X-Bionic Summer Light Arm warmer

Innovative and award-winning Swiss-Italian sportswear brand X-Bionic's Summer Light arm warmers-cum-compression sleeves are designed for mild days when you still want the benefits of compression without overheating. They work – but they come at a steep price.

The Summerlights weigh in at 54g on our scales and are possibly the most packed-with-innovation arm warmers I've ever come across, with expansion ribs at the elbow for free movement, air-guide ribbing that helps with air circulation around the whole limb, and Thermal Window technology on the inner arm to maximise heat dissipation. All this, and a completely seamless construction.

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Fundamentally, the compression aims to reduce the vibrations you feel through your arms while out on the road, and I have to say that they do seem to work over the course of a long ride. It's important to pick the right size to get the most out of the compression, and I'd recommend following the fitting guidelines on X-Bionic's website instead of your normal arm warmer size, just to be safe.

Made of a series of fine yarns (80% polyamide, 10% elastane and 10% polypropylene), the fabric wicks away sweat very effectively, and possesses a merino-like quality, staving off morning chills yet keeping you cool when the temperatures reach the high teens. They offer sun protection too, but while they're made for summer months, I think they're equally at home on mild spring and autumn days when the weather doesn't quite call for the full Roubaix lining or a full-sleeve jersey that you might wear for a longer steady spin.

The yarns also wash well – I've yet to see any degradation in their performance or comfort following several trips to the washing machine.

>> Check out our guide to warm clothing for the winter here

With all this technology and thought gone into the warmers' construction, it's perhaps not surprising that X-Bionic has stuck with the general trend seen throughout its range and gone with a bold design. Available in white or black with the panels and features highlighted in varying shades of grey and X-Bionic's largely orange logo, the design will be a love-it-or-hate-it affair. In short, if you like your cycling clothes bold and distinctive, you'll probably like these.

This brings us to the cost – at £39 they're edging towards the more expensive end of the market for a set of arm warmers, and seeing as you probably won't want to be using them in the depths of winter, this limits their appeal to all but the most devout supporters of compression wear and enthusiasts of marginal gains.

Verdict

Overall, a good pair of compression sleeves/fair weather arm warmers for the bike