Craft 3D Arm Warmer

Tis the season when the humble arm-warmer becomes the most useful piece of kit in many a cyclists armoury, indeed depending on where you live every season can be arm-warmer season and if you are looking for a year-round arm-protecting friend you won't go far wrong with the Craft 3Ds. My test pair have seen me through all four seasons including protecting my lily-white skin from 30° sun on last year's road.cc road trip to Italy and they've come through it all with flying colours.

I love arm-warmers, living in the mild west they can pretty much be used year round – during the last unusually cold winter I used mine for additional warm over long sleeved jerseys and under a jumper or sweatshirt on occasional rides around town. As arm warmers go, the Craft 3Ds are at the upper end of the scale, the design and technology that has gone in to them and the higher end of mid-range in terms of price. That said, they represent amazingly good value in terms of the versatility, usefulness and all-round ride comfort they bestow.

The “3D” bit of their moniker refers to the fact that they are constructed in such a way that the anatomically cut panels from which they are made are of different thicknesses depending with extra material going where it is needed most where your arms are most exposed to the elements. Craft bill these as “defying the laws of physics” by both working to keep you warm while at the same time releasing excess heat. My guess is that's down to the ribbing which I'm guessing is the reason, like the Gore Ozon, that they initially feel like they are cooling your arms when you first put them on. I put their ability to release excess heat to the ultimate test in Italy when caught without sunscreen and with my arms starting to crisp nicely I used them as sun protection – they were so good that I continued to wear them all week.

I'd have to say they certainly do the job for me keeping my arms pleasingly warm on even the coldest days – either worn as extra protection with a long sleeved jersey or with a short sleeve jersey and often under a jacket. One of the things that I like about arm warmers is that they give you greater flexibility of clothing choice on cold days. On spring and cooler summer mornings they are great as an outer layer in their own right (I reckon the 3Ds would work on winter days too although I haven't tried them). Interestingly whatever condidtions I was wearing them in I don't think I ever felt the need to roll them up or down or take them off… they were more or less fit and forget.

That's what is so great about the 3Ds they are so good that you really don't notice you are wearing them. The silicon grippers at the top of the arms do the job effectively but unobtrusively, the material is soft to the touch and there is nothing to itch or scratch – even the frankly care instruction lable (which takes a long time to tell you just to bung 'em in at 40°C) doesn't itch or scratch and it would anyway be the work of a trice to get rid if it did. Cut is long enough that you won't have any annoying gaps at top or bottom – I particularly liked the way that the cuffs tucked went right down in to my gloves and stayed there.

For the money I can't think of another piece of technical cycle clothing that is as useful for riding in the UK as a good pair of arm warmers – they even do a great job on a cold morning commute matched up with a t-shirt and jeans. The world being what it is you can of course spend silly money on even arm warmers, but if it's bang per buck versatility and usefulness you are after look no further than the Craft 3Ds.

Verdict

Hard to beat in terms of comfort and bangs per buck versatility and usefulness