Pearl Izumi Elite Thermal Arm Warmers 2018

George recently reviewed the sister knee warmers to Pearl Izumi's Elite Thermal Arm Warmers, and if you've read that review you'll know he rated them particularly highly, especially with the addition of new PI Dry coating that adds water-repellency to the mix.

• Pros: Warm, comfortable, great fit, water repellent
• Cons: Expensive

As with the knee warmers, a very soft fleece backing provides the warmth and no small degree of comfort besides, and while George commented that the fabric is good for anything down to around four degrees, I'm going to up the ante by saying that if you run warm, as I do, you'll get away with temperatures sneaking down towards the frosty freezing mark.

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Comfort is further improved by an anatomical cut that's shaped at the elbow (much like George's knee warmers were, at the knee), which means fit is practically perfect whether you ride in the saddle or dance out of it with a dynamic arm movement.

Handily, they're demarcarted into left and right arms, with Pearl Izumi logos placed on the top (slightly to the outside) to help oncoming or merging traffic pick you up. Moreover, the fit is always constant thanks to a nice level of consistent compression throughout the arm warmers, as well as plenty of length in a large so that it's never struggling to keep full coverage. Flat silicone grippers on top of an elastane upper cuff further guarantee a fast fit.

As our PI Dry tech test showed, water is able to bead off remarkably well, and if you ride them in fog then the condensation sits atop rather than ingressing. That makes for a real shell-like feel, which is great when you're venturing outside and the weather is a bit iffy.

Construction and quality is excellent too. Seams are strong and resilient to the stresses of being yanked on or off, while washing after every use seems to have little detrimental effect on the fit and shape.

> How to stay warm while cycling in winter

Pearl Izumi tells us that it'll only lose 10% of its water resistant coating effectiveness after 100 washes. It's impossible to quantify this, of course, but on the evidence of my test period it's not a crazy claim to make. To make sure, whenever I'm in reproofing mode with my jackets (using Nikwax Tech Wash), I've thrown in the arm warmers to help actively refresh them too. Can't hurt, can it?

Like the rest of the PI Dry-infused range, you pay a fair old price. At £39.99, they're six quid more than GripGrab's AquaRepels, which I reviewed earlier this year (now with an RRP of £33.95). The case for this is harder to make with the arm warmers than the leg warmers – full review to come, but I think the Pearl Izumi legs are genuinely a cut above the AquaRepel rivals, but the arms are far closer. That said, I'd still opt for the Pearl Izumi ones because they are just that bit more comfortable by my reckoning – and they match the leg (and knee) warmers that you really should buy.

Verdict

Near-perfect arm warmers with added water resistance