Rapha’s Shadow range, first launched in 2016 in response to Castelli’s Gabba rainwear, was updated in autumn 2025, hailed as the “ultimate winter training system for changeable conditions.”

While the range doesn’t include many accessories, I was excited to get my hands on one of them - well, technically speaking, get my hands in one of them. With a suggested temperature range of 4°C/39°F to 12°C/54°F, the relatively mild winter of 2025 provided plenty of opportunities for testing; there were only a few rides when I couldn’t venture out wearing the gloves.

Construction

The back of the Shadow Gloves is made from a combination of recycled polyester (73%) and elastane (27%). The elastane provides ample stretch without compression. This outer seamlessly extends up and round the wrist, replacing any kind of separate cuff. The gloves sit well under a jacket - the fabric is not bulky - or pull easily over a jersey thanks to the stretchy fabric. They look classy, too, with a ribbed design and a reflective Rapha logo.

Palm-side, a recycled AX Suede has very little give, making it a perfect design for grip and control. The suede creates a decent level of friction between the glove and bar tape.

Despite feeling like they don’t have a separate lining - nothing pulls away when you take off the gloves as it can with some lined gloves - a claimed (92% recycled polyester, 8% elastane) lining composition makes me think it’s integrated into the shell. Indeed, to the touch, the interior is much fluffier and softer than the exterior, making for a cosy yet low-bulk feel.

Rapha have used 'Connect' tips for touchscreen compatibility on both index fingers and thumbs. There is also strategically placed reflective detailing on the outer edge of both gloves.

The ride

I've been testing a size medium, as suggested by Rapha's size chart. They are a good fit. I'd suggest staying true to size for this particular glove.

The gloves feel great when you pull them on, striking a great balance between cosiness and full dexterity. Everything is possible: Boa dials, helmet clasps, zippers, etc. The touchscreen compatibility is very good; I’d say it’s effective nine times out of ten, with damp conditions being the primary cause of failures.

On the bars, the gloves continue to impress despite having zero palm-side padding. The suede offers a level of grip I’d normally associate with race mitts - indeed, I wouldn’t hesitate to go to a start line wearing these in cold conditions. That’s perhaps no surprise, given the Shadow range has been “engineered and fine-tuned with WorldTour” riders.

They’ve been used in the full range of suggested temperatures, and beyond. I’d say they're at their best around 8°C/46°F degrees. As the mercury neared 12°C/54°F, they became overkill, with noticeable moisture build-up if I removed them and put them back on mid-ride. At the lower end of the stated range, they remain surprisingly effective - don’t be fooled by their lightweight appearance and feel. While my hands weren’t exactly toasty below 5°C / 41°F, they certainly weren’t cold.

I found the gloves’ limit on a cold morning ride that climbed into a blanket of fog and a layer of thick frost. As the temperature dropped to around 2°C / 36°F, my hands began to suffer. Thankfully, the DWR treatment was sufficient to fend off the thick, hanging fog, keeping my hands dry and allowing them to warm up again after losing some height.

That said, the DWR does have its limits. Road spray is no problem, but anything more than a very short, light shower overwhelms it. Persistent drizzle will soak through in around 15 minutes, though thankfully the gloves don’t become as heavy as some alternatives.

Durability is my only potential niggle with the gloves. The grippy palm-side suede could place extra strain on the construction; any seam joining fabric-with-stretch to fabric-without-stretch is under strain. Here, the hand makes micro-movements inside the glove while the palm-side suede remains fixed in place. On my test pair, a small section of stitching between the palm-side suede and the stretchy back panel has come loose. Rapha assured me this was a manufacturing, saying, "Rapha is committed to excellence and stands behind the quality of its products. However, from time-to-time manufacturing faults can occur so if you think your product has suffered a manufacturing fault, please contact us. We'll replace the item unless it has been damaged as a result of excessive or long term usage." I’ve continued using the gloves since noticing the loose stitching and, after four weeks of continual use, it hasn’t worsened.

Value & conclusion

At £75/$105, they compare well with Castelli’s RoS Perfetto glovethat I tested these several years ago. During the second winter of use, the seams gave way. By the third winter, they were in absolute tatters - a high price doesn’t always equate to quality. It’s a real shame about the stitching on the Shadow gloves since every other aspect has impressed - full dexterity, comfort, grip, protection and looks. If it wasn’t for the loose stitching, the price could be justified. That said, at least Rapha would replace them if this happened within a month of purchase. I’d personally want a longer time period here.

The most durable pair of cold-to-cool weather gloves I have ever tested are by Sportful, though the pad positioning isn’t perfect for me. Their prices are significantly lower than both Rapha and Castelli - for example, their Classic Winter Gloves are just £45/$60. These are surely good value, if they fit you well.

If you’re a Rapha fan and are willing to take the risk on questionable durability, then the performance, looks and comfort of the Shadow gloves won’t disappoint.

My relationship with winter cycling gloves often feels like a modern twist on a traditional fairytale. Although rather than Cinderella fitting a glass slipper, this time I'm the one searching for a perfect fit.

I'm also like Goldilocks—I want the ideal winter cycling glove that isn't too hot or too cold for the typical UK winter temperatures, which are usually above freezing but gray and wet. Oh, and I also have small hands, so I often feel like I'm trying to ride in boxing gloves rather than protective cycling gear.

I honestly don't think I'm being overly demanding, nor does Castelli, which has appeared like the proverbial Fairy Godmother, with its Espresso 2 gloves.

Construction

The key components of the Castelli Espresso 2 gloves are Primaloft and Polartec Aircore fabrics.

These are both top-tier materials for winter gear, so it's no surprise to see them on these premium cycling gloves. Castelli uses Polartec Aircore, known for its wind and water resistance, on the backs of the hands, while a middle layer of Primaloft provides insulation. This combination is designed to keep cyclists' hands warm down to 3°C / 37°F and fairly dry.

The faux suede palms of the Espresso 2 gloves feature silicone contours to enhance grip and durability, with cross-hatching on each finger except the tips of the thumb and forefinger, which are smart screen-compatible.

The gloves are securely closed with a long YKK zipper that runs across the back of the hand, between the thumb and forefinger, and at the wrist. A simple tab on the palm helps pull the gloves on.

The ride

With winter gloves, it's not until I'm halfway through my ride that I realise my hands are either under or over-protected.

Fortunately, during my first few outings with the Castelli Espresso 2 gloves, I found ideal conditions and achieved a Goldilocks state of 'just right' comfort.

I was worried that the long zip across the back of the hand would irritate my touch sensors by having a cold zipper against my skin, but thankfully, the gloves are designed as a whole, so there are no seams to join; they simply fold the fabric closer together for a snug fit. I loved the gloves' low-profile design.

Even the best winter cycling gloves can balloon in size due to padding, which is arguably hard to avoid in true deep-winter gloves like the Giro 100 Proof, for example. However, the use of Primaloft and Polartec Aircore fabrics has allowed them to provide warmth without bulk.

This is especially true for the palm, which offers great grip and does not affect my radial grip. Even the fingers are a perfect length. I usually have at least one or two empty fingertips on most gloves, even in small sizes.

I also think it might be a world first for me to have touchscreen fingertips that actually work, so being able to keep the gloves on during winter rides to check a map, make a call, or even send a text is a big advantage.

The only downside to these superbly fitting gloves occurs when the rain starts. I understand that nothing is completely waterproof, and I accept that I am a more demanding user because I suffer from Raynaud's, but once my hands become really wet, they also get very cold, and there is nothing I can do to restore warmth.

But around 8-9°C / 46°F on a dryish day, these were perfect for me. Others will likely benefit from much lower temperatures; my daughter, for example, has borrowed them for riding a short commute to school in -2°C / 28°F, and she says they are perfect and have never left her with cold hands.

Value and conclusion

The Castelli Espresso 2 gloves are an excellent option for anyone who feels the cold but hates the bulk of traditional winter cycling gloves.

The fit is excellent, especially for small hands, and for me, they are a world first in the smart screen-friendly fingertips that actually work.

There's no getting around the price, which puts them in the upper-tier price category, but having (or not having) warm hands can make or break my winter riding, and investing in decent gloves that allow me to ride throughout the year is an expense I'm not willing to skimp on.

Keeping hands warm when riding in cold weather is a perennial problem for cyclists. The best winter cycling gloves need to be warm, wind-resistant and even waterproof for the worst conditions, yet also be dexterous enough for brake operation, gear shifting (especially with fiddly Di2 buttons) and snack retrieval.

I have a little bit of a glove obsession, with more drawers full of cycling and skiing gloves than I’d care to admit, and for the last few years, most of my winter riding has been done using a pair of midweight ski gloves rather than anything bike specific. Perhaps Giro’s Xnetic H2O gloves could tempt me back into cyclewear?

Available in Black and Hi-Viz Yellow, sizes S-XL.

Construction

Construction is fairly basic, with Giro’s own RainGuard membrane sandwiched between a knitted nylon outer and a softer inner fabric using a seamless design. The palms and fingers are well-covered in silicone grip, whilst the thumb and forefinger on both hands are touchscreen compatible.

The cuff is a reasonable length, but there is no attempt at any pre-formed shape or articulation; instead, the gloves rely on their stretchy knit to allow the fingers to bend and grip.

The ‘Giro’ lettering is reflective, but small, so best not relied upon for safety - there is Hi-Vis Yellow option available, however.

The ride

At first glance, the Xnetic H2O gloves look quite basic and un-techy, or to spin it more positively, ‘minimalist’, but when you pick them up, you can feel that there is a bit more going on than meets the eye.

The RainGuard membrane makes itself known by the slightly crinkly feel and sound of the material, and there is also some bulk to the fabric, which should translate to warmth.

Sizing is perhaps a touch on the snug side; my usual size large fitted me fine, helped by the very stretchy nature of the gloves, but I think that an XL would have been OK too. The fitted, knitted cuffs ensured that there was no frigid gap between my winter jacket and the gloves, and their low-bulk design meant that it was simple to pull the jacket cuff over the glove.

Although there is no specific padding on the palm, I found that the thickness of the 3-layer construction provided ample protection (even feeling a little too thick on my gravel bike with its more cushioned bar tape). Despite the gloves’ thickness, dexterity was pretty good, helped no doubt by their close-fitting nature. Operating my bike’s controls was fine, and furkling in my rear pockets wasn’t too bad either, although it is never easy with full-finger gloves on.

I was surprised by their warmth; on a December night ride with my Wahoo suggesting a temperature of -1°C, my digits were perfectly ok for 90 minutes, although Giro only rates them for use down to 5°C.

Buoyed by this success, I wore them on an all-day, 100km gravel ride with the trails covered in snow and temperatures between -6° and -3°. Although there were times when my fingertips were cold, they warmed up on the climbs, and I was hugely impressed with them overall. My only tiny criticism is that the outer material is a little rough for an entire day of snot wiping!

Breathability was also much better than I expected. The audible crinkliness of the membrane had me thinking that they might be a bit ‘boil in the bag’, but they actually fared very well in the moisture management stakes, treading the fine line between heat retention and breathability brilliantly. There is no use being highly insulating if your hands get wet from their own sweat - this is a surefire way to get cold.

Where they weren’t quite so impressive was when rain was involved. Not because they weren’t waterproof - I don’t think any water got past the membrane - but because that soft, comfy knit construction of the outer fabric acts like a sponge and soaks up water. This then quickly pulls heat away from the skin, chilling down the hand and is also highly likely to impede breathability too.

They do dry pretty quickly, but it is not ideal that they are at their coldest just when you probably need them to be at their warmest.

I found the touchscreen tips a bit hit and miss; fine for opening up my iPhone, taking a picture or looking at a map, but I would not want to type out a lengthy text whilst wearing them - it would definitely be quicker to take them off, type, and then put them back on again. I don’t know if it was a connectivity thing or just down to the blunt fingertip construction, but they were not overly accurate or quick to respond.

Although the weather has not been warm enough to require it, the simple, minimalist construction means that they pack down very small, making it easy to stash them in a jersey pocket if not required or to carry ‘just in case’, unlike many bulky winter gloves.

Value and conclusion

Overall, I was impressed with Giro’s Xnetic H2O gloves. The combination of neat fit, warmth and dexterity is a winning one, especially when you consider that they only cost $/£55.

I wouldn’t want to wear them in the very worst wet weather for very long; there are better, more protective (and much more expensive) gloves for that. Ironically, for waterproof gloves, I found that where the Xnetic H2O gloves excelled was in cool/cold dry conditions, when they acted like a windproof+ glove providing excellent warmth for weight.

It is also a big plus for them in the value stakes that, as there aren’t really any bike-specific features to them, they could happily be worn for a wide variety of activities where hand-warming was required.

I'm a bit of a diva when it comes to winter cycling gloves. They're one of the few pieces of cycling gear that I need to be just right; otherwise, they can ruin my ride.

My Goldilocks-like demands mean the gloves must have just the right amount of padding to keep my digits warm, while still allowing for dexterity and excellent radial grip.

This is easier said than done for someone like me, who has small hands and suffers from Raynaud's—a condition that prevents proper blood flow to my fingers and toes.

It usually means that all but the very best winter cycling gloves are too bulky for me to, excuse the pun, get to grips with.

