Castelli Pioggia 3 Shoecover

'Pioggia' is the Italian word for 'rain' and that tells you what these overshoes are all about. They're made from a polyurethane-coated fabric that won't let water through. And when I say that it won't let water through, it really won't. Believe me, water doesn't soak through here.

The waterproofing extends to the front seam which is internally taped to prevent leaks and the zip is waterproof too. Well, it's about as waterproof as zips get; virtually nothing gets past it.

The polyurethane-coated fabric used for the main body is very stretchy so you can get a close fit all round and it moves easily with your ankle as you pedal. It's lined with a thin fleece layer to provide extra warmth.

Up top, the Pioggia gets a silicone bead inside the cuff to help seal water out, and a hook and loop closure that allows you to finetune the fit.

The sole is enclosed with just a hole for your cleat to poke through and another for the heel tab. The sole material is pretty hard wearing stuff. I've been using these on and off for a couple of months and there are just a couple of scratches on the bottom from walking over gravel – nothing much. The taller the heel tab on your shoes, the less likely the sole is to come into contact with the ground. As with any enclosed overshoes, you'll want to keep walking to a bare minimum to avoid damage, but these should last yonks if you're just tip-tapping to and from your bike.

In showers and even steady rain, these will keep your feet dry, and they couldn't care less about road spray. If it absolutely hoses down, your feet could start to get damp; that's just the way water is... it gets places. It soaks into tights and percolates down. But water can't get through the fabric or, in my experience, through that front seam. These keep it out as well as any overshoes I've used.

In terms of warmth, Castelli gives these a temperature range of -2-12°C. For me, that's a bit on the low side, although I've used these comfortably in temperatures of about 4-5°C and I'm neither built for the cold nor stoical. Any colder than that and I'd be thinking about swapping to some thick neoprene overshoes for a little more insulation, although we're all different in that respect.

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You can buy cheaper overshoes than these, of course. The DexShell Light Weight Overshoes that Stu reviewed recently were £35, for example, and they kept water out impressively. The DexShell design is fairly similar to that of the Castelli Pioggia 3, using fleece-lined polyurethane fabric, a water resistant zip and a Velcro fastening at the top, although the Pioggia 3s have a much more extensive sole section to keep warmth in and water out.

Overall, the Castelli Pioggia 3 overshoes provide excellent protection from rain and spray. There are warmer options out there but these still provide a very good level of insulation, and pretty hard-wearing too.

Verdict

Very good overshoes with several high-quality features; they keep water out really well