Arm & leg warmers

These Castelli Nanoflex Armwarmer are no ordinary armwarmers. Castelli use a fabric that is treated with a with tiny silicone nanofilaments on the outside surface that means water beads off and rolls away, meaning they handle short showers and heavy downpours with aplomb, keeping arms dry in this unpredictable spring weather we're currently experiencing.

The Ride Pro Aquazero arm warmers are made in Italy but designed with the UK climate in mind. Super Roubaix panels are sewn into an anatomical shape with a bend in the elbow so they don't bunch up when you're on the bike. They have silicone silicone grippers top and bottom to keep them in place.

The Sportful No-Rain arm warmers perform a lot like regular arm warmers except that, as the name implies, they are also water repellent.

The Prendas Meraklon arm warmers are basic but they do a good job and come at an amazingly cheap price.

They're essentially tubes of polypropylene (58%), nylon (40%) and elastane (2%) with a ribbed top and a more tightly woven cuff section at the bottom. A little more air gets through than with fleecy roubaix fabrics but they're warmer than skinny Lycra warmers – they split the difference between the two. I found them a good option for typical spring/autumn conditions.

Sportful's NoRain knee warmers provide roubaix-style insulation with the added benefit of being highly water repellent.

We've had a few water repellent fabrics in over the past few months including AcquaZero, as used by Santini and Ride, and NanoFlex, as used by Castelli. They all stretch and breathe as well as standard roubaix-fabrics but when water gets onto the surface, rather than soaking in, it rolls away.

These Campagnolo leg warmers are warm and very stretchy and they match the arm warmers that we've also recently reviewed on road.cc.

Like the arm warmers, they're made from a soft nylon with a little elastane in the mix to add spring. They're ribbed too so getting these comfortably over even the chunkiest quads isn't going to be a problem.

Rather than being made from Lycra or roubaix, these Campagnolo arm warmers are nylon and elastane and they're very stretchy. They're about as warm as a mid-weight roubaix fabric which means they're spot on for spring and autumn use or for cool summer mornings/evenings. I've been using them when the temperature is about 9-12°C.

Moose's speciality is socks although we've been trying their EU arm warmers and it turns out they're good too.

These are synthetic, knitted from a yarn that's 70% ClimaWell, 20% polypropylene, 5% polyamide and 5% elastane. ClimaWell is a polypropylene that contains silver ions to prevent bacteria from reproducing which in turn prevents odours.

These ErgoPro roubaix leg warmers from Galibier provide a good level of insulation and ankle zips make them easy to get on and off over shoes.

I've been skeptical about the claims manufacturers make for compression clothing like these tights from Compressport; who wouldn't be?

In brief, the idea is that compression improves venous return the flow of blood back towards your heart. Increased blood flow speeds up the removal of waste products from the soft tissues and the supply of oxygen and fuel to your muscles when you're exercising. It is said to delay the onset of fatigue and lessen the chance of injury by reducing muscle oscillation too.