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 On: 2007-03-20
On the plus side this product does do the one thing its supposed to...for a time. That is, practically light up the night (when hit by a beam of light). That was critical for me when I bought these booties because I ride most mornings at 3:30am (no, its not a typo). So heres the problem. A) the booties are not tight around the ankles - in fact theyre quite loose. This is a fairly critical design flaw. Booties, like the rest of your biking apparel should hug your appendages tightly, not only for comfort but also for wind resistance. B)The zippers dont stay up. Imagine youre clipped into your bike, moving at a nice pace (this is worse if youre with a peleton)and suddenly you notice a slight breeze on your back ankle. This happened to me so often I finally had to resort to buying velcro reflective straps just to keep the bootie zippers from falling down! And finally C, heaven forbid you wash these puppies incorrectly because guess what? Youll wash the illuminite paint right off - at least thats the only explanation I can find for why one half of one of my booties seems to no longer reflect any light at all. My suggestion? Buy a set of booties that are warm, fit tight and the zippers either hold well or, in the case of some (like a few Pearl Izumi) - may have an actual strap that wraps over the top of the zipper. THEN - if youre concerned about being seen by oncoming traffic - buy a set of reflective bands for your ankles.
One more thing - and this is a crit for most booties not just Illuminite. Expect them to last only one or two seasons at most. I have yet to find a bootie thatll survive the harsh conditions of the constant clip in and clip out of metal on metal. Most of mine are shredded after 6 months. But six months is still a long time to wear a product that doesnt hold up to snuff. And this brand of booties certainly dont.
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