A caveat for my first review – Being on the larger side, and when it comes to buying clothes firmly in the denial team i.e. Yes I can still where medium sized clothes and no this new £100 lightweight summer jersey is not supposed to be a tank top, sizing does tend to be an issue!!

So when I saw these warmers were available in sizes XS to XL I was torn between going with the large or the extra large, because surely if there is no XXL option then the XL would be huge!! But this is cycling gear remember and from an Italian brand no less, so sizing can be snug!

The white arm warmers and black leg warmers in size XL (having consulted the handy sizing guide) duly arrived. First impressions were great, they felt well made and of very high quality, with the only issue being the aforementioned sizing issue. Being on the larger side weight-wise, but on the shorter size height-wise (yes I am basically round) these came up long on both my arms and legs. However the great silicone grippers both on the inside and outside hold them in place perfectly even when folded over themselves for a better fit.

When it comes to performance, all I can say is pretty damn good. I used these on rides varying from around 5^oC up to 15^oC and never felt cold, and further the water repellent technology (‘Thermoflex fabric with millions of tiny silicone nanofilaments’ no less) worked very well in the various showers that I managed to get caught up in. I can’t say how they would perform in a downpour as I just didn’t experience any (shocking I know), but it is worth noting that Castelli say they are water resistant not water proof. Washing them so far does not seem to have had an effect on the treatment, though only time will tell.

Finally the price, both of these warmers sit firmly towards the higher end of the price range (at least when consulting the ever fantastic wiggle.co.uk) though if you hurry these are currently on sale with 30% off. Overall then a great high end product that looks good and feels better, slight issues with sizing and price means these score 8.5/10 from me.