Hotpog Pogies – warm hands for winter.

I’m told it’s going to be the worst winter since 1947, which may or may not turn out to be true. One thing’s certain though, if winter does turn nasty, then I want to be out in it on my bike and these are going to help. The ‘these’ in question are Hotpogs pogies … think tea cosy for your hands.

There’s four styles of Hotpogs and they’re all made in the UK. The ones I’ve tested are the ‘basic’ version. Don’t be put off by the basic tag though, in my mind it just means that there’s no whistles and bells. They’re designed to keep your hands warm and dry(ish) and that’s what they do. I say dry(ish) because although the outer shell material is waterproof the seams aren’t taped and besides how waterproof can anything be when there’s a big hole in the top where your hand goes?

The other three models do feature taped seams, there’s also a model with a pocket below the pogie, another with a rather cunning clear map pocket on top and the very warm sounding Arctic for when things turn really frigid.

Fitted and ready to go – should take about 45 seconds.

Velcro and shockcord – simple and effective.

So, do they keep your hands warm? In a word yes and they do a good job of it … they enable you to ride in temps around freezing without gloves, so I can only imagine what the fur lined Arctic version’s like! Obviously you can still wear gloves too if you like.

The basic version like this costs less than many gloves, certainly less than any decent winter gloves, so it’s hard to justify not having a pair even if you only use them a few times a year. All four models feature high viz detailing for those inevitable road sections and are available in numerous (and I do mean numerous) colours, so you can even coordinate them with your bike if you’re that way inclined.

The four models range in price from £24.60 for the basic to £84.40 for the Arctic. I think for UK bikepacking duties the Explorer model with map pocket could be the ideal ticket at £36 … but if it is going to be like 1947 I’m getting some Arctics!

Hotpogs are available direct from HOTPOG