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review

Lusso Thermal Skull Hat

8
£9.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Simple, well-priced solution for keeping your head warm in freezing conditions
Weight: 
36g
Contact: 

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Thin and lightweight yet warm, the Lusso Thermal Skull Cap is an ideal piece of kit for when the temperatures drop to near freezing and you want to avoid that ice-cream headache.

  • Pros: Fits under a helmet with ease; good ear coverage, cheap
  • Cons: What's not to like?

The majority of helmets are designed with massive vents to allow heat to escape in summer, so it's no wonder that in the middle of winter when riding into an icy wind their performance can be sub-par. That's when you need something like a skull cap.

> Buy this online here

The skull cap is nothing new and Lusso hasn't exactly come up with anything ground-breaking with this version, but if it ain't broke, why fix it?

The material used here is relatively thin so you aren't adding a huge amount of bulk underneath your helmet – in fact, on most of mine I only needed to loosen the cradle by a couple of clicks.

There is a bit of stretch in the material so you get a good snug fit without it really adding any pressure around your forehead or temples. Over the ears there is a little bit of room so that they don't feel squished, and if you wear earphones on the bike like I do then they aren't being pressed into your ears any further than you want them to be.

Lusso Thermal Skull Hat 2.jpg

The seams are well positioned and I didn't have any irritation with any helmets rubbing them against my head, even on long rides.

Overall warmth is pretty much spot on too: just enough to take the chill off without seeing you start to sweat as soon as the ride intensity increases.

The whole thing packs up really small as well, so if you do start to overheat you can easily whip it off and stick it in a back pocket.

> Buyer's Guide: 13 products to keep you cycling through winter

For value, I don't think you can really argue that £9.99 isn't a good deal. It's well made here in the UK and it does the job it's designed to do – and just as well as the £40 Assos RoboCap.

It's cheaper than the very good Galibier Dolomiti Skull Cap, too, which currently costs £12.77.

> Winter cycle clothing on a budget: kit yourself out without breaking the bank

Overall, the Lusso Thermal Skull Cap does the job, is comfortable to wear and doesn't cost the earth.

Verdict

Simple, well-priced solution for keeping your head warm in freezing conditions

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Lusso Thermal Skull Hat

Size tested: One size

Tell us what the product is for

It is a thin head-covering designed to fit under your helmet in cold conditions.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Lusso lists:

Thermal

Windproof

Breathable

Made in the UK

Machine washable

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for fit:
 
8/10
Rate the product for sizing:
 
8/10

One size fits all but I'd say there is enough give in the material for it to adjust to smaller or larger heads.

Rate the product for weight:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

No issues from bunging it in the washing machine with the rest of my kit.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Keeps the chill off without trapping too much heat.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Fits subtly under your helmet.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing really.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's a little cheaper than the Galibier version but comes in a stonking 75% cheaper than the Assos while doing the same job, minus a few little details like reflective trim and sunglasses loops.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

Lusso has kept it simple: it does the job it is designed to do, at a great price.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 41  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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