Held Woodland riding shirt in black

Riding shirts are not new. They used to be the preserve of the Harley crowd. More recently the look was adopted by the Bikeshed crowd, but these days you can ride in a riding shirt on any kind of retro or sit-up bike. Not only are shirts cool to wear in hot weather, these days they can be pretty protective too.

 

It’s probably true to say that Rokker is the brand that has made the riding shirt cool; and they do make some great shirts, but actually we think Held’s Woodland shirts are technically superior. Rokker’s shirts are made of flannel, but are lined with a UHMWPE fabric. Held’s shirts, by contrast, are single layer, and made from a fabric known as Armalith; ironically, the material used by Rokker for its jeans. As a result, Held’s shirts are lighter, thinner, and more breathable. The Rokker shirts may be better on cooler days, but we prefer the idea of a lighter shirt that you can layer up beneath, as required. 

 

For protection, the Held shirts come supplied with D3O Ghost in the elbows and shoulders, whilst the outer fabric gives the shirt an AA rating.

 

There’s not much else to be said about the Woodland shirt. You get poppered pockets on the chest, and a document pocket on the inside. The front placket fastens by popper, but behind the placket is a full length zip.

 

We might concede that Rokker is the cooler brand, but the truth is that, on a technical and functional level Held’s shirts are better than Rokker’s!