2Toms Stink Free shoe and gear spray review

If you’ve been wearing your cycling shoes under overshoes all winter, chances are they’ve spent at least part of the time damp and unventilated. If you’ve not been careful how you dry them after rides, you may find that they’re smelling a bit lived-in as spring comes around.

That’s where Stink Free spray comes in. It contains a couple of antibacterial agents which zap those bugs living on the sweat in your shoes and other gear. Because they also have detergent properties, they wet out the fabric and penetrate its pores to reach the smell-forming bacteria lurking there, treating the cause rather than the effect.

>>> Embarrassing cycling problems and how to prevent them

I’ve been using the spray on a set of dubious cycling shoes and some distinctly unsavoury walking shoes with an internal membrane. It’s been effective, although you do need to persevere and keep spraying multiple times before it fully takes effect. 2Toms recommends initial treatment two or three times a day, followed by a couple of times a week thereafter, allowing the spray to dry between applications.

>>> How to wash your cycling clothes

Watch: Shoe buyer's guide

With a bottle containing 237ml and an effective pump-operated spray, a bottle should last for ages. I’ve used around a tenth of a bottle to treat a couple of pairs of shoes.

>>> Are stiffer soles better?

2Toms says that you can use Stink Free on canvas, leather and denim and a lot of other smelly kit besides shoes: gloves, lockers, clothing and bags. It doesn’t recommend using it on helmets and headgear, where sweating could result in the active ingredients getting in your eyes and causing irritation.