Nopinz Warm-Up Leggings. Keeping you warm on the start line.
Although there’s a good chance that I may not get to do a cyclo-cross race this season, I can still look at what kit is out there! And the Nopinz Warm-Up Leggings have been on my wish list for ages.
Warm-Up Leggings? Seriously, that’s what you want? Yes these are one of those “must have” items that I’ve always wanted. Why? Well ‘cross is, mostly, a winter sport. If you’re lucky enough to live in Australia or parts of the US, you probably enjoy dry, dusty races every year, but I don’t live there. Here in the UK, although we start fairly dry, the cold and wet soon make themselves felt. And that’s where Nopinz Warm-Up Leggings come in handy
When you pre-ride the course and during your warm-up you want to keep your legs covered and warm. It’s often wet and miserable, probably raining, perfect ‘cross weather in fact. And then the commissaires will want to keep you standing around in the cold while they grid you and give the pre-race briefing. All in the aforementioned cold weather.
All this standing around means you’re getting cold.
You could keep your leg warmers or tights on until the last moment, but risk holding up the start, or even missing it! And getting tights off over muddy shoes and getting said shoes back on, without plonking your foot into a puddle is not good just before the off. If only someone made warm, water proof leggings that were easy to remove….
Handily the nice people at Nopinz have sent me a pair of their Warm-Up Leggings. These are made from Blizzard Acqua-Zero fabric and are designed to be warm and water-repellant. Two full length zips down the outside of each leg mean you can remove them in seconds before your start.
This makes them perfect not just for cyclo-cross, but any event where you want to keep your legs covered before the start. Or where you want to cover them after an event. Try pulling on a pair of tight leggings over muddy shoes and legs, not good. In fact any race where you can quickly cover your legs without removing your shoes.
What’s the fit like?
I ordered a size XS which have proved to be just right; I’m 172cm tall and weigh 64kg. Unusually Nopinz use weight as the deciding factor on their size chart. Once on they have a nice squeeze, feels nice after a session!
The leggings come in men’s or women’s fit, with men getting four colour choices and women two. Inside they’re fleecy, great for keeping the cold at bay and watching the water rolling off the DWR surface never gets old. I actually held them under the kitchen tap to check how waterproof they were. Result? Very!
I had noticed riders with other brands of leggings and they all seemed to be quite baggy. I figured this was something to with them not having a bib design to keep them up; not a problem with the Nopinz. The tight fit combined with a silicone gripper had no trouble keeping them in place.
What are they like in use?
As I said there’s been no ‘cross racing this season, so there hasn’t been a need to warm up for anything. So I’ve been using them for all kinds of things. In fact as a test I even took them for a short run. While I’m not a regular runner, I can just about manage 5k. During my short cross country effort the Nopinz Warm-Up leggings stayed in place, quite impressive really.
Next up was turbo session. Like a lot of people I have been banished from the house. The turbo lives in the garage, which in winter makes for a chilly start. Perfect for the WarmUp leggings. I noticed a slight rubbing from the zip around the knees, nothing too serious, but would have been uncomfortable if you were to ride longer. But that’s not what the Warm-Up leggings are designed for, so not really an issue.
They also turned out to be very useful when walking down for my massage. I have an occasional massage to help with sciatica and tired legs. Handily my masseur is only a five minute walk away. The leggings meant I could keep my legs warm before and after my session. And the Full Monty references got us laughing!
So despite there being no cyclo-cross racing this season, I found the Nopinz Warm-Up leggings very useful. They’re warm and waterproof and will stay in place during your activity. I’d recommend them for any activity where you need to keep your legs warm and covered before or after an event.
At the other end of the temperature spectrum is Nopinz’s Subzero indoor kit. I’m reviewing this at the moment, but take a look at the preview to get an idea.
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