Review: Pactimo Women’s Designer Jersey and Shorts

Pactimo was born in a basement in 2003. The Colorado-based company has grown just a little since then, and they offer clothing for cycling, running, and triathlon. The company also does custom team orders.

The thing that stands out most about Pactimo clothing? The colors. Especially in the Women’s Designer line, Pactimo loves bold colors and intricate graphics. If black-and-white is not your thing, Pactimo has got you covered.

I had the chance to try out a jersey and shorts from the Designer line. I have long been a bibshort kind of girl, but if I were to have a conversion experience, these Pactimo shorts just might do it.

The colors look just as rich in person as online, the quality of the stitching and materials is high, and the fit is comfy.

Sizing

Pretty much the worse part of online ordering is guessing sizes. Is the little picture with the measurements correct? In the case of Pactimo, it is. I tested size medium in both shorts and jersey, and the measurements matched the size chart. No unwelcome surprises, there.

Women’s Designer Short

I switched to bibshorts early in my cycling life, due in part to an aversion to the binding feeling that shorts tend to have in the waist. It turns out the waistband on these shorts is the very best part. Okay, they look pretty nice, too.

But people! The waistband! Knowing that tight elastic on long bike rides is not a fun thing, Pactimo gave these shorts a smooth front like you might find on a nice pair of yoga pants. The elastic bits are in the back, and the shorts stay on, but they don’t bind.

I hear you, enough about the waistband. You get it, it’s comfortable. The Chamois! Tell us about the chamois!

The chamois is thickest where your body meets the saddle. The varying thickness ensures that the chamois does not feel like a giant diaper. For me, it stayed put on the bike, and did not chafe. It is not quite as breathable as some of the new chamois creations out there, but this is a minor quibble.

One nice detail: There is no seam on the inner legs of these shorts. Very often even expensive cycling shorts will have a seam that runs along the inner leg. That thing gets in the way like nobody’s business. Pactimo has thoughtfully placed the seams to limit the possibility of chafing.

The leg grippers do their job without being binding. Nobody wants sausage legs, and Pactimo is totally on your side. The length is long enough to wear legwarmers without the dread gap forming between your shorts and your warmers.

If you’re looking for super short shorts, these probably aren’t going to be your choice. The length is traditional cycling short style.

Women’s Designer Jersey

The material on Pactimo’s jersey is silky soft. The tags warn against washing the clothing with velcro, so be sure to close your gloves before throwing them in the wash with your nice, new jerseys. The material does snag, but it’s not especially fragile relative to other performance fabrics.

The jersey feels nice on the skin and breathes well. A lighter-weight fabric on the side panels adds to the breathability. The waist gripper keeps the jersey in place without binding, and the sleeves are cut close to the body, so there was no flapping.

I’m 5’10” and long-waisted, so the medium jersey ran short when paired with the shorts. On the bike, it fit fine, but off the bike, I had a gap between the jersey and shorts. For most women, the length should work well. For the long-waisted girls, there will always be bibshorts.

Pricing

Retail price for the designer jersey and shorts collection typically runs around $95 for each piece. Cycling clothing is always expensive, but these pieces felt competitively priced for their quality. To order, head to the Pactimo website.