We tested the Evade Pro Base jersey and the Team Bib Evo shorts from Maap: cycling haute couture

The Australian brand MAAP was born in 2014 from the joint passion for cycling shared by professionals in design, fashion or specialists in technical clothing. A perfect combination that resulted in an innovative collection of high-end cycling clothing, priced accordingly, and which in a short time have become very fashionable among amateurs and professionals. But we wanted to check if all the hype generated by their kits is up to their performance.

Try the Maap Evade Pro Base jersey and Team Bib Evo shorts

We are in the middle of summer and we have chosen to test three of the garments from the new Maap collection that are indicated for use in hot conditions. These are the MAAP Team Bib Evo shorts, the Evade Pro Base jersey, both in size M, and the Emblem socks.

Maap's products have managed to distinguish themselves by an attractive and modern design that they achieve through the pattern of their garments, the very appearance offered by the high-quality fabrics they use and with simple designs of uniform colors from which only the color stands out. own brand logo.

Evade Pro Base Jersey

The first thing that really surprised us was the feel of the main fabric of the jersey that covers the entire front panel and a large part of the back. It is an extremely soft fabric that we could compare with the sensations to touch that silk offers. Something that is also felt with the jersey on and offers a very soft contact on the skin. In the information on the garment we see that it is made up of 89% polyamide and 11% elastane, but we also read that it has been made with Italian fabric and with Bluesign certification (production that respects the environment and people). After having it in hand and wearing it, we have no doubt that it is one of the most comfortable on the market. One of the most important details of the jersey is that it provides SPF50+ sun protection.

Both the sleeves and the lower back are made with a highly ventilated honeycomb mesh fabric to evacuate perspiration. Although in the lower back the mesh is barely noticeable once it is on, since it is covered by three rear pockets.

The sleeves, although short, follow the current trend of practically reaching the elbow and its mesh fabric gives us the feeling that it is a bit compressive, something that, instead of being annoying, is appreciated. The back has reflective details elegantly added to the design and at the waist we find a wide silicone rubber inside to prevent the jersey from riding up when we pedal. Finally, we can say about the zipper that it works perfectly and at no time, until now, has it gotten stuck when raising or lowering it.

With it on we have done a few hundred kilometers by mountain and road in which it has given us time to check its virtues and defects. We remember that we have done the test in the middle of summer with temperatures that exceeded 30º and we can say that the Maap Evade Pro Base jersey is a perfect option for this weather. It feels fresh, something that is helped by the soft touch of its fabric, it evacuates sweat very well and we have not had any problems with it riding up or having to be repositioned. The only thing that should be taken into account is that the lumbar mesh in contact with the skin is shared with the interior of the rear pockets, so whatever we carry there will end up covered in sweat.

We would need to check how the fabrics behave over time and after washing, but after the first 3 cycles the jersey looks exactly the same as new and leads us to think that its durability will be another of its strong points.

The Maap Evade Pro Base jersey is available in 9 different colors with sizes ranging from XS to XXL and is priced at €155.

MAAP Team Bib Evo Shorts

The Team Bib Evo shorts are the latest evolution of a garment that has been in the Maap catalog since the beginning, and once again it surprised us to the touch just by taking it out of the bag. This time it was its robust grammage fabric that caught our attention when we held it in our hands. Once again it is seen that we are dealing with a high-end garment in which it is enough to stretch it a bit and see how it recovers its shape to realize that it will be a short with which we can do kilometers for many seasons before it gets old.

Again in the shorts we find a high quality Italian outer fabric, it has also been made in Italy, specially designed to be elastic in all directions, recover its original shape and be very resistant against abrasions. It also includes SPF50+ sun protection. All these characteristics together with its pad, which we will talk about below, make the Maap Team Bib EVO a perfect short for use on the road or MTB.

The straps are wide and have a pleasant touch even in direct contact with the skin, and the micro-perforated back offers excellent breathability with the comfort of having a very wide support. Among other important details, the side logos are also reflective and the rubber at the end of the shorts has a very soft and wide rubberized surface that prevents it from riding up when pedaling.

But as we all know, the fundamental aspect of a short is its pad and this Maap includes one of the best on the market. This is the new 3D Thermo Molded multilayer chamois, designed to guarantee maximum comfort during long days on our saddle. It is a pad with a discreet appearance, which is not too bulky thanks to the game of shapes and densities, this allows you to maximize performance without increasing weight.

After our test we can say that we are facing an outstanding short. The outer fabric can also give a pleasant sensation of compression, but above all it offers us great security when riding with these shorts for the hours or days that we need. The pad is the best we've tried so far and the robustness of the fabric that we talked about before doesn't prevent it from perfectly evacuating sweat. Without a doubt, we are facing one of the best options on the market.

So far we have talked about the quality of these shorts but we cannot ignore their price: €215. It is a high price compared to other options on the market, but both for its versatility (road, gravel and MTB) and for its level of finishes, fabrics and performance we can justify it.

The Maap Team Bib EVO shorts are available in 2 colors and 6 sizes ranging from XS to XXL and its price is €215.

After our test, we felt obliged to answer the question we asked ourselves at the beginning about whether all the hype around the MAAP brand is deserved. And the truth is that yes, this is a brand that we could compare with haute couture in traditional fashion. It's not just about design, the quality of their garments, at least the ones we've tried, is really excellent.