Rohan Bumper Liner - Women's

When this landed on my desk, I was initially sceptical. First off, the Rohan Bumper Liner looks a bit like sanitary wear or an incontinence pad and more importantly, the idea of a stand alone chamois pad is one that just somehow doesn't, erm, sit right.

The Bumper comes in a men's and women's specific model, and is designed to transform 'everyday underwear into specialist padded cycling shorts'. It's certainly lightweight, at just 38g and I could imagine packing it along in a work bag - for the commute home it might be an option - or wearing it with more casual 'normal' clothes for café and errands rides, which might be highly appealing to many female (and male) riders.

Walking about, it was a little on the bulky feeling side, without the contours and folding that come from the supporting outer of a well shaped pair of lycra shorts. On the bike, it soon moulded to shape and became quite comfortable, with a good level of cushioning for casual rides, although I'd not want to chance Rohan's assertion that 'it might be a good option, even on a long ride or extended tour'. The problem is that the pad itself stays put quite well, due to the silicone pattern on the underside, sticking nicely to the inside of your pants, but the pants themselves put up far less of a fight than your average pair of liner shorts, meaning that there's still quite a lot of friction as the whole thing moves under you. This could be solved by wearing super heavy duty undergarments, but that's probably not the most comfortable option in itself. There was also an awareness of the edges of the pad, which could quite quickly become an irritation.

I can see how this is handy for occasional use, or could be something to keep in a desk drawer (at the risk of being thought incontinent by office mates), but for more regular use, the underwear/pad interface is just not effective enough. Basically, pants just aren't up to the job!

Verdict

Okay for occasional use but make sure you wear sturdy supportive pants!