La Passione Prestige Winter Tights

Former world champion Tom Boonen’s recent appointment as brand ambassador adds kudos to a relatively small company, but so far La Passione’s Prestige Winter Tights have justified attention. They boast fine fabric, a great pad and encouraging attention to detail, with very little not to like.

The Prestige Winter tights are made in Italy – La Passione is based in Brescia, midway between Milan and Venice, at the heart of one of the most concentrated cycling industry manufacturing areas in the world. The tights are made with premium ThermoRoubaix fabric, which has a mid-weight feel and includes a hydrophilic ‘Endurance’ finish for some degree of weather resistance.

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I’m 178cm (5ft 10in) tall, of average build, and the medium sized bib tights are an excellent fit, equivalent to what I would consider is a typical UK medium. The bib section consists of an open, stretchy mesh band, which is topped at the rear by a Y-shaped yoke, with limited stretch. This supports the 48mm wide, low-bulk, soft-feeling elastic braces, which rejoin the mesh band at the front.

Between the braces, the tights are cut lower, removing potential bunching around the belly, and making natural break stops easier.

The body of the tights finishes around mid-torso, save for the scalloped front section, and strikes a great balance between draught protection, comfort and additional warmth, with the mesh band helping to graduate their warming feel. The elastic braces are extremely comfortable, with an ideal amount of stretch to hold the tights in position without pulling on your shoulders. Once on, I can’t say I was even aware of them, and that’s really all you can ask.

The ergonomic shape of the tights is created with six panels above the knees, four below, and another small panel behind each knee, ensuring there’s no bunching or irritation there. All of the seams are beautifully finished, and don’t interfere with the riding experience at all.

The soft, wide, elastic ankle cuffs maintain a low profile and fit comfortably within winter boots or overshoes.

Pulling the bib tights on, you’re immediately aware of the soft, plush feel of the ThermoRoubaix fabric’s brushed inner face, which is instantly warming. They strike a nice balance between feeling stretchy and robust enough to last, and once satisfactorily positioned, remain in place.

La Passione suggests that these tights are suitable for temperatures from 4-10°C, and while everyone will have their own personal cold tolerance, I found them to maintain reasonable warmth for road rides on days when the ambient temperature dropped to around 5°C. If riding slower off-road, the wind chill would be reduced, but on average, the stated warmth is pretty accurate. There’s no added wind protection, so the more exposed thighs and knees do feel the cold first, but the Prestige tights do a good job.

Some of my preferred non-windproof tights are Castelli’s £165 Sorpasso and Sportful’s £175 Total Comfort bibs. The Prestige tights offer almost equivalent quality, but I’d say just slightly less warmth. That said, I’d still willingly wear them on cool autumn, winter and spring days, as their on-bike comfort is excellent. At £152, they offer reasonable value in comparison, and at their current discounted cost of £122 they’re an even more attractive proposition.

The Elastic Interface pad provides faultless support, comfort and breathability. It’s another of those features that, if you don’t notice it, it’s definitely a good thing.

I was impressed with the tights’ ability to stay in position – with relatively long femurs, I regularly find bib tights creeping down my legs, which really affects comfort. I didn’t need to adjust the fit of these tights on any rides, their soft, compressive nature doing just what I’d hoped.

Visibility is helped by four small reflective squares on the rear of each calf, and a further reflective strip and large logo on the outside of each thigh.

I’ve ridden on and off-road in the Prestige tights – although there’s often very little difference in the rural area where I live – and even after a dozen or so rides and washes, spray still beads on the outer face of the fabric. If light drizzle persists for more than 20 minutes you’ll definitely feel it, as these are by no means waterproof, but a little spray shouldn’t bother you.

> Buyer’s Guide: 15 of the best waterproof cycling tights & trousers

> Buyer’s Guide: 24 of the best warm winter cycling tights

One downside that’s common to almost all tights is the light rubbing that occurs in the fabric’s seat area, caused by the rear of the saddle. It is exacerbated by dirt and grit that’s thrown up from the rear wheel, so mudguards will help to extend the usable life and looks of your gear. It has appeared a little quicker than I’d expect on the Prestige tights, but my test period has also been blessed with particularly wet weather.

Overall, the Prestige Winter Tights are well worth considering if you’re looking for warm, well made and very comfortable tights. Their high class feel and precise fit is very satisfying, making cool weather training rides that much more enjoyable.

Verdict

Warm, well made and very comfortable – not bad value either, and they’re currently reduced

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