Former top pro mountain bike racer Dara Marks Marino keeps her personal blog the mama trail regularly updated with posts of her life in Flagstaff. Her in-depth, reflective style covers a wide range of topics and often circles back to her love of cycling. Most of her commuting these days is with a bike child trailer.
I’ve always been a leg-, knee-, and arm-warmers kind of gal. Unbeknownst to me, not everyone has felt the arm warming love. At least one other Commute by Bike reviewer has never even worn a pair! With wide, surprised eyes, I give you: Sock Guy Arm Warmers.
I’ve worn many different brands of arm warmers over the years. With the exception of one pair of hand-me-down Fox arm warmers, they have all shared one common theme: they fall down. Inevitably. So it was with some trepidation that I tried the Sock Guy arm warmers. Yet hope was in my heart that at least one other company out there would create an arm warmer that defied gravity, even on my sticks-for-arms.
Despite the Sock Guy arm warmers being a bit too long for me, they stayed up like champs. They do not even have an irritating rubber top (which is how most companies attempt to keep their arm warmers in place, by using the friction of rubber-on-skin). Sock Guy arm warmers: point one. Gravity: zero.
The Sock Guy arm warmers definitely did their job of keeping my arms warm. On rides that had variable temperatures, they passed my one other arm warmer test: they slipped off easily over my gloves when I went to remove them. Sock Guy arm warmers: point two. Time needed to remove gloves: zero.
The only test that these arm warmers have yet to pass is the test of time. I wonder: will they stretch out through repeated washes and over-the-glove removals? Or will they hold their elasticity and keep on keeping on? Only time will tell.
Since most bike commuters’ rides span a variety of temperatures, either within one ride, or because the temperatures to and from their destination are different, arm warmers have the versatility that we need. They provide warmth and breathability, layerability and compactibility.
And let’s face it: if you are going to the Gun Show, ya gotta protect the guns!
Sock Guy Arm Warmers sell retail for $19.95.