First Impressions

Dang if I don’t love the gear made by Zoic. These guys build some of the best cycling togs around. We know from first-hand experience with products like the Black Market Short from last year. This year, we had the chance to check out a couple of the company’s mountain biking line including the Beta Jersey and Antidote Shorts. Out of the box, these two offerings deliver some sweet style and rugged good looks along with killer attention to detail.

Features

Let’s start with the Beta Jersey. Our sample arrived in a mid-blue and black color combo – the look is pretty understated, almost retro with the diagonal black accents across the shoulder and lower back. The fabric is a lightweight, 100-percent polyester that’s comfortable and breathes well on long rides. Unlike most jerseys, the Beta doesn’t have a large rear storage pouch. Instead, there are three small zippered pockets located on various locations on the jersey: one on the lower right front, another on the lower left rear, and a final one on the upper left sleeve. These are large enough for a gel or two, a mobile phone or music player, and maybe a set of keys. Overall, the Beta is a very solid product but not one that will blow you away with innovation.

The Antidote, however, is a mind blower of a short. Zoic engineered the Antidote with an overwhelming number of pockets – a total of six by my count – a raft of ventilation panels, waist adjustments and much more. There are zippers and slashes everywhere on this bad boy and we loved it. More than enough room for the wallet, music player, phone, money clip, whatever. The hip pockets are plenty deep which is often where these cycling products fall down. And the built-in liner is comfortable and high-quality as well.

Fit

If there was one complaint about the Beta Jersey and Antidote Short it’s the sizing. We tried men’s large in both products. And although we found the Antidote to fit perfectly well in that size, the Beta felt just a bit too droopy and loose. My advise, stick with your normal size on the short and potentially size down if you prefer your jersey a little more form-fitting.

Final Verdict

Zoic killed it with these two products, especially the Antidote short. In fact, the Antidote is frankly one of the most awesome mountain biking shorts I’ve seen recently. The Beta also delivers solid performance. If you only have room in the closet for one new addition, definitely buy the Antidote Short. If there’s room for two, you’d be hard-pressed to go wrong with the Beta Jersey.

Thanks for reading another outdoor gear review from GearGuide. And thanks to ZOIC and Merrill Marketing/Communications for providing product for this review.