Assos Chamois Creme Women's 75ml

Assos Chamois Creme Woman is a non-perfumey, non-oily concoction that, mostly, does a good job of keeping sores at bay. It doesn't always totally succeed, but I'd certainly rather have it than nothing.

My not-quite-daily round-trip commute of 13 miles doesn't really necessitate chamois cream, but having to up my weekend mileage considerably while training for the Ride Across Britain (969 miles in nine consecutive days!) has meant trying a variety of products, with varying success.

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This Assos cream is a new women-specific version – though I'm not sure what it is that makes it so, or not suitable for men... Testing a sample pot, there was no list of ingredients on the side, so I asked Assos and was told that the women's has a 'slightly lower pH' than the men's, resulting in less 'tingle'. (I was also given a list of ingredients, which I've included in the test report section, below.)

Most other chamois creams I've tried have a distinct menthol type smell and a tingly feel; a kind of cool mint effect on your skin, a bit like rubbing Vicks into your chest. The unisex (suitable for men and women, says Assos, but listed on the website as 'men's') version has this menthol tingle factor and scent, the women's doesn't.

One other difference is that the women's version costs £11 for a 75ml pot, while the men's is £13 for 140ml. So, expensive even compared with Assos's own, and much more so when compared with many others out there: Udderly Smooth is £9.99 for a 227g pot, and even Rapha's is 'only' £15 for 150ml. When I asked about the price difference between the women's and unisex/men's, I was told: "This is a new additional product designed just for women so is not a like for like product."

Some chamois creams can be quite oily too, but not the Assos. It's a bit like Nivea (the white tub Nivea Soft, not the thicker blue pot stuff); more like a light moisturiser than some thicker, oilier types. Assos does say that with its natural ingredients the Chamois Creme not only protects against chafing but also "rehydrates and replenishes the skin", so more similarities to moisturiser.

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As for results... Well, as far as I can pinpoint it to the cream rather than the saddle, shorts, or riding conditions, I'd say it does a fair job. Without going into too much detail, if I do suffer on occasion it tends to be on my right, and I haven't for a while, using the Assos but also some other products.

The other day I tried the Assos on the right and a roll-on product on the left, on a three-hour ride, and am currently suffering slightly on the left and not the right. Rather than declare it an outright success, though, in the couple of months I've been testing it I have had the occasional soreness, albeit nothing major. Maybe I'm just not using enough...

One benefit that the roll-on (the 2Toms Buttshield, which Vecchiojo reviewed a while back) has over a 'normal' chamois cream like the Assos is that it doesn't come off on your shorts or a loo seat. As a woman, trying to make last-minute use of a loo before a sportive, for example, unless you hover you're in danger of leaving some of your chamois cream behind rather than keeping it on your behind.

That's the case here, although the little sample pot on test is ideal for carrying and reapplying mid-ride. And as it mostly seems to do the job, that's probably well worth doing. If you can afford to...

Verdict

Traditional cream-type concoction that does what it's meant to, most of the time