So when the Sportful Deep Winter gloves arrived on my desk, I was incredibly skeptical they would live up to the task of helping make winter cycling more bearable , but I couldn't have been more mistaken.

Sportful Deep Winter Gloves - construction

There are a few pairs of gloves in Sportful's winter collection, with the Deep Winter model designed for the lowest temperature range suggested between -5°C and +5°C / 23°F to 41°F.

At the core of the gloves is Primaloft insulation. According to Primaloft, the 100% polyester inner lining is specifically designed for active wear, combining the warmth of lightweight, breathable insulation with stretchy fabric while allowing for moisture management.

The outer layer, made from a 100% polyester Sportful membrane, aims to protect against wind and light rain, keeping your hands shielded from the elements, although it specifies that the gloves are water resistant rather than waterproof.

The palm features a specialised grip material, which Sportful describes as being made from 60% polyamide and 40% polyurethane, resembling faux suede.

This is further enhanced by strategically placed rubberised 'cat tongue' sections at the top of the palm and the heel of the hand, helping maintain a firm grip on the handlebars.

Additionally, the index finger and thumb are designed to be touch-screen compatible, allowing you to use electronic devices without removing the gloves.

Finally, on the cuff of the Sportful Deep Winter gloves, there is a velcro closure made from the same material as the palm with a silicone-dotted section for easy fastening.

Sportful Deep Winter Gloves - The ride

I thought I might have had to wait until early January to get the weather conditions specified by Sportful for optimal performance, but the north of the UK had other ideas. An early influx of the finest Peak District winter arrived in mid-November and hasn't really let up since.

With their low-profile shape and minimalist design, I was apprehensive about how well the Sportful Deep Winter Gloves would keep me warm during my rides over the hills. So apprehensive, in fact, that I tucked my Sealskinz Upwell heated gloves into my back pocket as a 'just-in-case' insurance policy.

However, I was immediately impressed with their performance. Living halfway up a pretty steep hill, I have to decide whether to go up or down at the start of every ride. Due to the snow and ice, I chose to head out on gritted roads, which meant immediately pushing the gloves into a sub-zero descent. When factoring in the wind chill (according to this unverified wind chill calculator), it was more like -9°C / 15°F.

It's a good indicator of how the rest of the ride will go if I don't instantly have cold air seeping into my gloves, and the Sportful Deep Winter ones buffered it nicely.

Further into the first ride, the gloves continued to hold up well against the elements. The PrimaLoft insulation, combined with the wind-blocking membrane, created an impressive shield that prevented my hands from losing heat instantly—something some gloves can do, especially around stitched seams.

The fit of the size medium pair I tested offered just enough space to wiggle my fingers and allowed room for a thin silk liner underneath.

Thanks to the minimalist palms, my radial grip on the bars was excellent, and I loved that I still had ample feedback from the bike, which is especially important when riding on winter roads and needing to feel what the road surface is doing.

The fingers were a little long, but not so much that I got the fingertips caught in the shifters or brake levers.

Talking of fingers, the touchscreen compatibility was one of the best I've ever experienced. I was able to use all the functions on my phone, even typing and sending messages without removing my gloves—a big win for mid-ride communication checks or Instagram moments.

However, I will admit that the lure of the heated gloves in my back pocket was too strong. Riding over to meet my daughter from school and hanging around for about 10 minutes caused my hands’ temperature to drop drastically, and I had to switch from the Sportful Deep Winter gloves to the heated pair.

Sportful Deep Winter Gloves - value and conclusion

I was truly impressed with the warmth provided by the Sportful Deep Winter Gloves. They are ideal for anyone who dislikes the bulkiness of winter gloves.

Focused on dexterity, their design combines this with Primaloft insulation and minimal palm padding, creating an excellent combination.

I haven't ridden in heavy rain yet (a very wet experience the week before has discouraged me from riding in torrential rain for now), but in spray and mist, it didn't even seem like they absorbed water.

However, this remains a concern, especially since British winter rides often involve hours of pouring rain. While I agree that breathability is better than a completely waterproof barrier, these gloves will need regular DWR treatments to keep out the worst. However, I appreciate that my benchmark for wet-weather warmth is electric leather gloves.

The £80/$100 price tag isn't overlooked, but on the whole, you truly get what you pay for in terms of top-tier performance, which will impress even the most particular riders with its warmth and dexterity.

Warmth without bulk seems to be the name of the game in winter cycling apparel lately, and Ornot’s new Alpha Winter Gloves are a clear example of that trend. Instead of piling on layers of PrimaLoft, down, fleece, or what-have-you, Ornot has leaned into Polartec’s high-loft Alpha insulation to create a glove that promises serious warmth in a lightweight, compressible package.

Even in mild-tempered San Francisco, home to Ornot, the winter cycling struggle is all too familiar: you want to stay warm without getting too sweaty, and you want to do it without sacrificing the ability to shift, toggle through pages on your cycling computer, or text your spouse toward the end of the ride that you’ll be "a little late."

Ornot’s solution is a pair of gloves with a weather-resistant exterior and a lightweight Polartec insulation designed to trap heat while still allowing air to move moisture out. On paper, it sounds like an ideal recipe for long, cold miles in the Pacific Northwest, so I was keen to put them to the test.

Meet the Alpha Winter Gloves

At the core of Ornot’s Alpha Winter Gloves is Polartec® Alpha™ high-loft insulation, a synthetic material designed to adapt to changing conditions by regulating heat and moisture. Originally developed for the U.S. Special Forces, Alpha is praised for its exceptional warmth-to-weight ratio, breathability and compressibility. Visually, it resembles a fuzzy knit atop a spaced-out mesh core, and it can be used either sandwiched between layers or left exposed.

In these gloves, Ornot uses 90 gsm deadstock Alpha insulation on the back of the hand, paired with a wind- and water-resistant exterior fabric, leaving the insulation exposed on the inside for breathability. The idea is to provide the warmth of a fleece or down material without the bulk or weight, while allowing moisture to evaporate as conditions and effort levels change.

The gloves feature a snug fit with pre-shaped fingertips for braking and shifting, a longer slip-on cuff for added coverage, and conductive fingertips for touchscreen use. Ornot rates the Alpha Winter Gloves for temperatures between 28 and 50°F (-2 to 10°C), though I’ll get into my real-world experience and recommended range below.

• Hero materials: Polartec® Alpha™ high-loft insulation
• Wind- and water-resistant exterior fabric
• Brand-recommended temperature range: 28–50°F (-2 to 10°C)
  • CW-suggested range: 28-45°F (-2 to 7°C)
• Pre-shaped fingers for braking and shifting
• Light palm padding
• Conductive fingertips for touchscreen use
• Soft interior feel for next-to-skin comfort
• Lightweight and compressible construction
• Weighted: 68g for the pair (size Small)
• MSRP: $85 USD

In use:

The first thing you notice when slipping into the Alpha Winter Gloves is the look of the Polartec Alpha insulation. The blue, fuzzy interior suggests plushness and softness, but in practice, the feel is more technical than cosy. Still perfectly comfortable, mind you, just not that teddy bear (Cookie Monster?) softness the material might lead you to expect. But while it may lack the plush feel of fleece, this insulation is the glove’s hero, delivering an impressively high warmth-to-weight ratio.

In a size small, the gloves weigh just 68 grams for the pair on my Park Tool scale—about the weight of one and a half Maurten gels—and they compress down easily for stuffing into a jersey pocket. I appreciate the articulated fingers and the generally snug fit, though I do wish Ornot offered an extra-small option. Even the smalls are a bit roomy on me, which compromises the dexterity and next-to-skin feel Ornot was aiming for. They’re usable, but I do find myself taking them off more often than I’d like when handling my phone or a multitool.

On the bike, the warmth is undeniable. In fact, across several rides in the 37–45°F range, they’ve often been a bit too warm once the effort ramps up. On steady climbs or when trying to hang onto my riding buddy’s wheel, heat builds quickly, and it doesn’t take long before my hands feel genuinely toasty. For easy spins and truly cold days, that’s a gift. For higher-output rides in milder winter temperatures, it can be a bit much. These gloves clearly prioritise insulation and weather-blocking, and they do that job extremely well, but I'm less convinced when it comes to managing moisture.

After one tempo ride, my hands were so damp, they were downright pruney by the end. On another, I pulled the gloves off altogether in the hope they’d dry a bit before the next long descent. To their credit, they do dry quickly, and their compressibility makes them easy to stash in a pocket mid-ride.

The exterior fabric does a good job blocking wind and light mist, though it’s worth noting that it’s not waterproof. Yet even when soaked through, the gloves continue to feel warm.

This winter in the Pacific Northwest has been rather mild so far. There’s been no real need yet for thick lobster gloves or bar mitts, and riding in the Alpha Winter Gloves has me genuinely wondering if those days are numbered. When materials like Polartec Alpha can deliver this level of warmth without the bulk, stiffness or loss of bar feel, why compromise on dexterity at all? These gloves feel like a glimpse at the future: warm, light and dexterous, without the trade-offs we’ve come to accept from traditional winter handwear.

Ornot rates the Alpha Winter Gloves for temperatures between 28 and 50°F (-2 to 10°C), but in my experience, they start to feel too warm above about 42-45°F unless you’re truly taking it easy. They’re very much a proper winter glove: impressively warm, soft and comfortable, with virtually no bulk to speak of.

My only wish, sizing aside, is for a soft panel on the thumb for wiping my runny nose or the muck off my cycling glasses.

Verdict:

The Ornot Alpha Winter Gloves offer a well-judged balance of warmth, comfort and minimal bulk at a price that feels very fair. They deliver the kind of insulation and cozy next-to-skin feel you’d expect from much thicker gloves, without the weight or clumsiness that heavier winter options often bring. Their compressible build and light footprint also make them easy to carry and easy to live with on variable winter rides.

The Polartec Alpha insulation does a remarkable job trapping heat for a glove this light, making them an easy choice for chilly days in the 30s and low 40s. The exterior fabric blocks wind and light mist effectively, and even when damp, the gloves continue to feel warm.

On higher-intensity rides, however, that same insulation can become a drawback. For this, the gloves have a rather narrow temperature window; otherwise, sweaty hands will become an issue. These are very much cold-weather gloves, best suited to cold conditions, easy endurance rides or low-intensity commuting rather than hard efforts in milder temperatures.

The Alpha Winter Gloves punch well above their weight in terms of warmth and performance, and at $85 they represent strong value in a category where insulated, wind-blocking gloves often push well into three-digit pricing. They’ll certainly be a staple in my rotation once the temperatures drop.

Rather than asking whether you should buy them, the real question may be whether you can. These gloves dropped just weeks ago and some sizes have already sold out. But if you fit their size range and want a warm, light and versatile winter glove without the bulk or premium price tag, the Ornot Alpha Winter Gloves are absolutely worth a look.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve amassed quite a pile of cycling gloves over the years. From short-finger road cycling gloves that no one seems to wear anymore to bulky lobster mittens and everything in between. Everything, it seems, except for the right pair for the ride you’re about to do.

Every autumn and winter in the Pacific Northwest, I find myself standing in front of the glove drawer, debating the day’s conditions and inevitably stuffing a backup pair into my handlebar bag. Just in case.

Technology has come a long way since I first got into cycling. I still remember pulling on latex gloves under insulated winter gloves in a faint hope of staying warm and dry. These days, you can get warmth without bulk, and dexterity and breathability are no longer a premium feature. But cycling gloves for rainy conditions? They still feel like a unicorn.

And in the Pacific Northwest, that matters above all else. Truly cold days that call for ski gloves or bar mitts are limited; what defines our off-season riding season is the long, grey stretch from October through March, when it's chilly, windy, and relentlessly damp. Dressing for it is a challenge all its own.

On any given Saturday, I might roll out in 37 degrees, only to see temperatures swing by ten degrees throughout the day thanks to fog, elevation, wind and persistent dampness. The weather always feels colder than the thermostat suggests, but the biggest challenge is managing sweat. Once your hands get sweaty, the wind chill can turn a good ride into a miserable one in a hurry.

So when Pearl Izumi sent us their DWR-treated Summit Alpha Gloves, designed for a wide range of temperatures, I put them straight into the Portland winter to see if they could hack it.

Pearl Izumi Summit Alpha Gloves

Billed as Pearl Izumi’s "winter cycling gloves that deliver insulation and dexterity without compromise," the Summit Alpha Gloves are designed for cold-weather riding where bar feel and breathability still matter. They use Polartec® Alpha Direct® active insulation on the back of the hand to provide warmth while allowing excess heat to escape as effort increases, aiming to reduce moisture buildup.

On the palm, Pearl Izumi uses water-resistant AX® Suede Slim Fleece for durability, grip and tactile feedback, paired with a brushed lining for added warmth and comfort. The gloves are finished with a PFC-free, durable water repellent (DWR) treatment to shed light precipitation, a stretchy cuff with velcro-closure for adjustability, touchscreen-compatible thumb and index fingers, and a patch of microfiber on the thumb for wiping sweat and a runny nose. Pearl Izumi rates the Summit Alpha Gloves for use in a wide range of temperatures, between 30 and 65°F.

