Zerofit Heatrub Ultimate Leggings

Tested by Dave Manning | £60.00 | www.zerofit.co.uk

While they’re not the most exciting things to photograph or indeed look at, thermal underclothing is a vital part of riding a motorcycle through the winter. Even 30 years ago, I was wearing thermals when I commuted the 40 miles to my job at the opencast coal mine outside of Cannock, but the undergarments available then are far outperformed by modern fabrics, and these Zerofit leggings are the best that I’ve used to date.

As the Heatrub name suggests, the leggings create heat through movement, with the material used claiming to be five times warmer than a standard base layer. The inner face has a woolly texture, a bit like fleece, but using extra-long threads in a ‘double loop’ configuration that aids in trapping a layer of warm air around your legs while also creating heat through friction.

It’s a super-stretchy garment, and thus really comfortable, with no restriction in movement even when worn under close-fitting jeans, but the sizing is on the smaller side, so best to go for a size larger than you would normally opt for.

Zerofit say that the optimal operating range is from -10°C to plus 10°C, and I’ve found that riding with armoured jeans in positive temperatures (but below about 8°C) is no problem, and would only consider more windproof trousers (i.e. textile armoured) if it got colder.

Surprisingly, while they were keeping me warm when riding the bike, the two-mile walk into town and back to get my tea after an afternoon’s ride didn’t see me overheating, and while I was cosy (and the ‘Heatrub’ clearly works), the leggings managed to shed any excess heat easily. I’m very impressed.

The leggings are available in male or female fit (the difference being the open or closed fly), and five sizes, covering from

28” to 48” waist.