POC Women’s Infinite Shorts and Resistance Jersey – REVIEW
POC, one of the big names when it comes to riding protection and apparel, has always had a high reputation for quality, style and a serious focus on protection. This focus bleeds into all areas of their designs, from their helmets to body armour and apparel. This is seen in the Women’s Infinite All Mountain Shorts and Resistance Jersey. A short and jersey combo that exudes serious style and function.
POC offer a large range of choices when it comes to their women’s mountain bike apparel, all of which have been designed with body-specific needs at the forefront. The POC Women’s Infinite Shorts and Resistance Jersey are shining examples of this.
Infinite Shorts Features
The POC Infinite Shorts fall in the Mid-weight protective range, offering a stretch fabric material that has been blended with highly durable Cordura® for improved resilience and wind-breaking properties. The shorts are also water-repellent due to a fluorocarbon-free DWR treatment, so light showers will pearl off the fabric.
The seat has been reinforced with Nylon and Ripstop fabric so that in a crash event, this section is less likely to tear apart. The shorts also feature a no-seam gusset providing much more saddle comfort whilst improving overall freedom of movement.
POC Infinite shorts and Resistance Jersey are the perfect trail companions.
Wearing small or large knee pads is not an issue with the lower leg shaped and cut to fit perfectly with knee protectors.
With durable foul-weather materials, a reinforced seat, a unique knee pad fit, secured pockets and adjustable vents, the POC Infinite shorts have a lot on offer.
The Infinite shorts feature plenty of storage options with envelope closures on the leg pockets and a very handy zipped card pocket at the rear to keep your belongings secure. Each thigh also features a large zippered pocket to adjust the ventilation when things get hot. The shorts also feature velcro adjusters on the waistline making it easy for you to find the right fit.
Photo credits: ©Sam Clarke
Resistance Jersey Features
The POC Resistance jersey is a 3/4 sleeve design that features excellent ventilation with specific mesh sections located on the back and underarms to provide increased airflow and ventilation and abrasion-resistant Cordura sleeves to provide increased crash protection.
The jersey offers ample storage space with an internal gaiter and a large dual pocket pouch on the rear to securely carry vital belongings such as mini tools, nutrition or a spare tube, and there is also a zippered side pocket large enough for a smartphone.
Photo credits: ©Sam Clarke
There is a lot to like about the Resistance jersey and Infinite shorts. Both garments have obviously been designed and refined with downhill and enduro riding, and most of all with a woman’s body and needs in mind.
On The Trails – Infinite Shorts
The fit of the shorts felt great, with good amounts of stretch materials so when in attack position nothing ever felt like it was pulling or too tight on the glutes or thigh areas. One of our favourite features for us is the zippered vent pockets on each thigh. These are fantastic! The difference they make when you open them up is huge! A lot of air passes through these vents and you can definitely feel the benefit. They also add a little more room in the thigh area if you need it.
It’s the small things that make a big impact when comfort is concerned, such as the no-seam gusset, yes, indeed! On long rides in the seated position, this can make a big difference, trust us. In addition to that, take the extra thick inner seam that runs around the top of the high waistline. It’s super-soft against the skin and due to the thickness has an element of padding when you store stuff in there. See! It’s the small things.
As well as the small things, it’s also the well-thought-out details such as the angled lower leg design. We’re not sure about you but we hate that knee pad leg gap thing that goes on. We’re not sure if it has an actual name but whatever it is, the POC angled lower leg tends to do away with this niggly issue and prevents the shorts from getting snagged on the knee pad when in attack position.
We felt there were decent options for storage on the shorts with two envelope pockets on either side of the upper hip which are deep enough to easily store a phone and other essential items. There’s no zip on these but the “envelope” like flap kept our items secure. The small horizontal zippered pocket on the rear waistband is very small and we could only just manage to squeeze our car keys in here.
Resistance Jersey
The Resistance jersey follows the same fit ethos as the shorts. It has good amounts of stretch and support in all the right places. The sweat-wicking fabric is definitely a positive with a 3/4 sleeve jersey, especially in Australian conditions, and although it has the appearance of a slightly heavy-duty jersey, we were very surprised at how well it performed in the breathability department.
The key reasons are the sweat-wicking fabric but also the mesh areas on the back and under each armpit. These are absolute lifesavers and changed this jersey into something that could have been thought of, at first glance, as slightly too warm for our weather conditions, into something that felt airy and cool during the test rides. It’s too easy to judge a book by its cover.
We also tested the jersey with the Women’s POC Spine VPD Air body armour and it went under with no issues. There was enough stretch in the material to comfortably go over the body armour.
We really liked the feel of the tear-resistant materials such as the Tear-resistant Cordura® sleeves as this added piece of mind for durability and abrasion protection when rolling around on the floor, or scuffing against trees. Although not enough protection to reduce injury per se, it does reduce the chances of the jersey tearing apart and if enduro is your scene, then there is always a high chance of rolling around on the floor.
Another positive from us is the huge pouch-like storage at the rear of the jersey. It’s big enough to put a Kangaroo to shame. It’s split into two main compartments and can store a lot of gear. Very handy for keeping food and essentials on those enduro transition stages. We tested it with sunnies, goggles, gloves spare tube food, and it all went in with ease.
Photo credits: ©Sam Clarke
Elbow pads fit seamlessly with the 3/4 length sleeve Resistance jersey and can easily accommodate spine and chest protectors.
Conclusions
POC has created a jersey and shorts combo that offers a perfect balance between protection and function with tear and abrasion-resistant materials combined with breathable mesh and stretch fabrics. What you get is a set of riding gear that is ideal for all weather conditions hot, wet, or cold with a DWR water-repellent treatment, ventilation zips for hot days, and great freedom of movement and comfort. The POC Infinite shorts and Resistance Jersey are the perfect trail companions.
Where to Buy / Price
You can purchase both items from the POC website.
POC Resistance Women’s 3/4 Jersey: Regular price$230.00 $161.00AUD Sale Price (at time of this review)
POC Women’s Infinite All-Mountain Shorts: $205.00AUD