Features:

• Hero materials:
  • Polartec® Alpha Direct® with active-insulation
  • Water-resistant AX® Suede Slim Fleece in the palm
• PFC-free Durable Water Repellent treatment for light precipitation
• Touchscreen-compatible index fingers and thumbs
• Soft microfiber thumb panel to wipe sweat face and glasses
• Promoted temperature range: between 30–65°F (-1–18°C)
  • Suggested temperature range after testing: 35-55°F (2-13)°C
• Weight: 40g for the pair
• MSRP: $60 / £49.50

In use:

My first ride in the Summit Alpha Gloves began the way so many winter rides in the Pacific Northwest do: on a morning where the edges of the world are wrapped in fog. A thick blanket of it hung low over the farmland, and everything—road signs, fences, my bike, my kit— quickly collected a fine sheen of water beads. Not rain exactly, just that persistent, soaking mist that finds its way into everything.

For the sake of testing, I’d deliberately brought only the Summit Alpha gloves. And as I got rolling, I’ll admit I had my doubts.

The Summit Alpha are very thin and seemingly simplistic for something billed as a "winter glove." In my opinion, they're more of a shoulder-season option than a true cold-weather piece. No bulky insulation, no neoprene, no thick fleece. Just a light, streamlined layer between my hands and the damp chill. As the fog beaded on my sleeves and collected on the bars, I wondered if I’d made a mistake.

But as long as I kept moving and my heart rate stayed up, the gloves proved surprisingly warm. They won't do you much good standing around, but in zone two and above, even into January, with temperatures hovering around 35 degrees, my hands stayed comfortable. And the outside dampness never touched them either.

The lack of bulk meant excellent bar feel and easy control; no searching for the Di2 button or slipping off the hoods when navigating rougher sections. In that sense, they perform much like a shoulder-season mountain bike glove: light, precise and unobtrusive - even with my tiny hands!

Pearl Izumi had it right: these are indeed suitable for winter riding. They're so warm, in fact, that on sustained climbs and harder efforts, when blood flow increased, my hands started to sweat. So much so that the advertised breathability didn’t quite keep up. And once sweaty, the wind chill made itself known almost immediately. Wet hands in cold air are no fun at all, and I've long made a habit of carrying a dry pair of gloves for mid-ride swaps, and sadly, the Summit Alpha continue to necessitate a backup.

Yet for shoulder season, milder winter days, and rides where you know you’ll be working, they make a lot of sense. They're suited for a wide range of temperatures and genuinely offer a lot of warmth for their small footprint. And the dexterity and low profile mean I’m just as happy wearing them on the road as I am on gravel or singletrack. They may just be the pair of gloves that will inspire you to cut your glove collection in half.

And thanks to their small compressible size, they would also make a great pair to toss in your bar bag or jersey pocket on anything but a summer's day.

Caveat: while the gloves are treated with a PFC-free Durable Water Repellent (DWR) for light precipitation, they won't keep you dry in heavy rain. Few gloves do. But in light precipitation or mist, these gloves will keep you comfortable.

Verdict:

The Summit Alphas are a versatile pair of gloves to have in your collection. Their biggest strength is also their most surprising: they deliver the kind of warmth you’d expect from a glove twice their size, without the bulk or loss of dexterity that usually comes with it. They'll keep your hands protected from the elements in temperatures as cold as 35°F and into the spring-weather of 55°F (2 to 13°C).

Bar feel remains excellent, dexterity is never compromised, and they’re versatile enough to move seamlessly between road, gravel and mountain riding. For high-output winter rides and that long shoulder season on either side, they hit a very practical sweet spot.

The trade-off, as experienced, is moisture management. Once the effort ramps up and your hands start to sweat, the breathability can struggle to keep pace, and wind chill becomes a factor. They’re not a glove for standing around, and they’re not quite a one-glove quiver solution for the deepest, coldest or wettest days, but they come pretty close for shoulder season riding.

At $60 in a category that regularly pushes into three-digit territory, the Summit Alphas offer impressive performance per dollar. They’re lightweight, warm, versatile, and genuinely useful across a wide temperature range. If you’re looking for a do-it-all glove with the bulk, the Summit Alpha Gloves make a compelling case.

Café du Cyclist is a French brand that makes a full range of cycling clothing, typically priced at the higher end of the spectrum. It's also a B Corp certified corporation and a member of 1% for the Planet. This means the company takes active measures to reduce carbon footprint above the B Corp qualifying level, and donates 1% of profits to environmental and sustainability charities and organisations.

Let's see how its winter gloves stand up to the elements...

Construction

The Café Du Cycliste Winter gloves are the brand’s deep winter and warmest offering.

They feature no chemical finishes for water repellency, and instead uses a HDry membrane laminated to the inner of the glove shell. This is designed to prevent water penetrating while allowing moisture vapor/excess heat to escape. This is then paired with a Primaloft Gold fleece inner for insulation without the addition of too much bulk. The blending of these thinner weatherproofing and insulating materials is also designed to help when using a smartphone touchscreen, a feature that many of the best winter cycling gloves offer.

Additional features include a double ripstop outer shell to reduce the chance of any tears or abrasions when riding off road. There is also a Velcro adjustable cuff strap, plus cushioned palms to aid comfort. Sizing comes in XS to XL, while it is only available in black.

The ride

Warmth is what these gloves should be all about - and they deliver. The Primaloft fleece lining is fantastic as relatively low bulk insulation. Using these gloves in temperatures ranging from -5 to 5˚C they’ve kept my hands toasty. I’d go as far to say that above 5˚C they become a little bit warm in dry weather. The breathability is okay, but that level of fleecing and weather repellent outer is always going to limit breathability a touch.

When it comes to the rain, the HDry membrane does a fantastic job at keeping the elements at bay. Water beads off the gloves even in heavy rain, which in turns stops any chance of windchill negatively impacting the temperature of your hands.

I have a tendency to get quite cold hands, and a problem I often have with deep winter gloves is the fit being a little too small, and wind chill penetrating. There was no such issue here, if anything the fit is a bit on the generous side allowing a bit more internal space for some added air insulation. I also appreciate that the outer features a ripstop material to boost longevity and enable them to be very usable for gravel riding.

I did find one slight downside to having such good insulation and slightly spacious sizing is that tactility is a bit limited. Using both Shimano mechanical shifters and Di2, I didn’t have issues with shifting or miss-shifting per se, but sometimes it took a little more time to find exactly the right button or lever. It also made getting specific items out of rear pockets a little harder. Saying that though, using zips and opening energy bars was still perfectly doable.

A few practical features on these gloves that I really do like are the Velcro cuffs and the pull tabs. The Velcro helps keep them very secure against any jersey or jacket sleeve so that cold air doesn’t get up the sleeves at all. They also don’t leave any bits of Velcro exposed when fastened, and didn’t grab onto any other thermal items of clothing or stitching when I put them through the wash.

The pull tabs on the fingers make them a little bit easier to remove when you’ve got back from a cold ride, even though I never had an issue with cold fingers with these gloves. However the touchscreen capabilities were a little hit and miss and they tended to work best in slightly warmer weather. In contrast, during sub-zero temperatures it was very difficult to get any heat transfer from the fingers to get my phone screen working.

Value & conclusion

Value wise, there’s no getting around the fact that these gloves are quite expensive, and a bit above what the general market price is for similar products. The likes of the Castelli Estremo gloves are very comparable performance wise, and come in at £125 rather than £135. The Universal Colours Primaloft deep winter gloves are even cheaper at £85 and feature similar technologies, but do feature a less sleek cuff.

The key thing with the Café Du Cycliste gloves is that the performance is exceptional; I’d go as far to say they are unmatched for warmth in deep winter riding. Tactility is as good as it can be for a glove this insulating, and better than the Castelli option. It’s also nice to see a company do a lot of things to actively reduce their environmental impact and carbon footprint. I’m personally happy to pay a bit over the odds to support this.

The ideal winter cycling glove will blend weather protection with comfort and dexterity – but finding such a glove can prove a complete nightmare. 

Many brands end up doubling down on bulk, packing in insulation and waterproofing to provide climatic comfort – but at the expense of actually being able to feel the handlebars, shift gears and just generally being able to use your hands properly.

For me, I also need to balance the fact that my hands can get incredibly clammy in maxed-out weather-proofed gloves with poor breathability, leading to me sweating and needing to strip them off asap. Which is partly why the Castelli Perfetto RoS gloves have become my absolute salvation.

With the release coming off the back of the new Gabba and Perfetto range of weatherproof clothing, the Perfetto RoS is the thicker of two gloves Castelli has developed using Gore-Tex's incredible new Infinium Windstopper range of fabrics.

Completely windproof and incredibly water resistant, Infinium is available in differing thicknesses and with differing functionality. For the Perfetto RoS, Castelli has opted for a thicker, fleece lined and stretchier version of Infinium, which loses a little bit of water resistance but gains far more breathability and dexterity.

A neoprene insert at the cuff helps seal the glove to even the thinnest of wrists. And for this more feature packed version Castelli has added areas of grip and padding to the palm and specific finger areas for increased ride comfort.

As the old adage goes the Perfetto RoS fit like a glove. Finger length and hand width is spot on for myself but obviously it's worth trying them on at your local bike shop. The only thing I noticed over months of use is the tight cuff can make them a little bit of a struggle to put on at times, especially if they have got a little wet but that isn't enough to put anyone off them.

Performance is nothing short of perfection for my needs, so the name rings true - Perfetto is Italian for perfect! Windchill is kept firmly at bay, the fleece lining has enough insulating properties to keep things toasty and the water resistance is more than enough to keep out hours of light rain.

When they do become saturated the thin nature means any water that gets in is trapped and warmed by your hands so your digits stay nimble. However if you are someone who suffers from cold hands you might want to look at Castelli's more insulated options.

The final benefit of the Perfetto RoS is the dexterity. Normal tasks such as shifting gear, getting something from a pocket or adjusting zips is easy with this glove and going back to a thicker winter glove leaves you feeling like you're wearing boxing gloves rather than something built for cycling.

Check out our best cycling gloves buying guide for full breakdown of all our top rated gloves

Altura's Progel cycling mitts are a longstanding member of the classic bike shop accessory rails. The brand is readily stocked, offering quality kit at reasonable price tags, so it's no surprise that these have become a staple item over the years.

Not content to sit on its laurels, Altura has re-designed these by removing seams from the areas that cover the carpel tunnel nerves, and increasing the amount of gel used for extra protection.

For those seeking plentiful protection and comfort on the bars, they're spot on, though we have seen a couple of early signs of wear on our test pair.

Altura Progel Mitts: construction

Cyclists who want to wear mitts on the bike can often be divided into two categories: those wearing mitts to protect their skin in the event of a crash, and those wearing them to provide comfort on the handlebar. The two aren't mutually exclusive, but tend to come with a different wishlist. The Progel mitts from Altura cater most strongly for the second category - they offer ample padding via the use of the brand's gel technology.

The palm is constructed from suede, with added padding along the midline of the hand and heel of the hand. The suede is perforated for breathability, with silicone printing for a little grip.

On the thumb is a towelling sweat (or, snot) wipe.

The cuff is finished with a bonded seam, whilst the fingers are bonded on the underneath with stitched seams on the top. There's looped tabs on the index and ring finger, plus a tab on the underneath of the cuff to make pulling the gloves on and off easy.

The fabric on the back of the hand - facing the rider as they cycle - is a breathable, fast wicking lycra made up of Polyester, Nylone Polyurethane and Elastane for stretch.

Altura Progel Mitts: the ride

Having measured my wrist the tip of my index finger at 18cm, I should have gone for X-Small based on the size guide, but being the maverick that I am I opted for a Small, and I'm glad I did. The fit was snug, and I don't think I'd have wanted it to be more so.

The padding on offer is ample. I am not typically a mitt wearer, I quite like the feel of the handlebar so I am probably not the target market. The squishy gel sections certainly muted any harshness or vibration transmitted through the front end of the bike, so if that's your goal, then these are a fine choice.

Being hayfever season, I had plenty of opportunities to test the snot (or sweat) wipe, and can report it functions as expected - being absorbent and quick to dry.

The gloves do have quite a low profile, finishing quite low on the wrists which will be a pro or a con depending upon your preference.

I have noticed some small signs of wear - a few of the threads on the finger cuff came loose after a few outings. However, having chopped these off no more have appeared so I'm not concerned about overall longevity.

Altura Progel Mitts: value

At £29.99, Altura's offering sits on the lower end of the market, coming in much more wallet-friendly when compared with the likes of the dhb Aeron Mitts (£40), Rapha Pro Mitts (£50) and Le Col Mitts (£40). We've not tried the higher-priced options yet this year, so we can't attest to the added features you get for the extra cash - but we can confirm that if you're seeking comfort on the handlebar then these are a solid choice without a major outlay.

My initial reaction when unwrapping Stolen Goat's Climb and Conquer gloves was one of extreme surprise. The packaging declared them 'deep winter' gloves, but what rested in my hands looked more like a wooly pair you might purchase from one of the 'can we interest you in...' buckets near the till of a supermarket. They didn't look high tech to me - but I was mistaken.

>>> Best winter cycling gloves

These gloves claim to be 100 per cent wind and waterproof. I would question any fabric claiming to keep out every drop of water, especially when breathability is also a focus, however, these gloves performed extremely well - especially when considered alongside the price tag.

