Rapha Women's Padded Tights

Made from Thermo-Roubaix fabric, Rapha's Women's Padded Tights are intended to be a cold weather option for those who prefer a single garment, rather than wearing padded shorts under tights or bibs, and feature an integral female specific Cytech chamois pad. The waistband is shaped to be higher at the back, with gripper tape to keep it in place, and with a soft, doubled-over waistband based on that of the women's Classic Shorts. The tights have a contrast colour feature at the sides of the lower legs which is bordered by reflective tape for extra visibility in low light conditions. Amazingly, there's a choice of dark grey and chartreuse as well as black.

The fit of these tights is genuinely female friendly, and will particularly appeal to those who find most tights to be too 'straight up and down'- these are best for women with a pronounced ratio between hips and waist. The waist is good and high, helping to keep the tights where they should be and comfortable while they are there, while there's plenty of stretch in the fabric for comfort. There's plenty of length too, so even tall women should find there's enough coverage.

In wear, the fabric was soft and extremely comfortable, and delivered just the right amount of warmth for most winter riding, apart from those icy cold windy days, when some sort of windproofing is required. Certainly, they ticked all the boxes for me for most lengths of ride in most conditions and at most paces. The pad was exceptionally comfortable, but due to the soft fabric and waistband design, it did have a tendency to migrate south very slightly, leaving a slightly chilly 'tented' area at the front from time to time until it could be hitched up again. This wasn't a massive problem, and personally it's one I'd happily put up with for the sake of a flat fronted waistband rather than more aggressive elastic. The pad itself was excellent, pleasantly unobtrusive and good for as many miles as I wanted to throw at it.

A zipped security pocket at the lumbar area of the waistband was a nice touch too, although it wasn't really large enough for a smartphone. Not that you'd want to store your phone next to your sweaty lower back anyway.

It does become hard to justify the cost, despite the exceptional quality and great fit, since even the more expensive options from alternative manufacturers are about half the price, and many significantly less.

Verdict

Extremely comfortable, well designed and well-made but it's hard to justify the price tag