure that if I didn’t have an emaciated teenager’s build, the jersey would stay in place much more securely. At $70 MSRP, I’d say that this is well-worth the price.
PS – Primal also has a custom order department, so if you’re looking to get kits made for your team, group, or shop, be sure to give them a shout!
Thanks to Primal Wear for providing the Folsom Jersey for review.
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