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dexshell lightweight overshoes

dexshell lightweight overshoes

despite a lengthy period of lockdown, this past summer hasn't been too troublesome out here in the sticks. there's a distinct difference between riding in manland conurbations and doing likewise in rural islands such as islay. while friends in scottish cities have been on the receiving end of verbal abuse even while cycling alone, i've received nothing but thumbs up, flashed headlights and waves from local passing motorists, even when riding a darned sight farther than five miles from the croft.

dexshell lightweight overshoes

the warm, sunny weather, mostly unheard of round these parts, even had yours truly break out the extreme lightweight jersey that i thought i'd never have need of, and a faster draining of the sun cream bottle than has ever previously been the case. the trouble with weather such as that, is that, either you get used to it, or spend most of your riding time being a pessimist and wondering how soon it's all going to come to a sudden halt. the latter, sort of happened just over a week past, oddly enough, coinciding with receipt of a pair of bright orange dexshell lightweight overshoes.

i say 'oddly', because experience has taught me that the arrival of any sort of waterproof garmentage usually entails a lengthy period of fine weather, often meaning an e-mail to the distributor apologising for the time it has taken to review their product. however, i may have counted my chickens just a tad too early.

dexshell lightweight overshoes

the first ride that necessitated orange feet, dawned wet and windy, offering the ideal excuse to head out with shoes hidden 'neath dexshell's lightweight waterproofing. disappointingly, from that point of view at least, the rain was off by the time i'd ridden little more than a kilometre. of course, there's more than just a rainy day that would necessitate a pair of overshoes; presuming the rain to have been prolonged and heavy enough, surface water can often be just as much a problem as can persistent precipitation.

a smattering of rain punctuated said ride, but honestly, if i'd known then what i knew by my return, i'd probably not have bothered. now, under normal circumstances, riding in dry weather with waterproof overshoes would have been considered an embarrassing situation. however, such is their incredible lightness of being, that they have the look of a pair of (very) bright oversocks which, obviously enough, a stylish yet honed athlete such as myself, would be inclined to wear in the normal run of a day's velocipedinal action.

dexshell lightweight overshoes

there have been subsequent days where the weather outlook demanded that overshoes were required, even if only for the potential of rain later in the day. in truth, most of those were realised, but never quite to the extent that it was necessary to construct a large, clinker-buit boat capable of carrying two of every species on earth. but the overshoes were tested in other, more unexpected ways.

dexhsell have eschewed two of the commonalities associated with waterproof overshoes. firstly, the sole is completely non-existent, retention managed by a velcro strip midway along the foot. this means that, when walking becomes a necessity, there is nothing to wear out. and there seems to be no real problem with water ingress from below. this particular feature came into its own, when i punctured and had need of walking a short distance to find a modicum of shelter to carry out tube replacement. the dexshells looked none the worse for wear on arriving home.

dexshell lightweight overshoes

secondly, the majority of overshoes feature the zip at the rear, while dexshell have installed theirs offset on the outer edge of the heel, topped by a velcro strap. i wouldn't have minded an extra centimetre or two in height, for several of my socks are longer than the overshoes, but overall this doesn't seem to be have too much of a negative effect. placing the zip at the side, does seem to make it a smidgeon harder to close, particularly in the light of an inner storm flap which frequently caught on the zip at the bottom if i wasn't paying attention.

but all considered, these are really, really good. their lightweight construction means that, if the weather unexpectedly clears, and you're not as stylish as me, you can scrunch them up and stuff them in a rear pocket. they made an excellent job of keep my footwear dry, and did a marvellous job when we'd to pedal through a couple of instances of localised flooding on the sunday morning ride. they might not be ideal when the temperature drops below zero, but nobody said they were supposed to.

brilliant in both senses of that word.

dexshell's lightweight overshoe is available in sizes medium and large, in either bright orange (handy if you have to ditch in the sea; the helicopters will find you first) or lime green. price is a very welcome £35

dexshell lightwieght overshoes

monday 14 september 2020

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................