hat

The Castelli Head Thingy is one of those beautifully simple products that you didn't realise you needed in your life until you give it a go. Now I can't live without it for early morning and evening rides.

Funny where reviewing takes you. If it wasn't for the Ribcap Jackson, I'd never have heard of Reynolds' Dilatancy. Nothing to with the tubing company, nor the sort of thing that makes your doctor blush. It's the tendency of various materials to thicken when put under 'shear stress' - what you and I would call impact - and it was first observed by Osborne Reynolds. It's what makes the ingenious Ribcap Jackson effective.

The good old-fashioned cycling cap has seen a bit of a comeback over recent years, becoming the trendy headwear of choice for those choosing to eschew helmets, looking for something to wear under their helmet, or just for hanging about in off the bike. A little way of saying 'I'm a cyclist, you know' in everyday life.

This skullcap comes with a windproof band around the forehead and temples which keeps the cold air out when the temperature gets really low.

The band is made from Gore's Windstopper X-Free fabric which is a stretchy, fleece-backed, softshell fabric. It protects your forehead and the tops of your ears which, in my experience, are the areas that suffer most when the mercury is low, completely shutting out the cold air.

This cap is made of a wool mix tweed but there is more to it than just that. The fabric isn't that stuff you see country folk camoflaged in. This tweed has been removed from the fields and urbanised to make it something special. It uses Lumatwill, a woven fabric created by photographer Guy Hills and top fashion weaver Kirsty McDougal, the people behind Dashing Tweeds.

The clever folk at Buff have taken their already brilliant garment and added a thermal polyester fleece section keeping, heads, necks and other body parts warm, yet relatively odour free. In many regards it’s such a versatile garment that comes in handy whatever riding you do. However, those with a good head of hair might find the Polar too warm beneath a helmet.