• Sugoi Convertible Bib Knicker
• £65
• Sugoi
• 0800 4321 3350

Yes, these are called Knickers. It’s a trans-Atlantic thing – what we call “three-quarters” Canadian clothing company Sugoi calls knickers. Chuckle, accept, move on.

Three-quarter length tights are ideal spring legwear. Somehow covering your knees up makes things a lot warmer, but leaving your shins and calves out in the breeze gives you a sense of shorts before it’s warm enough to actually do the full short thing. Most clothing manufacturers make three-quarters, but these Sugoi ones are amongst the nicest we’ve seen.

The fabric is Sugoi’s MidZero, a midweight material with a slightly fleecy inside. It’s warm (but not too warm) and very comfy, particularly in the well-cut eight-panel incarnation here. The ends of the legs are especially well done. Rather than being cut off straight the ends are slanted towards the front which, presumably by the application of magic, allows them to stay put without over-aggressive leg grippers. They’re also designed so that you can shuffle them up and down to fine-tune your warmth.

The bib part is lightweight mesh for extra airiness and the knees get a second layer of MidZero to keep those joints warm and add a hint of anti-grazing power should you slide along the ground at any point.

Inside you’ll find a Technifine Ultimate chamois. Sugoi takes its chammies very seriously, with the high-end garments packing more technology into there than you’d believe possible. The Technifine Ultimate is the third in the heirarchy and still packs a “classic” synthetic suede chamois combined with a wicking and breathable panel down the middle and no inconvenient seam.

Positives: Ideal for spring, super-comfy
Negatives: Quite spendy

Sugoi’s Knickers are spectacularly comfortable and perfectly bridge the gap between winter warmth and summer coolness. The only downside is that they’re quite pricey compared to the competition…

Performance: 5/5
Value: 4/5
Overall: 4/5