Stolen Goat Climb and Conquer waterproof gloves: construction

Most of the gloves I've tested these winter have carried a more technical aesthetic, typically making use of neoprene fabric or windstopper material to keep the weather out and warmth in.

Comparatively, Stolen Goat's design looks to be significantly simpler. Its website description is gloriously vague, too.

The brand states that the material is 'Nylon'. Asked for more detail, a representative gave me a break down of 78% Nylon, 11% Polyester, 9% Spandex, 2% Conductive fibre on the outside, with a PU Membrane, and 77% Acrylic, 20% Polyester, 3% Spandex on the inside.

This breakdown is much more representative of the tech that's actually gone into these gloves; this is a rare occasion where I'd suggest Stolen Goat actually needs to up its marketing language and blow its own horn a bit more on its own website.

The underside of the gloves is covered with a silicone dot pattern to maximise grip on the handlebars, and index finger and thumb feature touchscreen-friendly patches.

Whilst not soft, the material is stretchy, and the cuff extended far enough up my wrist to provide good coverage. I tested a size S/M - sizes range from XS and L/XL, and I did find the fit a little baggy so I'd suggest sizing down if you're unsure.

Stolen Goat Climb and Conquer waterproof gloves: the ride

As mentioned, these gloves represent a departure from anything I've tested recently - but they surprised me in the best possible way.

Usually, riding in temperatures of around 2ºC, I find that my hands will be cold for the first 10 minutes, whatever I choose to swaddle them in. I had accepted this as an unfortunate truth, and one that is particularly unpleasant after a stop on a longer ride.

Not so in these gloves - the windchill seemed to have absolutely zero effect on my fingers from the get-go. This might signify that I may experience overheating once my core temperature climbed high enough to send warmth to my hands: also not so, once working hard my fingers remained comfortably warm but never became clammy.

There have been plenty of opportunities to test these in the rain of late, too. Under light to moderate rain, I found no water ingress at all.

I haven't yet worn them in a deluge - the sort of conditions that a rider only ever finds themselves exposed to by accident, when the rainclouds open at full force halfway through a ride. Keen to test to the extreme, I donned the gloves and placed my hands directly under running water. Despite a proper dousing, whilst the outside of the glove was soaked, my fingers were merely damp.

I would still question any breathable fabric that claims to be '100 per cent' waterproof. Quizzed for more detail, Stolen Goat says that the gloves were waterproof to 22,000mm (based on the standard JIS L1092:2009 Method B) and breathable to 16,000g/m2/24hrs (based on the standard JIS L1099:2012 Method B-1). Put simply: thrust your hand into a pool of water, and keep it there, and you'll get some ingress, but these will keep the rain off whilst remaining breathable, under what I'd consider 'reasonable' conditions.

The touchscreen sections are effective for quick tasks like unlocking a phone, but I removed the gloves to type out longer messages. The silicone dots look nice and do add to grip.

The seamless construction means that these gloves are quite pared down, there's no 'terry wipe' at the thumb for those winter drippy nose moments, which is a bit of a shame.

Stolen Goat Climb and Conquer waterproof gloves: value

At £35, these gloves come in much cheaper when compared with other models tested. My other favourite pair is the Castelli ROS but these comes in at almost twice the price - £60 - and aren't able to do away with that 'first 10 minutes' chill like the Stolen Goat's do.

Your hands can get cold on even the milder days during winter, as they're static and subjected to wind-chill, but layering up too much can reduce dexterity. The best winter cycling gloves will provide just the right blend of warmth, dexterity and breathability for your hands, and that's exactly what the Endura Strike gloves have been designed to do.

As you might imagine, the Scottish brand knows a thing or two about riding in bad weather. We've highly rated the wallet friendly Endura Windchill Jacket II as an excellent example of how effective a simple winter jacket can be, so had high hopes for the Endura Strike gloves from the off.

Endura Strike gloves construction

Constructed with a stretch windproof rear panel, the Endura Strike gloves have a soft shell covering which aims to act as a shield to prevent windchill, as well as preventing heat loss in the other direction. A waterproof membrane is encased between the inner and outer layers, with the outer finished with an eco-friendly PFC free water-resistant DWR coating.

At the palm of the Endura Strike gloves is what Endura calls Palmistry. The brand says it's an exclusive technology that works with the natural creases of the palm to locate the best position for gel padding and silicone grips in order to provide a comfortable and secure riding experience.

The palm and back of the glove sandwich a soft brushed lining and a Velcro closure cuff.

The ride

Once you've been blessed with parenthood, there are two types of outdoor riding that mostly occur, either a flat out smashfest to complete the ride you mapped out before remembering the allotted ride time, or incredibly slow trying to match your furiously pedalling six-year-old on 20" wheels on your 29" (700c) ones.

On the adult only rides, the Endura Strike gloves were impressive. They managed to balance the tightrope windchill blocking and breathability. The water protection is also great, they won't keep your hands forever dry, but as long as you don't remove the gloves, it'll be warm by the time it reaches your hands.

Palmistry does a good job of providing comfort and usability. The Endura Strike gloves also manage to balance the level of insulation and dexterity. They're not as deep winter as say the Giro 100 Proof winter Gloves, but as all-rounders, there's probably not a lot else you would want for.

Acting as a good simulator for the slower speeds of a congested commute, the more relaxed rides with child tested the glove's general warmth, where they also did exceptionally well, especially at the just above zero degrees in snow. There were some sudden temperature spikes as I watched my blissfully ignorant six-year-old sail across huge patches of ice, while my forty-odd years of riding experienced sent my heart at a BPM that could match a cyclocross sprint finish, which the gloves regulated nicely.

These rides were also a good test of the e-touch, whilst typing to confirm to the other parent via phone that we were still in one piece despite the snow. Sadly the gloves did fall down in this case, as messaging did mean removing the gloves.

Ideally for me I'd have a little more jacket to wrist overlap, which would also negate having to ensure the jacket wasn't the one with the slightly too long sleeves to really prevent gaps appearing.

Value

At just less than £40 the Endura Strike gloves are a great purchase. They'll keep you warm and dry for typical winter's ride and although there are a couple of wish list changes, I'd forgo them for keeping the gloves in this price range.

Promising to be a no compromise option for sub zero temperature, the answer to winter riding woes could be the Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves.

Thermal Mittens or Gloves?

Giro's semi-mittens claim to be the best of both worlds, balancing just enough padding to prevent freezing numb hands, without reducing dexterity. Much like the Specialized 2.0 Element Gloves, the Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves take advantage of generating more heat by keeping some fingers together.

Best winter cycling gloves: Keeping hands warm in the coldest months

The most recent model of the Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves has been updated and now contains a wealth of features. The padding on the back of the gloves uses a Polartec Power Dry insulated core, made from 80% post-consumer recycled fiber. This is Wrapped in an OutDry waterproof membrane, which also features a reasonable level of reflectivity.

At the palm of the Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves is a durable AX Suede Echo Diamond synthetic fabric. As well as being made from recycled materials, it claims to be specifically designed for gloves and offers significantly more durability than fabrics used on other gloves, while being thin and comfortable. There’s also Touchscreen Technology on the index and pointer fingertips for compatibility with smart screens, both phones and GPS/ computers.

The Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves are finished off with a hook and loop adjustable cuff closure.

The ride

To say there was no pre-ride apprehension testing the Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves would be a lie.

Commuting to work by bike? What to wear throughout the year

There’s something about the finger restriction of semi-mittens on a bike that made me think that I’d be losing co-ordination and control, or that the significant padding, despite its low profile qualities, would tangle up in the leavers.

To that end, the first ride of the Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves was undertaken in far too warm conditions of around 5 degrees, with a spare pair in the back pocket just in case.

This proved two things: that the gloves really are sub-zero riding only, anything above fridge temperature creates finger soup; and, that there are zero control issues even when having three fingers wedded together.

Thankfully, living in the north of England provided ample opportunity for more appropriate weather conditions and I can categorically say that the Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves are totally up for the job.

Initially, they can feel too warm, but within half an hour's ride the added wind-chill means they come into their own and regulate hand temperature perfectly.

Gear changing proved no problem, nor was micro leaver control required for braking, especially when riding in icy/wet and greasy sketchy road conditions. It goes without saying that the radial grip on the bars wasn’t impacted at all.

In snow and sleet the Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves lived up to their waterproof claims. In a heavy downpour they would breach, but then if it’s warm enough to rain, you’re in the wrong gloves.

The only downside is that when the inevitable nose dew drops form, I found the snot/ sweat strip is a little thin and could do with it being slightly wider.

Value

The price tag of nearly £80 for the Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves may seem a little steep for a relatively small item of kit, but any bike rider will tell you the ability to keep riding through winter is priceless.

If nothing else they’re way cheaper than a smart turbo trainer and related set up.

Whether we like it or not, we are well and truly in the midst of the colder months, where it's necessary for most of us to don full-fingered, heavy-duty cycling gloves – such as the Sealskinz Waterproof Cold Weather Gloves with Fusion Control, to give them their full name.

Sealskinz describes its trademarked Fusion Control technology as revolutionary. It consists of three layers: a merino wool inner layer, a hydrophilic waterproof membrane, and a durable goatskin with soft-shell outer layer. The aim is to give a close-fitting, breathable, waterproof glove which allows flexible movement of the fingers.

Sealskinz says the Waterproof Cold Weather Gloves covers all bases when it comes to a winter glove for cycling. When I tried these on a windy day, I found they provided a good level of protection and my hands were certainly warm thanks to the wool insulation. They kept my fingers dry when I wore them during a rainy ride.

I would suggest these gloves are best suited to temperatures between 5-10ºC, below this I did find that my hands would get cold after around two hours of riding. Those looking for warmth in colder weather may want to look to the likes of the Rapha Pro Team Winter Glove, or indeed the Deep Winter version.

I chose the size medium, which fitted well and suggests the sizing chart is reliable. The glove lining felt like it was firmly in place, and gave me confidence that I wouldn’t have that annoying moment when a glove liner starts to move independently of the outer shell, compromising feel on the shifters and possibly even grip. Happily no problems there.

As for grip, the goatskin on the palms gave me great control when holding onto the bars or operating brakes.

However, I did find that while the triple layers made for a reasonably warm glove, they felt slightly bulky on my hands. That was not a problem when just holding onto the handlebars, but when performing additional, more detailed movements such as changing gear there was not as much flexibility as I would have liked. It was more of an issue when riding off-road, where the terrain can be more changeable, than on-road.

Keeping the gloves clean requires care. Sealskinz recommends just spot cleaning. The gloves can’t be machine-washed, dry cleaned, tumble dried or ironed. So if you did fall in the mud during a gravel ride you may have to wave goodbye to the prospect of seeing your gloves perfectly clean in the future!

Value

These gloves come in at £75, which is not an insignificant spend. However, they do offer a triple-layer construction and the addition of the goatskin on the palm is always going to come at a cost. They are well made and keep their shape, which is notable compared to cheaper gloves where the inner can move. On balance, the quality and the tailoring justifies the price tag.

FAQs

If you struggle with cold hands and don't want to spend the earth on winter mittens, then Lusso's Windtex Thermal Stealth Gloves could be a winner for you.

These wind and water repellant gloves come in at £30, with a claimed temperature range of 0 to 14ºC. Now, the range within which each rider will find these comfortable will vary depending upon their own internal heating system. Personally, I found these warmers were best suited to the lower end of that scale.

The primary material is a Windtex Membrane Thermal fabric, this extends from the high cuff all the way to the fingers on the outside. It's stretchy and the high elasticity means this fit close to the skin without needing to be so tight they're hard to remove. The fabric - as the name suggests - is windproof, and it also repels water though is not fully waterproof.

On the inside, is a thermal fleeced lining. This feels extremely snuggly when funneling your hand into the glove, and after several washes is still soft to the touch.

Lusso has decided to go pretty big on padding. The underside reveals thick, grippy additions across the palm and thumb. Without this, the construction would be very similar to the Castelli Perfetto ROS gloves which I've been alternating with these.

However, as well as adding extra protection from a buzzy handlebar - which you may or may not like, depending on how much you value the connection with the road - the padding also increases the warmth of these gloves.

This extra bulk is a good thing if you're prone to chilly digits and could be a bad thing if you're more likely to overheat. The breathability provided by these gloves is good, though, so I never found myself wanting to rip them off when pushing hard up the climbs, but I did find them a tad too warm once the mercury was over 10ºC. At the lower end, around 3ºC, temperature regulation was spot on.

The cuff is long, extending comfortably 2.5" up my wrist, and there's reflective detailing via the logo on the hand.

There's no specific 'phone operating' index finger treatment, however, I could compete basic activities such as unlocking my phone and reading incoming mail; I'd need to remove a glove to type out a message.

In terms of value, these gloves look and feel a lot like much more expensive options, making the £30 price tag a real plus in this case.

The new Specialized Prime Series Thermal Gloves use a low-bulk windproof Polartec Neoshell back and a grippy synthetic suede palm that combine to keep out the chill without sacrificing dexterity. They are warm and comfortable down to 5°C and will keep out light showers even though they don't claim to be waterproof. The Velcro cuff closure works well, as do the touchscreen-compatible pads on the thumb and first finger – and the price will work for most people too.

