Sportful WS Reflex 2 Bootie review - hardy overshoes that breathe, but they don't come cheap

Great protection and breathability for feet during long winter rides, the heel-cap cut-out might not be well-placed for all shoes though

Images shows Sportful WS Reflex 2 Bootie cycling overshoes.
(Image credit: Emma Silversides)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

Sportful's WS Reflex 2 Bootie is a good option for long winter rides. The fabrics are well-chosen, allowing you to get the booties on and off with ease while still offering good protection from the elements. The placing of the heel cap cut-out could be improved or made bigger, though this might not be an issue for everyone; it'll depend on the design of your shoe. At $75 / £59.99, you'd be well-advised to try before you buy; it's a significant outlay when comparable alternatives can be bought for much less.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Breathable

  • +

    Warm

  • +

    Good fit at ankle

  • +

    Well-made

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Misaligned heel pad opening

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Here it comes, the unpredicatbale and potentially grim British winter... when time taken to get dressed for a ride needs to be factored into your schedule, not to mention the palaver of peeling off damp and dirty layers at the end of a ride.

Booties are unquestionably a great piece of kit to protect both your feet and shoes. Finding the perfect pair isn't always easy though. You can end up with something that's baggy, or at the other extreme, stretched to its limit and straining its seams, potentially pinching above the ankle too. Alignment of the cleat and heel cap openings is paramount and there's also the important detail of just how easy they are to get on and off.

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Emma’s first encounters with a bike were in between swimming and running. Soon after competing for GB in the World Age Group Triathlon Championships in Edmonton in 2001 she saw the light and decided to focus on cycling. 


With a couple of half decent UK road seasons under her belt, she went out to Belgium to sample the racing there, spending two years with Lotto-Belisol Ladies team, racing alongside the likes of Sara Carrigan, Grace Verbeke, Rochelle Gilmore and Lizzie Deignan. Emma moved from Lotto-Belisol to Dutch team Redsun, working primarily as a domestique for Emma Johansson. When Redsun folded, Emma was offered the opportunity to ride with a newly formed Belgian team and home to the first year senior and budding rider Anna Van Der Breggen.

After retiring, Emma returned to teaching, setting up her own tutoring business. When not coercing kids to do maths, she is invariably out on two wheels. While the road bike remains her true passion, she has also developed an addiction to touring, with destinations including Iceland, Georgia and Albania, to mention just a few. There have also been sightings of Emma off-road, on mountain and gravel bikes… As if all of this isn't enough, she's been working as a freelancer since 2005, testing and reviewing the latest kit and sharing her insight into the sport.