I found a pair of Arc’teryx mittens in the charity shop last year - probably the only item of that hallowed company I will ever be able to afford, but with that purchase, I bagged my greatest deal to date. £10! Cycling through London in the pouring rain, my hands were snug, comfy and above all - cute.
But the only small red flag in my new love-affair was how hard it was to shift - they were, sadly, almost completely incompatible with cycling. It wasn’t meant to be. So this year, I’m swapping out my beloved for a new pair of cycle-specific mittens from Altura - and today they’re 25% off.
I didn’t think mittens could get any better, but the Altura All Road Adapt Gloves combine the features of my favourite fingerless gloves with cycle-specific grip. Underneath the retractable outer cover are regular gloves, complete with a silicon grip to make traction when shifting, braking and gripping easier.
If you want to conceal your fingers and get a bit more protection from the elements, you can pull the water-resistant cover from the pocket and wear it in “trigger” fashion, with two fingers in each pouch to ensure you can carry on cycling.
The best thing about mittens is how free and warm your hands and fingers stay under several layers of fabric. With your fingers closer together, the heat is trapped in that small fabric encasing. But with the All Roads Adapt Gloves, heat can be conserved via the additional mitten cover, or if precision-shifting is your priority, it can be removed for greater dexterity. If you want even more warmth from the gloves, there is room to add an additional thin glove underneath. It’s a win-win?!
But if the Altura mittens didn’t tickle your fancy, there are other great deals to be had on similar ‘trigger’ gloves, like this Sealskin Waterproof Extreme Cold Weather Cycle Split Finger Glove now on sale for £64 down from £80. Gore-Tex are also offering their trigger gloves for 25% off, reduced to £67.49 from £89.99.
For those yet to join the mitten - and aligned winter cycling gloves - fan club, they can be a hard sell. “I bought these as ‘I may use’ pair of gloves,” wrote one soon-to-be hooked reviewer of the All Roads Adapt Gloves, “but I now love them.” When you go mitten, you can’t go back. Join the club.
You can also head over to our Black Friday Bike Deals hub for over 100 of the best deals I have hand-picked for you to browse.
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