2Toms Buttshield

2Toms Buttshield is a roll-on chamois cream. Hmmmm. Let's think about that shall we? Roll-on. Chamois cream. A roll-on for down there. It, um, doesn't seem quite right, a little... unsavoury and maybe just a bit unhygienic. Or is that just me? You know... roll it about downstairs, put the top back on, leave it to fester for a bit before the next ride. Roll it about the undercarriage again. The possibility of picking up a bit of, um, fluff in passing.

Not that a tub of more standard chamois cream doesn't have the potential to be a nicely maturing pot of germs, even if you don't double-dip, but it just feels a little, ummmm, odd, to have to rub a roll-on around the crotch area. It's certainly a different way of going about things. Readers of a certain vintage may be reminded of the Not The Nine O'Clock News 'Swedish Chemist's Shop' sketch. Or again, is that just me?

On the plus side, I'm pretty sure no one's going to want to borrow your Buttshield if they've forgotten their own chamois cream, so there is that.

Application reservations aside, 2Toms Buttshield is full of nice things to make that bit a bit nicer when cycling: Aloe Vera, Vitamin E, Shea Butter, Green Tea Extract, Calendula Extract and Horestail Plant Extract are all in the mix that contains no animal products.

2Toms Buttshield can be a little awkward to apply (and not just mentally) in this roll-on format (single use wipes are available); because of where you're putting it, the bottle is mostly upright during spreading which means the fluid doesn't naturally flow through the roll-on ball as it would if you were using a roll-on inverted in an armpit. So to get a decent layering of lube you have to turn the bottle upside down, give it a squeeze to pre-load the ball and then roll on, which makes the awkward process a little more fussy than it needs to be. Or you could do a pre-ride prep hand-stand to make things easier.

On the practical side, the small 45ml bottle is a compact size for traveling and the bottom of a race bag. And ButtShield is safe to use on both leather and synthetic chamois. At £15 it might seem a little pricey for such a small bottle but it goes on thin, there's no overspill like you might get with over-excited fingering in a tub of cream, and as it lasts a long time on the skin there's no need for re-application so it actually works out very good value.

A possible bonus compared with other cycling-specific chamois creams is that, should you feel the need to apply a friction-reducing salve elsewhere on your body rather than the more traditional places you might do for a ride, maybe the inner-thigh or somewhere personal that tends to rub on a ride, then the roll-on applicator and thin, non-greasy film of the Buttshield makes this easy and non-messy.

> Read more road.cc reviews of skincare & embrocation products

Administration issues aside, 2Toms Buttshield is a very, very good chamois cream, although it's not really a cream and more of a liquid. It's odourless, goes on without any mess and, thanks to the application method of rolling a thin film on the skin, there's no chance of over lubing. Buttshield is very smooth and silky to the touch and doesn't feel in any way unpleasantly clammy or sticky once it's in place down where it needs to be.

And once Buttshield is there it stays down there, even over the longest rides. Despite not being able to feel it between your legs (a good thing) it does work (also a good thing), preventing rubbing and soreness for whatever length ride you choose to be on. A little discreet checking after rides showed that there was still a useful friction-free layer of Buttshield where it was put on several hours previously. The roll on may be problematic but it doesn't roll off.

Verdict

Excellent odour-free, non-greasy, long-lasting anti-chafe lube, if you can get over the roll-on thing