Specialized doesn't specify a temperature range, just describing them as "adding some warmth on chilly days." There's no doubting they do that, but these are not heavyweight winter gloves – they are actually very light indeed and do an amazing job of keeping out the chill bearing that in mind, but for genuine winter riding you'll need more insulation.

Specialized Prime Series Thermal Gloves: construction

Polartec Neoshell claims to be the world's most breathable waterproof fabric technology. It seems to be a good choice for the backs of the Prime Series gloves since waterproof also means windproof, and cyclists' hands are very susceptible to wind chill since they're static and stuck out there in front. It's just a single layer of Neoshell, which is stretchy and lightweight.

For the palms Specialized has gone down the synthetic suede rather than the silicone dots route, and as someone who during the season rides bare-handed rather than track-mitted, suede feels more natural on the bars to me. The synthetic suede is fleece backed and feels comfortable and flexible. Specialized describes it as "hydrophobic."

Specialized has avoided padding on the palm – another sensible move as far as I'm concerned. I generally avoid little gel cushions sewn in at supposedly strategic points. They are often not quite in the right place and can easily do the opposite, turning into pressure points on a longer ride.

I also like what Spesh has done with the cuff. It's ribbed, stretchy and close fitting but has a Velcro tab so that you can tune the fit. Specialized says it's so that you can wear cuffs under or over – it's cuffs under sleeves for me but in these pics I don't want to cover up the gloves – a thoughtful and effective solution.

The touchscreen pads on the thumb and first finger work well – an essential feature of 21st-century full-finger gloves.

As for the fit, Specialized's size chart is very detailed featuring middle finger length, palm length, thumb length and thumb circumference and it's 100 per cent accurate. I was unfortunately between the small and the medium sizes so went for the medium with a little a bit of room at my fingertips, but once wrapped around the bars it wasn't noticeable.

And of course looks are subjective, but I do like the sleek, minimal look of these gloves, though it's a shame this seems to be at the expense of reflectives.

The ride

As I've mentioned, the Specialized Prime Series Thermal Gloves are not deep winter gloves and I found that 5°C is probably their lower limit. But for the majority of chillier autumn and spring riding they're ideal.

The Polartec Neoshell backs are as totally waterproof as Polartec claims, but I think Specialized has stopped short of claiming waterproofing for the gloves overall because the AX suede palms are 'hydrophobic' but not waterproof. I found they can withstand a light shower or drizzle, but they wet out in proper rain eventually.

Breathability is good for the upper temperatures – but above 10°C there's not much point in wearing gloves anyway, and if your hands do get hot these gloves are light and packable enough to stash in a pocket.

Value

Considering their good performance and use of technical (and likely expensive) Polartec Neoshell, £40 seems a fair price. There are cheaper gloves out there that we've reviewed favourably, such as the £23 dhb Windslam Stretch (though the updated dhb Windproof glove is £30), but also more expensive ones such as the Gore C3 Gore-Tex Infinium at £49.99. The Assos Assosoires Spring/Fall Gloves, which are aimed at similar temperatures and conditions, are £45.

The Assos Assosoires Winter Gloves are lightweight but warm and windproof. They will keep out the chill during early spring and late autumn into winter, but for the very coldest winter days something a bit more padded, such as the brand’s Ultraz Winter Gloves, would be necessary.

>>> The best winter cycling gloves

Assos is clear that the Winter Gloves bring “moderate insulation” and suggests pairing them with its lightweight Spring/Fall gloves for added protection during deep winter, and they actually are stretchy and roomy enough for that to work. That said, for the mostly mild UK winters we get these days, the Assos Assosoires Winter Gloves would be a great choice and would get much more use than a bulkier deep-winter pair.

Assos Assosoires Winter Gloves: Construction

The backs of the gloves are made from Assos’s own windBlock textile, which it calls a “hydrophilic softshell material, designed to retain warmth and great breathability.” There's a single layer of fabric, which is fleece lined on the inside, but it has a degree of loft, like a very thin foam, and insulates well.

Assos says windBlock delivers “high levels of protection against wet weather and icy air.” I found it was effective against rain initially, with raindrops beading on the surface, but around 20 minutes into a rainy ride it had wetted out. However, windproofing remained excellent, so although you may get wet hands they won't chill off. So though I wouldn't go as far as to say the level of protection against wet weather was "high", I would certainly back up the icy air claim.

The palm is made from Microfiber, a “lightweight, soft material that promotes grip, while also supporting and protecting the hand.” Microfiber is a synthetic suede, which does supply good grip and is soft and comfortable. Unlike Specialized, which says the AX suede of the Prime Series Thermal Gloves is hydrophobic, Assos doesn’t claim any waterproofness for its Microfiber, and I found the single layer did absorb water very quickly.

On the palm are “strategically positioned pads [that] flex with the hand to eliminate hot spots and bunching." There’s a gel pad on the outer heel and a strip of foam across the palm, both sewn into the inside of the gloves (pictured above). Some people like squidgy gel pads but I wondered for a moment if my kids had slipped a Haribo Yellow Belly snake into each of my gloves for a 'hilarious' prank. They were particularly noticeable – but not uncomfortable – in the drops. I prefer a smooth palm, but I could easily be in the minority here.

As for the fit, Assos’s size chart isn’t quite as detailed as competitors, using just the circumference of the palm as a guide. The medium was on the big side for me, definitely with room for the Spring/Fall glove underneath, but I prefer a glove to be a bit too big rather than a bit too small.

There’s no Velcro or means of adjustment on the cuff, but it’s a good length and stretchy enough to go under or over jacket sleeves. The finger and thumb have touchscreen-sensitive pads that work well, even in the wet. There are no reflectives.

The ride

The Assos Assosoires Winter Gloves feel plush without being bulky. Dexterity is good. There was enough fingertip feel to execute all the pre-ride fine-motor-skills tasks wearing them, such as locking the front door and stashing keys in pockets, zipping up jacket, doing up helmet buckle and setting up computer.

I’ve done winter rides and school run/commutes in various conditions wearing them, and for me their sweetspot is probably somewhere around 7°C in the dry. I’ve worn them in colder but their moderate insulation, as Assos puts it, isn’t quite enough for much below 4 or 5°C. Generally speaking, I was impressed with the level of warmth considering how lightweight they are

As I mentioned, I did try them in heavy rain. If you absolutely insist on riding in heavy rain, there are more waterproof gloves.

Value

Assos gear is generally priced higher than most people’s, but for that you get innovative ideas, high-quality fabrics, very good durability – I've had Assos clothing that's gone on for years – and Assos’s renowned chic styling. You get all that with the Assosoires Winter Gloves, and Assos fans will not be disappointed. For me this time you get a little too much for your money. Although I loved the windBlock backs, both for their comfort and their performance, I could have done without the gel pads and foam strips in the palms. For me cycling kit is doing its job if you don’t notice it’s there, but I found the gel pads, the strips of foam and their associated seams and edges inside the gloves unnecessary and not very neatly executed considering Assos's legendary attention to ergonomics, which has always worked for me in the past.

Castelli's Perfetto RoS gloves are £5 more expensive than when we first reviewed it, but at £65 are just cheaper than the Assos. The Rapha Pro Team Winter Gloves are more expensive at £80 and designed for a similar temperature range.

Overall, these are comfortable, good-quality, good-looking gloves that mostly do what Assos says they do. Taken at face value I wouldn't go along with the claim for "high levels of protection against wet weather" but if by "protection" Assos means these gloves stop your hands from getting cold in wet weather, then it's valid.

The Rapha Pro Team Winter Gloves are not the warmest in the British brand’s range – that’s the Deep Winter Gloves, which are much bulkier. Rapha says the Pro Team Winter Gloves are designed for “early-season racing and high-tempo training rides” and as such are lightweight with minimal padding, focusing on windproofing and water resistance rather than thick insulation.

No temperature range is specified, but I found the Raphas were at their lower limit on a day when I was riding reasonably hard in a temperature of 3°C which felt like 0°C on account of a chilly north-easterly wind (according to Strava data).

Rapha Pro Team Winter Gloves: construction

The backs are made from a windproof, DWR-coated (so also water resistant) stretchy fabric that has a ribbed fleece lining that's thicker than that of some other gloves that are aimed at cold but not freezing weather. As a result, the Raphas do feel warmer than some of their lightweight winter competitors such as the Assos Assosoires Winter Gloves and the Specialized Prime-Series Thermal Gloves. They are also a few grams heavier than those two.

>>> The best winter gloves: buyer's guide

The palms are made from a synthetic suede, again generously fleece lined but with no extra padding, and nice and smooth on the insides compared to the Assos Assosoires Winter Gloves with their foam strip and gel pad. Rapha says this suede provides excellent grip in dry or wet conditions and that it is deliberately thin for better bar feel and control. This is an approach that works for me.

As is expected of a modern full-finger glove, the first finger and thumb get patches of a touchscreen-sensitive fabric that operates Garmins and phone touchscreens.

For the cuffs Rapha goes shorter than other brands, describing the Pro Team Winter Gloves’ cuffs as “low profile”. They are basically raw elastic and are much lower down the wrists than those of the Assosoires, but Rapha says it was going after “excellent integration with the sleeves of your jacket.” It’s jacket sleeves over gloves, no argument, so if that’s the way you do it – personally I do – then it works well as long as your jacket sleeves are long enough. I personally would prefer an inch or two more on the cuff just to make sure of it.

Rapha has sewn a pull tab with a reflective strip to the cuff, which is intended for helping remove the gloves. A tab sewn to the fingertips would be better for this purpose, but it’s a stylish touch nonetheless.

That’s not the only reflective: there’s a long strip up the outside of the little finger, very sensibly placed for arm-out signalling.

As for the fit, the medium came up slightly smaller than Assos and Specialized, which was perfect for me. I won’t go down the ‘fits like a glove’ route, but I found the fit great. If you’re between sizes I would recommend going for the bigger one. Rapha's size chart is basic but reasonably accurate, so size up rather than down.

The ride

I really liked the feel of the Rapha gloves, both on the hands and when gripping the bars. The plain, unpadded fleece inside the palms feels snug and there are no unwanted pads, strips or seams between palm and bar.

As I mentioned, they were just warm enough at 3°C with a northeasterly wind making it feel like zero, and I would wear them up into the high single digits but not beyond. Windproofing on the backs is very good, and there’s just enough insulation via the ribbed fleecy lining to trap heat, but they’re still lightweight, breathable and don’t get sweatlogged.

In rain, in common with other winter gloves with synthetic suede palms, the backs keep out the water – the Raphas have a DWR coating that makes raindrops bead off – but the palms absorb it, so as soon as the bars are wet, your hands are too.

To be fair, Rapha just claims water resistance rather than waterproofing for the backs.

The Rapha Pro Team Winter Gloves didn't compromise dexterity – I had no problem doing all the more fiddly things – zips, helmet buckles, Boa dials, light switches, unwrapping an energy bar and fortunately no operating a smartphone touchscreen in the middle of nowhere, but I'm confident I wouldn't need to unglove for that, having pre-tested it on an iPhone screen in the warm.

Value

The Rapha Pro Team Winter Gloves are priced high – higher than its premium counterparts the Assos Assosoires Winter Gloves (£75) and than the Castelli Perfetto RoS (£65). It goes without saying that you pay extra for the Rapha name and Pro Team designation, and these are without a doubt trophy gloves. However, Rapha has made some great design choices – they feel good, look good and perform as Rapha says they should, and apart from the high price and the cuff that could be on the low side for some, there's not much they can be criticised for. If you're a fan of Rapha gear, you like the distinctive look and feel and are happy to pay Rapha prices – as many people are – then you'll find these gloves are up to Rapha's usual high standard.

The Santini 365 Origine Long Finger Gloves are “winter gloves providing warmth in a breathable design resistant to water and wind,” according to the Italian brand. There’s no temperature range supplied, but the 365 Origines are slightly heavier and warmer than many of the lightweight, low-bulk winter gloves we’re seeing at the moment, but not quite thick enough to qualify as a deep-winter glove. If you’re surprised at the thinness of some of the current crop of ‘winter’ gloves but don’t want to go full ski glove, these could be the ones. I would say their lower temperature limit is around zero, but they're not thick enough for proper frosty mornings.

Santini 365 Origine Long Finger Gloves: construction

Many lightweight winter gloves use a windproof back paired with a synthetic suede palm, but Santini has used Windstopper X-Free 300, a windproof and water-resistant fabric, on both the backs and the palms. As this is a fairly smooth, slippery fabric, the palms use additional pads with a silicone pattern printed on them for grip on the bars, which works well.

The palm pads are sewn underneath a liner inside, which helps them feel unobtrusive as well as adding an extra layer of insulation. Gel pads on the palms don’t go down well with everyone (I generally prefer a smooth palm/bar interface) but Santini's pads are broader and better distributed across the palm than those of the Assos Assosoires, for example, which use a foam strip and a separate gel patch.

Nose-wipe panels don’t seem to be as common these days – Neither the Assos Assosoires or the Rapha Pro Team Winter Gloves include them – but Santini has effectively turned the Windstopper fabric inside out for the thumbs so that you get the fleece on the outside and windproof layer on the inside. There could be a strong case for a nose-wipe panel at the moment – a snot rocket when riding in a group is definitely not advisable – but I found this approach sacrificed a little bit of warmth without the fleece inside trapping the warm air. When the temperature was approaching zero I found my thumbs were getting cold first.

