Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers

The Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers use fibre treatment to resist water while keeping you warm, and they stay put too. Made in the UK, they're a great option for cool rides.

Manchester-based Lusso has once again come up with a product that's hard to fault – simple in both design and execution, with performance fabrics that work out on the road and look good doing it.

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The 'Repel' bit in the name refers to Lusso's treatment of the fabric yarns before being woven into the Roubaix fabric itself. This treatment holds up under persistent water, the drops beading and falling off with no wetting out. While they aren't claimed to be 'waterproof', it would be a strong, persistent shower that managed to soak these through, and even then you have the brushed Roubaix fabric to keep things warm.

Unlike many leg warmers there's no ankle zip – keeping things simple with one less feature to fail as the years progress.

They come up quite high on the leg for me, the medium measuring 65cm long and sitting past mid-thigh. Grip strips are located on both the inside and out of the laser-cut upper cuff, to hang onto legs and bib shorts alike. The stitching is angled at the back of the knee to impart a tad of pre-bend into the garment, without ever feeling bunched – over 40 miles they stayed put top, knee and bottom.

Branding-wise there's only a small Lusso roundel on the front just above the ankle so no, these are not the highly-reflective commuter leggings you're looking for. That said, the minimalist approach pairs well with any shorts, in particular the excellent-value Lusso 2-Zero Thermal Bib Short. Given their position, leg warmers pick up the lion's share of road filth, but these washed out like new time after time.

> Buyer's Guide: The best arm and leg warmers for chilly days

Of course the acid test of a pair of leg warmers is, do the legs remain warm? With moderately rubbish circulation, minimal body fat and a penchant for Raynaud's disease in the upper limbs at least, I'm a great test case. Over the Christmas month I ventured out in temperatures ranging from 3-10 degrees, sometimes in winds approaching 40 or 50mph including showers. At no stage did my legs or – even worse, but intricately related, my feet – feel cold. If the shins are the radiators of the feet, and the blood cools on its way down, your feet will never feel warm. The Lusso Max Repel warmers did their job admirably.

Verdict

Well shaped and featured, made of warm, water-repellent fabric and made in the UK – a great choice