Rapha Explore Cargo Winter Tights With Pad

Warm and comfortable tights are a winter essential and these Rapha Explore Cargo Winter Tights are great in both areas. They also include four pockets and boost night-time visibility, but you pay handsomely for them.

• Pros: Super-comfortable, great fit, winter insulation, cargo pockets
• Cons: Super-expensive

These brand new tights form part of an expanding push by Rapha into the adventure and bikepacking market, following on from the Cargo Bib Shorts which introduced those unusual pockets.

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Many laughed when Rapha launched those shorts, but mountain bikers have been wearing similar shorts (hidden under baggy shorts) for years, and the cargo pockets proved invaluable for longer rides and riding over rough terrain when jersey/jacket pockets can easily eject their contents.

These tights feature four pockets, two above the bum and two on the side of the legs. The left-side pockets are made from water-resistant fabric and zipped, those on the right are made from a mesh material. So you can put valuables like a phone or brevet card in the zipped pockets and fast access food in the mesh pockets.

With pockets loaded, there's no discomfort or annoyance when pedalling. Their size, particularly the leg-mounted ones, limits the bulk and weight of items you can store anyway. The pockets can be used in addition to regular jersey and jacket pockets, or as an alternative – useful if you're wearing a backpack, say, commuting or bikepacking.

The leg-mounted pockets are really useful for long winter training rides, too. They provide more space for carrying food for a start (big bonus!) and access is really quick, much easier than digging around in the back of a jersey pocket. You can use your rear pockets for storing things you're not likely to need during a ride, like spares and tubes.

The tights are made from a fleece-backed fabric that feels luxuriously soft against the skin, and insulates well against very cold temperatures, coping with the recent cold snap down to a degree or two above zero. A water-repellent treatment keeps out rain for longer than regular tights and copes fine with short showers, but like most DWR treated garments, a sustained downpour will breach their limits.

Inside the shorts is a familiar Rapha padded insert. It's a comfortable shape with sufficient padding for very long rides. It's a fast-drying pad, ideal for multi-day rides, and stays dry on single long rides.

There's flatlock stitching throughout and construction is first class with not a hint of concern on the durability front. Stretchy mesh bib straps are comfortable over the shoulders and a full back panel provides an extra layer of warmth while also being breathable for warmer rides.

The fit is first class, too. The mediums on test fitted perfectly, neither too tight nor too loose. There's ample length in the legs and bib straps and no restriction around the knees when pedalling, which can be an issue with some bib tights. The material has a good deal of stretch and this, combined with the shape of the panels and position of the seams, ensures really good comfort.

Winter riding tends to mean lots of darkness and low light riding, so Rapha has added two big panels of reflective material on the back of the lower legs. This gets a massive thumbs up from me. As the photo shows, they really do provide a big boost of visibility and the benefit of their position is that the up and down pedalling motion, according to some studies, helps other road users see you from a distance.

As nice as they undoubtedly are, their price tag of £240 is a lot of money in anyone's book. If you can live without pockets, the Brevet Tights I tested last winter would be a good alternative, except Rapha doesn't appear to stock those anymore, or the Classic Winter tights are the same £200 price. They don't get the DWR rain protection of the Cargo tights though.

Or you could buy the excellent Core Winter Tights for £120 though they're not as insulating as the Cargos.

> Buyer's Guide: 16 of the best winter bib tights and trousers

Of comparable price and performance are the Assos LL.habuTights_S7 which I found to be similarly luxurious and insulation on the coldest winter rides.

But you don't have to spend a fortune to get tights that will keep you warm and dry, as the £100 dhb Aeron Deep Winter Bib Tights prove, though the fit isn't quite perfect and no match for the Rapha Cargo tights.

Conclusion

For comfortable and warm riding in the winter, the Rapha Explore Cargo Tights have a lot to offer. They're amazingly comfortable and the fabric provides good protection against cold wind and lights rain. I love the big reflective details and the pockets are more useful than you'd think.

As nice as they are, though, there's no getting around that big price tag, and there are many very good winter bib tights that offer good performance and comfort for less cash. But if you can get around that price tag, they are extraordinarily nice.

Verdict

Comfortable, warm, high-vis and with very useful pockets, but a big price tag