Sportful 2nd Skin Neck Warmer

It's that time again, where the chilly morning breezes work their way inside the neck of your jacket. There's a number of options for stuffing the gap, and Sportful's 2nd Skin neck warmer is a good one.

The fabric is a synthetic mix (58% Nylon, 30% Polyester, 12% Lycra) that's similar to what you'd find in a compressive baselayer. It's seamless, which means that it's pretty comfy to wear, and very stretchy: even though it's a close fit you can get it on over a helmet if you forget it and want to pull it on at the last minute. I'm not suggesting that's a great idea, but it does give you an idea of how much it'll stretch.

In use it does a very good job of keeping draughts at bay, and it's easy to breathe through if you want to pull it up to protect your face on really chilly rides. It's light enough to go under a helmet too, although it's not really designed for that. It's long enough to pull right up over your ears, and stretchy enough to stay there when you do.

The synthetic fabric will probably need to be washed a bit more frequently than a cotton-based or Merino neck warmer, but it's not as if your neck is a particular hotbed of smelly bacteria. I've been using it on and off for a few weeks, and it's still fine. Sportful claim it has good wicking properties; certainly it stays drier to the touch than a cotton one on harder rides.

Mostly you want a neck warmer to, erm, keep your neck warm. And the Sportful 2nd Skin does that very well. It's cheaper than a Merino one and more than a cotton one. And for the money, you get a good product.

Verdict

Good synthetic draught barrier to keep the winter chills at bay.