The cuff of the Santini 365 Origine Long Finger Gloves is nice and high, and stretchy enough to go over or under jacket sleeves.

And finally, there’s reflective piping across the backs.

The gloves are nicely stitched – in Italy – and they’re some of the best-looking gloves I've seen this winter.

As for the fit, Santini’s size guide on its website is not the most detailed or the most accurate, but the size medium is smaller than Assos and Rapha’s medium. The Santini guide indicated I would need a large when I measured around my palm, but the medium actually fitted perfectly.

Possibly the only feature they lack: many full-finger gloves have touchscreen-sensitive pads on the index finger and thumb. The Santinis don't have that. They can operate a computer touchscreen – no problems on my Garmin – but did not work at all on an iPhone touchscreen.

The ride

For me the Santini 365 Origine Long Finger Gloves get the balance exactly right between low bulk, warmth, light weight and good dexterity. They are also comfortable thanks to stretchy fabrics, a smooth construction and a good fit (by luck rather than by design).

I tend to suffer from cold hands more than some people, so the extra weight and warmth of the Santini gloves compared to the abovementioned Assos and Rapha was welcome. However, I never found them sweaty at higher temperatures – breathability is good – and they’re not getting whiffy the way more padded deep winter gloves do.

I’m generally not a fan of padded palms but I could live with the Santini’s wide, thin inserts, especially since they allowed the windproof, water-resistant fabric to be used on the palms instead of synthetic suede, which soaks up water.

In showers they’re pretty good thanks to the lack of synthetic suede, although the Windstopper fabric does eventually wet out in heavy rain, and the furry thumb with the reversed fabric tends to let water in first.

Value

The Santini 365 Origine Long Finger Gloves are lower priced than the Assos Assosoires Winter Gloves (£70), the Rapha Pro Team Winter Gloves (£80) and the Castelli Perfetto RoS (£65), yet are made in Italy and perform down to slightly lower temperatures than most lightweight winter gloves and are very good in light rain.

I would say these represent good value. Even though their thumb is a slight Achilles heel in the very worst conditions, as well as not allowing me to take any selfies while riding (probably a good thing) the Santini gloves still get a thumbs-up from me.

Roadies get a bad rap. If we don't 'think we own the road', we 'think we're in the Tour de France', or that we're 'above the law'.

When the accusations aren't flying in our face from the direction of drivers (who, in about 85 per cent of cases, we also are), they're coming from others also on two wheels claiming we've all 'got grumpy' and left the culture of acknowledging other cyclists behind.

Loffi is a brand that has decided enough is enough. Launched via a Kickstarter campaign in November 2018, the hyper-friendly 'Glove' reached almost five times its funding target. The brand produced the first round of product, and following feedback has now moved on to the "Loffi Glove Adult 2.0" model which we have on test here.

Of course, the unique selling point has to be the stitched in smile on the palm, which doubles up as padding to protect the areas most in contact with the handlebar. The 2.0 model has seen some optimisation. When we reviewed version 1.0, our key criticism was a lack of robustness in the smiley, which got dirty quickly and did eventually begin to tear. Now, the smiley is made from stripey, wipe clean silicon which is grippier, more padded and tougher.

The improvement has been a big success, and our current pair of Loffi gloves has stayed in great condition.

On the back of the hand, there's another smile, this time reflective and positioned to help draw attention to left and right indication after dark.

The creators and marketeers obviously have a bit of a sense of humour. Coupled with the somewhat excessive size of the palm smiley, you've also got the catchphrase 'Glove is all you need', repeated use of the singular noun (Why wear Glove? - which had our news editor Vern almost leave the building) and Instagram feed depicting everyone from Mr Motivator to the cast of Greece wearing 'Glove'.

However, all the humour serves a serious goal - to "make waving more meaningful and grow a culture of goodwill on our roads."

Indeed, it's really very hard to miss or forget about the large palm smiley. When testing these, the gesture of waving in response to a considerate pass or junction interaction became all the more meaningful. And when I was passed too close, knowing I had a large comedy smiley sewn into my palm really did serve as a reminder that sometimes it's just not worth letting rage ruin a good ride.

Cheesy as it might sounds, the 'Loffi Glove 2.0' both allowed me to express friendliness to nice road users and helped me not to get riled up over inconsiderate ones. I won't suggest a reflective smily could fix all our problems on the road, but it can't do any harm either.

Sentiment and road-rage dampening aside, the effectiveness of a pair of gloves is important. The best gloves keep your hands warm, and ideally dry - no amount of smilie will overcome poor performance there. Thankfully in the case of the Loffi Glove 2.0, weather proofing is spot on.

These little critters provide a water resistant and windproof upper, with an AX suede palm and soft fleece inner. Riding early on winter mornings, my hands were warm and in no danger of numbness.

In the rain, they stayed relatively dry from the outside, and water beads off the surface as expected from a DWR (durable water repellent) finish. I did find the inside of the gloves became damp with sweat, but this is the case with many more expensive pairs I've tested.

The cuff on a size 'small' measured at 6cm in length, and the material funnels inwards to offer a narrower fit and keep cold air out.

I tested Loffi's gloves in a size Small - and sizes run from X-Small to X-Large. They were a little big baggy on me worn alone. Loffi also offers liners (£10, sizes small to large) - and teaming the two up provided both extra warmth and a slightly snugger fit. However, in most conditions I found the gloves sufficient on their own and so I'd recommend sizing down - if you've got particularly tiny hands, there is a kid's range!

The gloves are touchscreen compatible, and I found I could operate the maps and camera on my phone without removing them. However, contact wasn't as exact as it would be naked-handed, and when truly lost in the lanes I resorted to removing them for better control of the Google maps screen.

There's a micro fleece patch on the thumb, which acts as a sweat or snot wipe, and was sufficient even on those "just getting over a cold" rides.

At £35 'Glove' offers all the performance features and comfort from a pair you'd expect to cost more - with a smile.

Not all cyclists like wearing gloves, but unfortunately the biting winds of winter mean most of us are forced to cover up during the colder months. If you don't like the feel of bulky, thick fabric between your hands and the bars, then the Windslam Stretch gloves from dhb may just be for you.

>>> Best gloves for winter cycling 

The Windslam fabric is designed to keep out the cold breeze, whilst inside a fleece inner provides comfort and additional warmth. Being a low bulk glove, with built in stretch, the goal is to provide excellent dexterity and ease of shifting and braking, without sacrificing insulation.

These claims certainly rung true for me. Despite being advertised as an autumn/spring glove, I was able to wear these during the winter without becoming uncomfortable, though we have had mild days with temperatures rarely slipping below 5ºc. The fabric allowed for easy movement, and plucking items from my pocket mid-ride was easy as were actions such as operating bike lights and my Garmin screen. 

The cuff is long and extended well past my wrists, allowing me to tuck the gloves under or over my jacket, preventing cold air from making its way up my arms.

On the underside, a silicone grip has been used the whole way along the palm and on the fingers as well, right up to the tips. The fingers are designed to be touchscreen compatible - but whilst I was able to operate my phone to open apps and take pictures, I found typing messages really required stripping off the extra layer.

In the interest of visibility, there's a reflective dhb logo plus a 'Windslam logo' designed to catch the attention of other road users. Though perhaps useful when indicating, these are small and unlikely to make a huge difference.

I tested these gloves in a Small, with sizes ranging from Extra Small to Extra Extra Large. Whilst I found the added stretch and lightweight nature of the gloves comfortable, they were a little baggy. An Extra Small could have been a better fit, which makes me believe that those with particularly tiny hands may not be best catered for here.

At only £23, dhb's Windslam Stretch gloves certainly represent a bargain, and being light and slim they could also serve as an inner liner with a bulkier pair for those who need extra protection in winter, then being worn alone once temperatures rise.

Gore's autumn/winter collection has seen a changing of the guard compared to previous seasons thanks to the development of a new range of wonder materials, under the all-encompassing 'Gore-Tex Infinium' name. Infinium is a direct replacement for Gore's venerable Windstopper range of fabrics and promises to be even better at creating weather proof and breathable technical kit.

The Gore C3 Gore-Tex Infinium glove utilises a couple of variations of this material for its construction in order to provide protection without packing on the bulk of a 'typical' winter glove.

In order to keep things simple and improve the durability of the glove Gore has reduced the construction to just a single solitary seam bisecting the glove into two distinctive halves. The top half makes use of a thicker, multi-layered fabric that not only incorporates a completely windproof membrane but also features a fleece lining to trap air and insulate against the cold.

The palm section uses a much thinner version of Infinium that foregoes any insulation in preference for a better level of dexterity. This half also has far more stretch to help with typical hand movements.

The palm also features a small gel pad near the heel of the palm, specifically the Ulnar nerve area. This helps reduce pressure on sensitive nerves to help maintain finger feel and movement. A reinforced panel and silicon grippers across the base of the fingers help increase grip in all weathers. Further to these features, both thumb and index finger tips have a coating to aid interaction with touchscreen devices.

>>> Why do cyclist's wear gloves? You asked Google and we have the answers

There's no denying that this new Infinium is completely windproof and with the fleece backing in the main is able to help your hands cope with some serious biting winds.

The gloves are pretty water resistant, the single hidden away seam helps stave off water ingress for longer than many other similar gloves. The fabric does become saturated when the rain really starts coming down but then Gore never claim that these are waterproof. The other good thing about the Gore C3 Gore-Tex glove is the level of dexterity granted through the thinner construction. In this respect it is a far more easier glove to live with than a standard, bulky winter glove.

Buy now: Gore C3 Gore-Tex Infinium glove from Rutland Cycles for £37.49

I do have one key issue with the glove though - and that's the overall fit. I would say I have relatively standard hands in terms of proportions, certainly not massive spades - but the Gore C3's are just too tight across the back of the knuckles. This is an issue in two fundamental ways; firstly it restricts hand movement/comfort and secondly, but more importantly it compresses and limits the glove's insulating and weatherproofing properties. Something that really does limit just how well the glove is able to perform.

Obviously, fit is personal and this issue might not present itself for you - so I would recommend you try the glove on first to check the fit. If they fit without restriction then they will perform admirably I'm sure.

Altura's Firestorm gloves arrived as part of a bundle, delivered before the Cycling Weekly team embarked upon the Red Bull Timelaps: a 25-hour relay race running overnight.

With high winds, rain and temperatures typical for 2am in October, the event certainly made for a ripe winter kit testing ground, and I've been layering up with these gloves ever since - throughout November and December.

>>> Best winter gloves tested 

The fact that I've chosen to continue wearing the Firestorm gloves into deep winter is testament to their warmth and durability, though they've not hit every requirement along the way.

Using a softshell main body fabric, and an Amara suede palm, the Firestorm gloves provide plenty of protection from the elements. Though they'll not be a total barrier in downpour, they keep the worst off, ditto windchill and the 'Altura Dry Technology' fabric is true to its word in being quick wicking.

The cuff on a size small measures 2 inches, and kept my wrists dry, with plenty of space for funnelling jersey sleeves into the fabric to keep the cold out.

Suede makes for a great choice on the palm, leading to a good fit and a close bar to hand contact patch that allows for ample dexterity, despite some excess fabric at the upper. I did find the suede got a little sweaty on the inside after hard efforts, but that's hard to avoid when pedalling to the max on milder winter days.

The gloves also feature a reflective pattern on the upper, which stands out in the dark and low level conditions - a welcome feature, especially when indicating left or right.

The finger tips are designed to be touchscreen compatible. Most of the time, this worked well - I could unlock my phone, open apps and of course (most importantly) take pictures. The fingers being quite bulky and squared off meant that typing was a little more difficult - it was possible, but required concentration.

The thumb is reinforced, with a terry sweat wipe on the lower panel. This is lovely and soft, and adequate for wiping the brow, but didn't prove sufficient for the snottyness of a January cold.

These minor criticisms aside, the gloves have remained in great conditions despite hard miles in the depths of winter. They've been through the washing machine several times, and are showing no real signs of wear, with the suede palm remaining supple enough to continue to offer comfort and a great fit.

I opted for a size small, and in hindsight might have been more suited to an XSmall in this unisex design. However, Altura do offer a wide range of sizes - from XS to 2XL. At a reasonable price of £39.99, the Firestorms are available in Black or Grey, with the latter being pretty stand-out, but perhaps the less durable of the two.

The Gore Wear Gore-Tex Infinium gloves have rapidly become my go-to gloves for rides throughout the late winter and into the early spring, when temperatures manage to stagger up over 5C but never make it to 15C.

Even more so than the GripGrab Raptor gloves which we tested a few months ago, the Gore-Tex Infinium gloves pull off the trick of keeping your hands warm with minimal weight and thickness and no padding. So as well as spring riding, they’re a good option for high intensity, short duration winter activities like cyclocross. I was comfortable both ascending Monte Grappa and on the way down too; with temperatures around 2C at the top, I never found my hands getting cold.

