PEARL iZUMi Expedition Merino Short Sleeve Jersey Review

Does mountain biking require a special shirt? I don’t think so, if I’m honest, but certain qualities hold a lot of value. Above all, there’s breathability. Additional points are awarded for fit, how well it deals with water and mud, and durability. The PEARL iZUMi Expedition Merino fits the bill well and earns good marks in all these departments, and I’ve really enjoyed riding in it over the past few months. I’ll tell you a bit more about it.

PEARL iZUMi Expedition Merino Short Sleeve Jersey Features:

• Lightweight 150g drirelease® Merino blend for moisture & odor management
• Secondary stretch woven fabric for high abrasion areas
• Rear zippered security pocket
• Slightly extended rear hem for coverage when in cycle position
• Made with recycled content
• BioViz® powerful reflective elements that reach 100 meters for night visibility
• UPF 20
• MSRP: $90

A Merino Trail Shirt to Write About

Growing up, my approach for athletic shirts was taking a quick trip to the local thrift store’s athletic shirt aisle, feeling the fabric with my hand to assess feel and potential for breathability, spending $5, and moving on with it for the next handful of years. That approach can certainly work, but results may vary. There is, after all, a reason or two why folks buy clothes new. Good luck finding a merino blend at a thrift store, for instance… but also if you do, buy it.

If you’re not willing to wait until the perfect shirt comes available at your local thrift store, the Expedition Merino shortsleeve is a good option. It has a standard cut to it, keeping things airy, and it has two main materials on it. On the sleeves and rear hem, it has a polyester/spandex material which is thin, breathable, and stretchy. On the chest and majority of the back, you’re graced by a merino/polyester/spandex blend. The blend is 11% merino, which allows that portion of the shirt to keep the thin, breathable, stretchiness of the poly mix while still retaining the somewhat-mythical qualities of merino.

So, what are those mythical merino qualities that come out in this shirt? Firstly, it’s dang soft, but it doesn’t have that smothering warmth that some other soft materials have. And that’s because, secondly, it wicks and breathes nicely. It feels good against the skin not just for its initial material feel, but also for its performance when things heat up. And finally, it’s decently odor resistant. I like to wear my bike shirts a couple times before throwing them in the wash (if they aren’t plastered with mud). The Expedition Merino did not punish me for that, but remained odor-free for a couple hard uses in a row.

All these light breathable materials are great out on the trail, and they are reasonably durable too. Brushes with bushes and blackberry bites didn’t end up taking too much of a toll on the Expedition Merino over a couple months of consistent testing. Like most any biking soft-good though, if you fall hard, it may not be too pleased with you.

I wrecked pretty decently about a month ago when I was too aggressive pumping through a berm. I tilted the wheel, went over the bars, crunched into the ground, and eventually crawled to the side of the trail, dazed, a bit bloody, and concussed. After a couple days, I was fine again. And the shirt? The shirt has a thumb-sized hole in it. I stitched it up, but was struck by the minimal damage it took from that fall, considering how many layers of skin I’d newly exposed under the shirt. If I were a better rider, my durability testing wouldn’t be worth as much, right? Right?

And other features? Well, I’m not typically a fan of pockets built into soft-material shirts, like the one the Expedition Merino has, but it worked fine for me during testing. Ordinarily, my experience is that when you put things in a pocket of a soft shirt, there isn’t enough structural integrity, so the shirt slumps and the load bounces. That happened with this shirt too. With that said, I tend to ride with a hip pack about 75% of the time, and when I did so, I could load up the pocket without any negative consequence. No bouncing, no bother. But that does prompt the question, “if you’re wearing a hip pack, do you need a pocket in your shirt?” No, probably not. As with many little-perk features, some folks will like it, and others won’t particularly care.

There are two other things I think I’d say about the Expedition Merino Jersey. One, it isn’t exactly cheap. I’d say that’s the way it is with Merino, but there are a handful of merino MTB jerseys out there in the $30-60 range. While I do really like the Expedition for its performance, its $90 price tag may sway some folks towards other options on the market. Two, I tested a shirt that was black. It looks neat, but it soaks up the sun. I think I would choose their “Green Bay” colorway if I were to go back in time. I believe that would allow me to comfortably ride up to about 85 degrees Fahrenheit instead of where I currently sit, about 80.

Fit: I’m 5’11” and a lean 165lbs, and I tested a size Large. It fits exactly as I’d hope it to, neither too boxy, nor too slim.

Buy Now: Available from PEARL iZUMi