Pearl Izumi Pro Thermal arm warmers review

If a good fit was the only thing we were looking for in a pair of arm warmers, then these would win hands-down. There are clearly a lot of climbers among the designers at Pearl Izumi HQ on the edge of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, as these warmers fitted my long, skinny arms perfectly.

>>> Buyer’s guide to arm warmers

The key to the great fit is the panelled construction and anatomic cut, with a different cut for your left and right arms. This helped to prevent loose material around the elbow, and meant that I wasn’t forced to haul the warmers up over my shoulder in an attempt to keep them up. They are also slightly longer at the top of the arm, which helps provide extra coverage over your deltoid.

The silicone grippers are also positioned on the outside of the warmers, which might seem counter-intuitive at first, but is actually pretty clever. Instead of pulling at your skin in order to stay up, the Pearl Izumi Pro Thermal arm warmers  grip onto the jersey, with the excellent fit doing the rest of the work to make sure they didn't constantly fall down

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The Pearl Izumi Pro Thermal arm warmers are also the match of any of their rivals when it comes to warmth. The Pro Thermal Fleece was good enough to keep my arms warm even with the temperature well down into single figures, and I didn't get chilly on early morning rides with the warmers doing a good job of not absorbing dew.

My only gripe was that despite the above average price tag, these could not offer the excellent water resistance of the slightly cheaper Sportful NoRain arm warmers.

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