Sportful Speedskin Silicone Bootie

What you see here are the latest generation of Sportful's Speedskin Silicone Booties, overshoes to you and me. They keep the wind and water out brilliantly but only really work on milder days because of their lack of insulation.

• Pros: Brilliant at keeping rain and road spray out
• Cons: Not the warmest

The Speedskins started life as a time trial overshoe, developed more for controlling airflow over the bumps and buckles of your shoes, but with the addition of taped seams and a silicone coating over the Lycra they are some of the most weatherproof overshoes I've worn.

The material is near-impenetrable by both wind and water – riding on wet roads caused them no issue at all. They finish quite high up your calf so that cuts down on a lot of the spray hitting your tights and soaking down in through to your socks that way. Something that inevitably happens when you are riding in persistent heavy rain, but no overshoe is immune to this.

> Survival tips for cycling in the rain

They do have a snug fit around your leg, backed up by a silicone gripper to keep them in place. If you are pairing the Sportfuls with mudguards, I'd suggest your feet are going to remain dry for a very long time indeed.

The water from the road beads on the surface of the overshoes and doesn't have time to soak through the fabric; even on long wet rides no water made its way through.

They aren't that breathable, so if it is quite mild your feet do get warm. This helps on colder days as long as you start off with warm feet in the first place; keeping them warm isn't that much of an issue, but if you head out with cold feet there is no insulation here like you get with a pair of neoprene overshoes, so you'll struggle to warm up. They are definitely a pair for wet days rather than freezing days.

They are closed by a sealed zip at the rear, and unlike some brands the zips remain done up at all times. You have a little zip garage at the top to stop it digging into your heel.

There is a reflective strip up the rear, too, which helps catch the eye of following motorists, and another reflective on the front, either side of the logo.

Walking in overshoes can destroy them pretty quickly and the Sportfuls are no different here, but it is good to see that they have plenty of reinforcing around the cleat hole and the hole for the heel tab of your shoe to stop damage here. That cleat hole is big enough to deal with Speedplay cleats, some of the biggest out there.

The Speedskins are available in sizes Small to XXL, with these Large ones suiting up to a size 42. I usually wear a 44 so they were a bit of a stretch, but if I was to go up a size they would fit fine. I ordered some to try.

Money-wise, at £45 per pair they're not cheap, but they certainly performed better than the 40 quid Caratti Lightweight Waterproof Overshoes, which were let down by the fit and poorly taped seams, and their waterproofing far surpasses the £70 Assos Assosoires Winter Bootie.

> Buyer's Guide: 12 of the best cycling overshoes

Overall, if you want an overshoe to keep the rain out then the Sportfuls are up there with the best of them, but they are limited to milder days.

Verdict

Excellent at keeping out wind and water, though lacking in insulation