>>> Buy now: Gore wear Gore-Tex Infinium gloves from Wiggle from £21.50

Gore Wear outdoor kit makes use of Gore’s market leading performance fabrics. In the case of the Gore-Tex Infinium gloves, that’s a newly launched, totally windproof fabric, part of Gore's new Infinium range, which also has high breathability to stop your hands from overheating when the mercury does make it into mid-double digits. The fabric is also moderately water repellent, with a DWR coating. It won’t cope with a downpour, but repels drizzle well.

Although you don’t get any padding in the palms, I’ve found the Gore-Tex Infinium gloves comfortable to ride in, and not had any issues with sore hands; the palm material is soft, flexible and not prone to bunching. Three of the fingers get grippy silicone pads at their bases to help you hold onto the bars, while the index finger and the thumb have touchscreen compatible tips.

Fit is really good, with enough stretch in the fabric for the Gore-Tex Infinium gloves to be easy to get on and off, without slopping about as you ride. I’ve sized up to a large, rather than my usual medium, as Gore’s sizing tends to run a little small. You get reflective lettering on the little finger and at the bottom of the gloves’ back for a bit of extra visibility too. They’re available in yellow if you want to increase that.

>>> Buy now: Gore wear Gore-Tex Infinium gloves from Wiggle from £21.50

With their light weight and high packability, I’ve found the Gore-Tex Infinium gloves useful to stash in a back pocket too, just in case my fingers fail to thaw out once I’ve warmed up on a ride.

Winter gloves are tricky to get right. They need plenty of padding to keep your fingers reasonably warm in conditions close to or below zero. But too much padding and you lose bar feel and ability to use your controls effectively. The Pedal Ed Thermo Reflective gloves manage to keep hands sufficiently warm, without losing too much bar feel.

>>> Winter cycling survival guide

That’s because the Pedal Ed Thermo Reflective gloves have rather a thin, perforated synthetic leather palm for a close hold on the bars. But the backs of the gloves have much thicker quilted padding with a fleece lining. This is backed up by wind resistance and a membrane, so that there’s little wind or damp penetration, but the Pedal Ed Thermo Reflective gloves are still breathable enough to be comfortable.

There are padded areas on the parts of the palms that come into contact with the bars: the underside of the knuckles and the bottom of the palm, which help with bar comfort on longer rides. The underside of the thumb is also reinforced with a second layer of fabric.

Pedal Ed includes two tapes on the middle fingers to help you pull the gloves off, although I found that the fit was not so close that I needed to use these. In fact, the fit of the Pedal Ed Thermo Reflective gloves is quite generous and you could easily fit a pair of liner gloves if you needed more insulation on really cold rides.

>>> Numb feet and hands while cycling: how to combat the cold

There’s a long, soft elastic cuff for good wrist coverage and overlap with a jacket. But the most useful feature of the Pedal Ed Thermo Reflective gloves when riding in potentially low light in the winter is their retroreflective backs. Rather than a few strips of reflective material, their whole rear face is made up of this, so there’s a huge amount of extra visibility when holding the bars or making hand signals.

GripGrab Raptor full finger gloves have proved a hit on the pro cyclocross circuit, with wearers including Mathieu van der Poel. Their features work well for the short duration, high intensity and typical wet, cold conditions of a cyclocross race.

The GripGrab Raptor gloves have an unpadded palm made of a synthetic suede fabric with silicone dots for grip. They also use GripGrab’s Inside Grip tech, which puts grippers on the inside of the fingers. This stops your hands from slipping around inside the gloves as you ride and ensures a firm hold on the bars and on the frame when you are carrying the bike, even in the dampest and most muddy conditions.

The absence of padding and thin fabric mean that there’s excellent hand feel on the controls too and the thumb tips are are touch screen compatible. There’s a double layer of fabric on the inside of the thumb joint and the thumb fabric also incorporates a large snot wipe.

The back of the gloves is made of a softshell fabric, which provides enough warmth in most race conditions and a little water repellence too. Again, it’s lightweight and, along with an elastic patch at the wrist, provides enough stretch that the GripGrab Raptor gloves fit closely without needing Velcro tabs to keep them in place.

Away from cyclocross, the GripGrab Raptor gloves are comfortable for road riding in milder winter conditions, although you might want something warmer once the temperature nears freezing. The Dissent 133 glove system, for example, provides some extra adaptability to cope with a wider temperature range and wetter conditions.

Although there aren’t any shock absorbing pads in the palms, the non-slip design means that your hands are unlikely to get sore on longer rides. There are reflectives on the little fingers for added road presence and visibility when signalling.

Despite the white accents, the GripGrab Raptor gloves have washed up pretty well too, although they might begin to look a bit faded after a winter of cross.

If someone were to ask you to describe what a pair of cycling winter gloves look like, you'd probably use descriptive words such as 'bulky', 'restrictive' and 'padded' - which to be fair could be applicable to some on the market. But none of these descriptions would be within reaching distance of the Dexshell Thermfit Neo gloves.

>>> Best cycling gloves

Construction

Made from Porelle fabric, the Dexshell Thermfit Neo gloves come with a commitment to providing waterproof and breathability. Using a three-layer construction system, much like the GORE Windproofing fabric. Porelle fabric sandwiches a waterproof breathable membrane between a drip-dry outer layer and more comfortable inner layer.

The result is physically very low profile gloves and initial glances suggest they're just knitted, similarly to the DeFeet E-Touch Dura gloves, but this time significantly more technical.

The palm of the seam free gloves are covered with silicone detailing for grip, and as they naturally provide a layer of protection between skin and bars, Dexshell has felt additional padding surplus to requirement, and gone without. It has however, cannily added touch screen compatibility to the thumb and forefinger, the thumb addition I'm particularly pleased to see, having recently found the ProViz Reflect360 gloves were left wanting in this department, which made using just a forefinger slow and clumsy.

Also outside the Dexshell Thermfit Neo gloves have longer than average cuffs. Measuring 10cm, these are probably triple the length of than almost any pair of winter cycling gloves I own, including the already longer than average at five centimetre of cuff Castelli Illumia gloves.

Inside the Dexshell Thermfit Neo gloves is a merino wool lining, tapping in to the natural insulating properties of wool and air.

The Ride

I have to admit to being rather dubious about the qualities and benefits of the Dexshell Thermfit Neo gloves, doing the ultimate tech writing sin of judging the book by it's cover, or in this case gloves, by the lack of theirs.

But one wear informed me of my wrong doing.

Firstly, the fit is spot on. I have diddy hands and most gloves swamp me, even the small sizes, so to find a pair that are actually size appropriate makes me one happy lady. Along with the Dexshell Thermfit Neo gloves low profile, zero padding meant that my radial grip on the bars was perfect.

I've been fortunately to ride these both in the near zero temperatures and the ever so slightly not zero but very wet conditions and they performed just as well in both. I do suffer with Raynauds, so as soon as we hit single digits on the mercury, I loose communication with mine.

It's rare a pair of gloves can combat it, and I really struggled with the near freezing conditions in the Dexshell Thermfit Neo gloves, but I'm yet to find a pair that keep my hands warm. What they did allow, thanks to their stretchiness, was for me to scrunch my hands up inside the glove while riding to help get the circulation going again. Again another rare, but much welcomed design feature.

Where the Dexshell Thermfit Neo gloves really did perform superbly for me was when the temperature rose by a couple of degrees and it rained. When I say it rained, I live in the north and we do things properly up here, the rain may as well have been ice spears for the force of which it was being driven along in a cross wind.

The kind of rain where you have to ride with your head to one side and snood up to your eyes, and even then it still incredibly painful when it finds a bit of exposed skin to land on. The kind of rain where your not sure if it is just rain as your face is so numb you have no idea where the rain stops and your nose running starts. It was at this point, riding across the exposed moorland that the gloves really came in to their own.

A combination of water and wind proofing, along with the extra long cuffs really did keep my hands impressively snug and dry (and pain free) for a long time. When they eventually became saturated, the water was unnoticeable as I was still warm, which to me is always the holy grail when riding.

Value

Here's the impressive bit, that glove cost £37! Ok, so they're not deep deep winter gloves, but they're still good for riding through most of the colder months and to be less than £40 is an absolute steal. The more I get to see from the Dexshell brand, the more impressed I am, definitely one to watch.

One of the things I love most in life is a truly practical invention. They don't say necessity is the mother for all invention for nothing after all, not that you should ever sacrifice form over function either. You might therefore conclude I have high expectations when it comes to products landing on my desk, and to be fair I probably have, which is probably why I'm so excited by most things that come out of the Proviz house at the moment, specifically the Proviz Reflect360 gloves.

>>>Best gloves for autumn and winter

Ok so they need to work a little on the form aspect, but as a brand, it is getting there, with the Proviz Reflect360 gloves resembing more bike and less workman, but with yet oh so much practicality about them.

Construction

The back of the hand and thumb outer of the Proviz Reflect360 gloves is made from material containing millions of highly reflective tiny glass beads, which reflect light from vehicle headlights. Underneath this reflective outer layer Proviz have placed a internal waterproof polyurethane layer, made up of a three-layer microporous silicone coating structure called Hipora, made by Korean based Kolon Industries.

According to Proviz, the first layer prevents most water from passing through, the second layer is a honeycomb structure that lets moisture in to then let it expel through the first layer, the third layer is a denser layer to give added protection against water. It believes that together, the three layers give a breathable and very effective material for cycling gloves due to its thin, lightweight and waterproof properties.

On the palm is silicone web grip and padding, which Proviz say is the perfect combination to give you a highly effective and comfortable grip, especially in the wet. The index finger is touchscreen compatible at the tip, while at the wrist is yet another reflective band and a velcro closure. They really reminded me of my 'go to' pair of Castelli CW 4.0 WS Donna gloves which where around about 6 years ago, yet still find their way to the top of my winter kit pile because of the balance of padding, silicone grip and low profile design.

The Proviz Reflect360 gloves are finished off with a soft brushed fleece lining to give them thermal properties too.

The ride

Popping the Proviz Reflect360 gloves on and the immediate noticeable is the size. Admittedly I have pretty small hands, but even the small was about a centimetre too long in the fingers. They were however perfect for my other half who, normally riding a size medium in gloves, promptly wanted to nab them telling me that they were spot on for him as they were a brilliant fit and, I quote, "like how bike gloves should be, not like the well bulky ski gloves".

Fortunately, I was able to get a couple of rides in using them before they disappeared out of my sight and bar the fit for me, I concurred with my other half that the Proviz Reflect360 gloves are indeed how bike gloves should be.

Their low profile, so leave you with a good amount of dexterity. This is especially important to me when on a cold wet ride when thick gloves can limit the level of feedback you get from changing gear or braking, leaving you vulnerable to shifting through the block several sprockets at a time, or grabbing a handful of brake. The first is mostly annoying, but the second is out right dangerous, and the Reflect360 totally prevent this.

The reflective properties are immense. It really is, as the name suggest 360degree visibility - there really is no "sorry mate, I didn't see you indicating" excuses if you're wearing these bad boys to signal - it's akin to holding out a school lollipop stick or a Belisha beacon on each hand, such as their powerful reflective abilities.

The waterproofing is as close as you can get to having your hands tanked on a ride. This does mean that they aren't really that breathable, but if your anything like me with extremities that plummet instantly on a cold day, this wasn't a problem for most of the rides, and even then only when I was really working hard on climbs, and to be honest I'd take damp warm hands over cold wet ones any day of the week.

The padding is perfect. Again, small hands means a constant search of gloves that don't over bulk out the padding, which then impacts on radial grip. The Proviz Reflect360 gloves have just enough to knock off the road buzz, while still allowing full grip on the bars, much like the afore mentioned Casstelli Donna gloves.

The only snagging points are the nose wipe needs to be on the back of the hands for me, rather than the inside of the thumb, constantly forgetting on a long ride did make my nose rather sore after a while. The other isn't really a necessity, but Proviz, please can we have touch screen compatibility on the thumb too? I know it's really meant just for answering calls, but being able to send a message without removing gloves would be a major bonus.

The thermal value really depends on how hot you run of the bike, I'd be happy down to a couple of degrees, others who don't suffer as bad as I do would probably be ok going much lower, and there's always the potential to add a pair of silk liners to get another couple of degrees lower still. Probably not quite all-winter as Provis suggest, but there's less than a, no pun intended, handful of days when you would need something more robust.

Value

The best bit. £39.99. That's less than £40 for waterproof, windproof, fully reflective and warm gloves that will get you through most bike rides from autumn to spring. A billy bargain.

How many pairs of gloves do you own? Chances are that you have various weights for different degrees of coldness and wetness, and that none of them are quite right. The Dissent 133 glove layering system aims to tackle this.

It’s from the people behind Hunt Bike Wheels, who are used to catering for the UK rider. The name comes from the 133 days a year that it rains in an average year in the south of the UK.

>>> 11 tips for cycling in the rain

The idea is that rather than having a pair of heavy gloves for cold, another pair for wet weather, one for mild weather, etc, you have a pair of fully waterproof outers, a pair of windproof/showerproof outers, a pair of lightweight thermal gloves and a pair of silk liner gloves. You can use the different outers with each of the two inners, wear each layer on its own or use an outer with both inner layers together, dependent on the conditions. If things warm up during a ride, you can remove a layer too.

Lined winter gloves are prone to have their linings invert when you take them off if they are wet, which doesn’t happen with the Dissent 133 system. Another advantage of the layered approach is that when your gloves do get wet, it’s much easier to wash and dry them than a single piece padded item. Dissent 133 includes three wire spreaders to help you dry your gloves more quickly too.

