If you look at your national weather maps, you’ll see that most of the country is in a ‘cool’ weather pattern right now. While that won’t last for long, half the country will continue into the traditional winter season but does that mean you have to stop playing golf? Or at least hit at a few range buckets at a nice and warm heated driving range? Not necessarily, especially with Nike’s Pro Compression Therma sleeves in your bag. THP put these sleeves to the test in all sorts of conditions and elements to see if these really are worthy of having a place in your golfing wardrobe. Are they worth it and more importantly do they work? Check it out.
From the Company
Um, it’s Nike? OK so you know the player but what game are they trying to play with these? Nike says that these full length sleeves will go onto you arms with a nice secure fit and keep you warm as well as dry. That’s a lot of things for these sleeves to take care of isn’t it? Big things come in small packages right? Maybe so but read on to see how these things really worked and if Nike’s claims were true.
Key Features, Technology & Functionality
* Therma-FIT fabric to help keep you warm and insulated
* Elastic gripper band with silicon lining at the top of the sleeve for a no-slip wear
* Compression fit reduces bulk and improves range of motion.
* Dri-Fit technology
* Zippered mesh/fabric storage bag
Fabric:
92%- Polyester
8% – Spandex
Testing/Usage
When I first received these my initial thought was that I could only have one, maybe two uses for them. However after initially trying them on my mind began to race with all the ways I could utilize these sleeves. First I took them out of the handy dandy zippered storage bag that you can roll these up into when they’re not on those two guns of yours and put them on my own two guns while wearing just a golf shirt on a day that was in the low 50’s. I noticed that my arms almost immediately felt warmer and that they sure do compress around you for a nice fit, almost custom if you will. What’s also cool is that if you wear the right colored shirt these almost look like they are a part of the shirt themselves as the sleeves go all the way up your arms and under the sleeves of your golf shirt creating almost a ‘seal’ of some kind so your body thinks you’re wearing long sleeves. My arms were warm but not overly so, however, after a bit of time I did start to ‘notice’ that I had sleeves on and felt a little on the warm side after awhile. Sneaky little sleeves.
Next up was some testing in 40 degree weather. This was what I really wanted to see from these sleeves, how they would do when layered with other clothing. On the sleeves went, followed by a long sleeve golf shirt and you know what? It didn’t feel that much different than if I had just the long sleeve shirt on. Yes I was layered to an extent but more importantly it didn’t feel like it. The compression feature creates a snug fit that insulates your arm without cutting off your circulation and without any slippage. What I really noticed during this phase of testing that my arms were warms but so were my hands. The sleeves keep you warm and almost seem to promote blood circulation to your upper extremities (those would be your hands) which in turn keeps them warm. No more crying about cold hands during those chilly rounds of golf you hear me?
Now for the real fun, testing in 30 degree weather. Nuts right? Yeah maybe but these are the things that need to be tested out for your reading pleasure. I slid these sleeves on, then a long sleeve golf shirt, and then a lightweight jacket. Yep, arms are still warm. In fact they seemed to be one of the warmest parts of my body. As mentioned above, my hands were direct benefactors to this newly found warmth and I never felt like I needed to have any extra gloves on, etc. This is where I first noticed that the sleeves really do have moisture management properties. My arms never felt sweaty, hot, or uncomfortable. Best of all, the sleeves never moved down my arms at all. They were always snug and never felt like they were constricting even when under multiple layers of clothing.
Overall
These sleeves are the real deal. They seemed do do everything that Nike claims they can do. Keep your arms warm and insulated? Yep. No slippage during wear? Check. However, I can see some potential slippage once the sleeves become a little stretched out at the top from repeated pulling and tugging while you’re putting them on and taking them off. Improves range of motion while reducing bulk? For the most part. My guns don’t have a ton of bulk to them so there wasn’t a lot of bulk to compress and I can’t say that my range of motion was increased to any degree. This may be a feature that someone who has bigger arms can benefit from as I can see the arms potentially swinging more free around the body, etc. Dri-Fit technology at work? Oh yeah. Never once did I see any moisture on the sleeves themselves or feel any moisture on my arms which was nice to experience. Anything that can reduce my sweat factor is a worthy investment in my book.
The Nike Pro Compression sleeves are a must have for any golfing wardrobe. I think they can be used in all types of dry weather in temps less than 55* by themselves all the way into the 30’s with the proper layers. Sizing is available in S/M, M/L and L/XL. The size I tested was L/XL due to my long-ish arms. For those that care or need a reference, my arms are measured at 34/35″ and I found the L/XL to be a perfect fit. I would say that if you’re unsure of what size to get, error on the larger side just in case. They come in three different colors (black, grey, white) and retail for around $25. To read more about these little sleeves, click on over to
T. Hanks
thorough review hanks. i’ve been lucky enough to have owned these sleeves for about 3 or 4 golfing winters now. from Oct-Feb i wear them almost every time i’m on the golf course. i agree with your review completely, your arms may be the warmest part of your body when you wear these. i have had some issues w/slippage with mine but they are fairly old. it’s not something that is really an issue but they don’t stay up near the arm pit like they did out of the box.
anyway, i have the black ones and desperately want the white ones for exactly what you were saying, they kind of become part of your fall/winter golf attire!
Great review! I love that your hands staid warm too because of the sleeves. I need to look into these…I wonder if they come in pink?
I have some similar sleeves for cycling but never thought about using them on a different application until now.
I love the looks of these lol. No joke. I think its great. I usually wear compression gear in the cold (haha AZ cold) months and at times it gets a little warm. These would be perfect!
Solid review, will look into these. They would double up nice for soccer as well.
Interesting stuff, Hanks. The price on these is pretty attractive considering you can wear them with multiple shirts. I’d have some concerns with slippage, but it sounds like they hold up pretty well.
GG- I don’t think they come in pink yet but that would be an awesome color for these sleeves
Good review on a product I would have dismissed as worthless. I see the benefits and will check them out now.
Great review Hanks! With my cooler climate up north here, these are defintitely something I should be looking at.
Thanks for the review, I’ve never owned nor tried them but living in a cold weather climate I should really look into it. The fact that you got no slippage from them really hit home. If these really do keep your hands warm I’m going to get out and get some of those NOW, that never even crossed my mind.
Nice review hanks!! May have to grab some of these.
nice review! added to my xmas list lol
I like the Nike Compression gear. If I am going to wear a compression shirt/sleeves it will be the entire shirt. If it’s cold enough to need sleeves, I need the extra layer from an entire compression shirt.
Good job on the write-up. Glad these worked out for you.
I will be getting a pair of these. Thanks for a great review of what sounds like an awesome product.
Nice write up Hanks. I use a pair of Nike sleeves similar to these for cycling and they work great. I think I’ll need to get these for those cold Northwest days.
grabbed a pair of these for 8 dollars at my tjmaxx in grey, feel great!!
have had a set of them in Black now for 6 months, live up in New Hampshire, so real cold testing done, LOL, they are great, I love to wear short slevves , so on a cool day , these with a light slevles top they work great, took some ribbing first from my golf mates , but they to have now got them