HANZ WATERPFOOF GOODIES

First things first, waterproof anything is always on my radar. No, I'm not made of sugar or petrified of water. I just like the idea of being able to work, ride, play in adverse conditions. For me, the interest lies during the fall and winter months while racing cyclocross. Traditionally, cyclocross events are cold and wet even though it seems like lately, there are fewer and fewer cold and wet race days it's always good prepare for them whenever possible. That being said, a good set of gloves is #1 on my list, followed by a nice pair of socks.Checking out the options, there are plenty. And over the years i've collected a few to choose from given the conditions. Out of my selection though, none are waterproof or even water resistant. That's where Hanz comes into the game. Offering a variety of fully water resistant options, with varied amounts of thermal protection as well. Bingo!For over 20 years, Hanz has been leading the way in waterproof, technical wear that not only fits great but performs well too. During the cyclocross season, the likelihood of your bike getting dirty is pretty hight. And for those of you that know me, I like to wash bikes when they're dirty. The problem is, that also during the cyclocross season, it's cold outside and giving your bike a good wash and detail can be pretty cold out on the driveway. Putting the gloves and socks to their first test, I filled up the bike wash bucket with soapy water, grabbed my rags and brushes and headed outside.I'm using the LIGHTWEIGHT WATERPROOF GLOVE with H2 Thermal Protection Level. As I begin to wash my bike I can feel the chill of the cold water and brisk, 31 degree air outside, but my hands are perfectly dry. I'm wearing the Crew Length LIGHTWEIGHT WATERPROOF SOCK as well but so far, there's no change in temperature to my feet. I intentionally spent a long time washing the bike this day, as I wanted to subject the gloves and socks to as much moisture as I could, while washing bikes. The gloves held up exactly as I expected them to. Not an ounce of water came through, even after repeated soakings for long periods of time. By the time I finished up, my shoes were soaked through but my feet were still dry.The next test came on the bike. We had just received about 8" of snow in the valley but the storm had cleared and the sun was out. It was about 35 degrees outside and the roads were soaked. Today would be a great test for the socks. Knowing that I may need a little more warmth, I slipped on a thin wool sock, under my Hans Lightweight Waterproof socks. Initially, the sock looked a little bulky and I thought it would be a bit uncomfortable inside my tight cycling shoe. Surprisingly, they conformed to my feet and slipped right into my shoe. No bunching at all. During the ride, I hit it all. Large, slushy puddles, wet salty spray and packed snowy trails. My feet, warm and dry.Overall I am very impressed with how well the gloves and socks fit. Very true to size according to the sizing chart on their site. Their three layer membrane, seamless construction provided a comfortable, non bulky fit. On first site the socks looked to be way too big and possibly bulky. They fit much better than I anticipated in both my Salomon running shoes and my Shimano MTB shoes, even with a thin wool sock underneath.Both the gloves and socks I tested are the H2 Thermal Protection Level. I tend to have cold hands and feet so they're not ideal for rides colder than 40-44 degrees, for me. They do offer an H4 Thermal Protection Level that I can imagine would be amazing for really cold and wet rides. Overall, I'm very impressed with Hanz gloves and socks and you can guarantee that they'll be in my bike bag at all my cyclocross races and training rides in the future.