Ironically I started this job on the hottest day of the year... nothing like planning ahead!

I was given a pair of Alpkit pogies last winter, which is great because I get cold hands really, really easily. They work pretty well, but I find it's difficult to get your hands in without bunching them up a bit and exposing more wrist than is ideal, which somewhat defeats the purpose.

So I decided to add some rigidity to the top of them by inserting a layer of HDPE (milk bottle plastic) from an old 5l container. It shouldn't do any harm in keeping the wind and rain out either.

I unpicked some of the stitching around the edging, and from a row internally:


I found that the stitching for the reflective detail doesn't go through the layer underneath so I was able just to cut one big piece of plastic:


I slid it into place, squeeze a few blobs of glue on top of it to keep it in place, and sewed the edging back on.

It certainly seems like it bunches up less, though I haven't tested it on the bike for obvious reasons.

I need to do the other one when I've emptied another container... if that doesn't happen before it gets cold, I'll just have to do some proper A/B comparative testing (see if my right hand stays warmer than my left)

While you've got it open could you slide in some survival bag foil?

Sewn it up now but I suppose I could have done. I thought about adding a little pocket as well so you could stick e.g. chocolate bars in and stop them freezing.

Have Alpkit changed their pogies? I got a pair a couple of years ago and the outer edge was actually a velcroed closure "to aid a quick exit in case of a crash" Unfortunately this meant that it wasn't insulated plus the fibre pile didn't come up to the closure. All this meant that they were OK down to around -5C but once it got properly cold then they didn't cut it.

I notice that my review stating the same on Alpkit's site has gone so maybe they have changed.

I guess they must have then - they're a shock cord closure, and the pile comes right to the "mouth."

I remember you saying you didn't rate them. I would have gone for one of the other options but they were a present so...

I think they'd struggle in properly cold conditions, but as I say, I get cold hands extremely easily so perhaps I'm not the best judge. I've worn gloves under these in British winter conditions. A lot depends on how often you're removing your hands to check the map, eat, drink, etc. I like being able to do all that stuff without having to remove and replace thick gloves all the time though.

Makes sense then to remove the review as it referred to problems they've since fixed. From memory I think I stated that they'd be fine for UK winter conditions but not anything more serious.

This is what I wrote on my blog at the time - http://bobwightman.blogspot.com/2017/03 ... didnt.html and the photo shows the "escape slot" that was a big problem in that design.

Ah, yes, definitely different. I wonder how well these will work with my Jones bars (which I was considering putting back on my Longitude) or the Molokos currently on it. Possibly not brilliantly, especially now I've stiffened them (well, one)