Pearl Izumi Elite Thermal Knee Warmers 2018

The Pearl Izumi Elite Thermal Knee Warmers keep your legs toasty, dry quickly after a downpour, and stay up well. What more do you need from knee warmers?

• Pros: Warm, comfy, water-repellent
• Cons: Pricey

The new Elite Thermal Knee Warmers landed in the road.cc office to a bit of confusion, as they look identical to the 2016 ones. However, there is one new addition: the PI Dry technology coating, which makes them water resistant.

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They are made from Elite Thermal Fleece panels, which means they are very warm and kept my legs comfortable throughout the review period, down to around 4 degrees.

However, simply keeping your legs warm is, oddly, not the only element that makes good leg warmers – they also need to stay in place. These manage this well through a combination of thick silicone grippers at the top and bottom openings, and through the well-thought-out panelling, which means there isn't strange bunching or pulling during the pedalling motion.

The one element that really sets these apart from the competition, though, is the PI Dry technology that Pearl Izumi has coated them with. The idea behind this is to make the knee warmers water resistant, and we created a video showing how well it works (we also got to throw water at Jack, which was an added bonus).

In real life these work as well as our highly scientific test. It was interesting testing them in the wet with non-water-resistant bib shorts... while the shorts got drenched, the knee warmers stayed dry.

The technology works by coating the individual fibres rather than the overall fabric, and Pearl Izumi claims that after 100 washes 90% of the performance should be maintained, rather than the industry standard of 80% after 20 washes. I don't know if it would be physically possible to wash them that many times in a review period, but after the three washes I put them through there was no noticeable loss in protection.

> Buyer's Guide: 17 pairs of the best arm and leg warmers

The knee warmers have an RRP of £44.99 which is steep, even with the impressive waterproofing element. You can pay less for pretty good protection – dhb's Aeron Rain Defence Knee Warmers (we tested the arm warmers last year) cost £26, and Madison's RoadRace Optimus Softshell Knee Warmers put up a good fight against the rain and are still only £29.99. Castelli's Nano Flex Knee Warmers are closer in price, but still a fiver cheaper at RRP, though Stu wasn't enamoured with their seam placement.

Overall, though, I really like these knee warmers. They may look the same as last year's version, but the PI Dry technology coating really brings a new element and despite the high price, in my opinion they are worth the investment.

Verdict

A great pair of water-resistant knee warmers that live up the hype