In total, there are 11 different combinations of gloves, allowing you to adapt to pretty much any condition except hot summer days of course. There’s a sheet of recommended combinations on the inside of the rather smart zip-up padded case.

If you don’t want the whole set of four, the individual Dissent 133 layers are available separately or there are packs of three, giving you windproof or waterproof options.

Both the showerproof and the waterproof outer gloves are closed with Velcro tabs. There’s a cuff which overlaps these. This has a ribbon puller which makes it very easy to grip when wearing the gloves, so that you can quickly adjust the fit at the cuffs. The cuffs themselves are long, so there’s good overlap with jacket sleeves. There’s a reflective dart on the outer side seam and reflective lettering to add visibility.

>>> Summer cycling mitts buyer's guide

Being designed to use with inner gloves, there’s not much padding in either outer glove pair, so that using the bike’s controls isn’t awkward. They both come with silicone grips over the palms, while the fingers and thumbs are touchscreen active. The thermal liners too allow you to work a touchscreen.

The Dissent 133 layering system works well: it’s easy to tailor your warmth level to suit the conditions. Wearing either outer pair with either inner, there’s good insulation without losing bar feel. Even with the two inners and the showerproof outers, there’s still good dexterity.

It’s only if you layer up two inners with the waterproof outers that you lose a bit of lever feel. This is the extreme option though and the effect is no worse than when wearing many highly insulated, single-piece winter gloves like the Mavic Vision Thermo and the GripGrab Ride waterproof gloves.

100% has made quite a splash in the road cycling market, with its high profile sunglass sponsorship of Peter Sagan. But the brand’s roots are in motocross and it also makes a range of MTB kit, including the 100% Brisker gloves.

When we checked, our colleagues at MBR had the same number of fingers as us, so we reckon the 100% Brisker gloves work as well for cooler weather road cycling as for mountain biking.

>>> Best winter cycling gloves

The 100% Brisker gloves are available in a range of colours, and in women’s and youth fit as well as men’s. There are other 100% gloves for colder weather riding and for wet conditions as well. But the 100% Brisker model is good for dry autumn rides, with a lightly insulated softshell top surface, that keeps the wind off and adds the right amount of warmth. You also get reflective elements – a massive 100% logo – for when you’re riding in lower light conditions.

The clarino synthetic leather palm material is quite thin. It has silicone bands to ensure grip and touch-active index finger and thumb, so you can work touch screens when wearing them. It’s comfortable and grippy, although you’d be better looking elsewhere if you want thicker padding for additional bar comfort.

The 100% Brisker gloves have a stretchy cuff, so they’re close fitting. There’s a velcro tab on the underside to adjust the fit too. They wouldn’t fit over a jacket, but the cuffs are tight enough that the 100% Brisker gloves will fit under your jacket’s cuffs for an airtight connection. 100% has a comprehensive size chart to make sure that you get the right fit. But its sizing is pretty accurate and the close fit ensures that your gloves don’t rub as you ride.

At £27, the 100% Brisker gloves are good value for a warmer, cool weather pair.

For reflectivity, the Altura Thermo Elite gloves stand out. Whereas most gloves offer strips of reflective material printed onto a neutral fabric, the entire back of the Altura Thermo Elite gloves is made of highly reflective material. Altura calls this fabric NV360.

The Altura Thermo Elite gloves are not heavy, but they offer good levels of wind protection so they work well in temperatures around 10°C. The fabric is also showerproof. They don’t quite have enough protection to keep your hands warm once the thermometer dips closer to zero, though.

The palms are made of a synthetic suede fabric. Again, it’s quite lightweight, but provides adequate levels of warmth for spring conditions. There are silicone strips across the palm and the two forefingers, providing plenty of grip on the bars and controls.

>>> Winter cycling survival guide: 10 helpful tips to keep you riding

You don’t get any extra padding in the palms to keep the hands more comfortable, although there is reinforcement between the thumb and forefinger which should aid durability.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcE48VSEjvw

The fabrics used to make the Altura Thermo Elite gloves are breathable, so you don’t get any sweat build up inside. But they’re not as stretchy as some other options, so your hands move around in them a bit more. I didn’t find this uncomfortable, but it might contribute to sore hands in some people.

>>> Tips for cycling and training in the dark (video)

The cuff of the Altura Thermo Elite gloves is made of a more stretchy material. It’s long enough to cover the gap between the glove and the cuff of a jacket and stretchy enough to keep cold air out, so you don’t get any cold spots.

The Ekoi Heat Concept gloves include heating elements to keep your fingers warmer as you ride. Because they’re out in the wind and not moving much, fingers can be the first part of you to feel the cold in freezing conditions. Once your fingers get cold, in the worst case they may never warm up again for the rest of your ride. Riding with cold hands is miserable and potentially dangerous if you can’t operate your controls properly.

So a set of heated winter gloves is potentially a godsend. The heating elements in the Ekoi Heat Concept gloves are powered by two thin battery packs in each glove. These fit into a sleeve inside the underside of the gloves’s wrist, are held in place by a Velcro closure and have a cable with a small plug to connect them to the heating wires in the gloves.

The Ekoi Heat Concept gloves’ heat output is controlled using a small square button on the top of the glove. Give it a long push and it turns on, while shorter pushes cause the heating to cycle through four different target temperatures between 25°C and 40°C. The level of heat selected is indicated by the colour of the button, which changes from green through amber, to red. It’s very easy to use the heat level control when riding.

>>> Best winter cycling gloves

The Ekoi Heat Concept gloves provide a comfortable level of all-over warmth for your hands, helping to keep away the dreaded numb fingers. Ekoi says that each glove will give out up to 15 watts of heat energy. Battery life is around two hours when set at the highest level, extending to five hours on the lowest setting.

The Ekoi Heat Concept gloves themselves have classic deep winter features. They’re very well padded, although this makes more delicate manipulations when riding, such as opening gels, quite difficult. They incorporate a breathable waterproof membrane, although Ekoi still says that you should switch the heating off in heavy rain. There’s a line of elastic at the wrist, below a Velcro closed cuff, preventing draughts.

>>> Winter cycling survival guide

Ekoi also advises against washing the Ekoi Heat Concept gloves, saying that you should surface wipe them only.

The palm has plenty of padding, with extra pads and silicone dots where you hold the bars. There are also silicone pads on the ends of the thumb, index and middle fingers and further down the ring and middle fingers to help with grip on the bike’s controls. The thumb has a fleece top to wipe your nose and/or glasses and there’s leather reinforcement between the thumb and first finger, an area which can suffer a lot of wear.

What didn’t work well for me was the placement of the batteries. They sit on the underside of the wrist and the bottom of the palm. Any motion of the wrist joint tends to result in them digging into your wrist. Despite the batteries having rounded edges, this is still uncomfortable.

Ekoi says that the gloves are effective down to -20°C. If you plan to ride in conditions this cold they might be worth considering. But in the UK, where temperatures rarely get much below zero, the disadvantages of the Ekoi Heat Concept gloves probably outweigh their pluses for most riders.

Shimano says it has studied for decades how the hand-to-glove-to-shifter interface should function and from that study has designed and produced the new £99 Shimano S-Phyre winter gloves.

The new S-Phyre gloves have a seamless 3D pre-curved design, which should offer a conforming fit for comfort when riding on the hoods.

Largely the Shimano S-Phyre winter gloves do a great job in terms of fit with the usual size small I use fitting the palm, wrist and around the fingers well. The wrist has a nice cuff length and slots under or over most long-sleeve jersey or jacket designs.

Something that winter gloves often struggle with is feeling bulky and they usually hamper dexterity, sacrificed for warmth and protection. I've ridden the Shimano S-Phyre winter gloves down to a dry 2°C without the inner liner glove (which comes supplied) and was fairly comfortable for a two-hour ride. Anything longer and the liner will be needed.

While on either the tops or hoods, the shaping of the glove is comfortable, with limited bunching of unnecessary fabric or cushioning – thanks to the pre-curved shape – meaning dexterity is good despite a high level of inbuilt warmth. However, the seams around the fingertips are annoying and this is the only part of the glove that doesn't supply a good fit. I didn't notice this too much while operating the gears or brakes, but when trying to handle items from my pockets or using my phone it became an issue. The thumb and forefinger do have a touchscreen-friendly patch, however, so once you have the phone in your palm you're fine.

Something to note is that these gloves are not waterproof – at all. Although they'll deal with a light spray they'll quickly soak and you'll lose all your warmth very quickly.

Danish company GripGrab makes a range of riding accessories which are well suited for UK conditions. The GripGrab Ride Waterproof Winter gloves include a breathable membrane to help retain heat when riding in cold conditions. They are windproof and water repellent as well as being well insulated.

Getting the right weight for a winter glove can be tricky: too much padding and it’s difficult to use your gears and brakes; too little and you can end up with cold fingers. The GripGrab Ride Waterproof Winter gloves hit the middle ground and are effective, without being too warm. Waterproofing is good too, keeping the hands dry, with little tendency to sweatiness.

The GripGrab Ride Waterproof Winter gloves include a pad of the company’s DoctorGel in the heel of the palm. It does help provide some cushioning, although its position isn’t quite where I tend to put most pressure when riding a drop bar bike. It’s only really effective when riding on the hoods.

>>> Ten worst winter kit mistakes and how to avoid them

The rest of the palm relies on the insulating padding to relieve pressure. This is effective. The palm is also covered in silicone Gs to provide plenty of grip on damp, cold bars. There’s more silicone lettering on the forefinger and middle finger tips, to make using the brakes and gears secure. The thumb has a touch screen tip. It’s not the best positioning – I usually use my index finger to operate screens – and I didn’t find it worked too well on some computers.

The back of the gloves features a reflective dot pattern along its bottom half. This provides quite a large area for enhanced low light visibility. You also get a terry back to the thumb, to wipe your glasses or your brow or nose clean and dry.

>>> Winter cycling survival guide

The GripGrab Ride Waterproof Winter gloves are quite close fitting. This is good to prevent the hands slipping around in them. But you might need to size up to get a comfortable fit.

The cuff is long enough to extend some way over the wrist. It’s closed by a Velcro tab and close enough to keep out draughts, although this means that it works better under some jacket cuffs than over them. It might get tricky with some jackets with more bulky or tight wrist closures.

With gravel-road popularity growing, Sportful has responded to a call for more relaxed clothing with its Giara range and corresponding accessories, which are designed for riders seeking adventure over aero.

>>> 6 of the best gravel bikes & adventure bikes for 2017 

We really rated the Giara jersey and cap, so hoped that the matching Sportful Giara gloves could deliver just as well.

>>> Buy the Sportful Giara gloves now from Evans Cycles for just £23.99

Construction

Having been designed specifically for rougher roads and gravel, Sportful says the Giara glove offers additional padding over a standard road mitt with three foam pads on the heel and outer side, thumb pad and upper palm.

>>>Buyers Guide to Summer Cycling gloves

The three padded sections on the Sportful Giara glove vary in foam densities but all have a printed silicone grip. Perforations have been added to the nylon/polyurethane palm in both the central non-padded area and fingers to offer an element of ventilation.

Up on top the mixed synthetic palm, made using fabric known for its robust qualities, has been extended to include a wraparound thumb and forefinger. A soft polyester sweat wipe stretches the length of the thumb and the polyester/elastane upper is colour coded to match the corresponding Giara outfit, as well as including reflective detailing.

The glove is finished off with a standard hem at the wrist and below first knuckles, with the inclusion of a simple fabric web between middle and ring finger to assist in the glove removal.

The ride

Having small hands, finding gloves that offer a good balance of padding without impacting on radial grip is always a challenge. So I was really pleased to discover upon donning the Sportful Giara glove that not only did they fit really well, the extra padding didn't interfere with my grip on the handlebars.

The extra padding does dull road feedback, which is exactly what it's been designed to do, but only to the point of offering hand/nerve protection and still allowed me to judge road and track surfaces sufficiently. This is probably in part due to keeping the actual grip element minimal by using just printed silicone – which was really effective in terms of maintaining a secure grip no matter how wet or sweaty my hands got.

The reflective detailing on the back of the hand is a nice touch, especially when signalling to turn.

Value

It's clear the Sportful Giara glove has come from a house with a background of making high-level race kit as even with the gravel road label they deliver on point.

Price wise, they seem to be at the upper end of average, but as they use fabrics known for their durability you should get plenty of life out of them.

My only nag is that the rest of the corresponding Giara kit isn't unisex or available in all colours for both sexes. With colour coding pretty important to all riders, this means the the Coral Fluo colourway is limited to just women.

The Giro Monaco II mitts are loaded with features to make long summer rides more comfortable. This starts off with the underside of the glove, which is made of top-notch Pittards sheep leather. It’s comfortable and soft and moulds well to the hand. There are also a series of small venting holes over the centre of the palm.

Buy now from Cycle Store for £40.49

Around the palm’s edges are a series of pads of Giro’s Technogel padding. Giro says that Technogel is a spin-off from medical use, that provides good pressure distribution, impact absorption and durability.

The pads are in three areas which take bar pressure when riding: the underside of the thumb, across the inside of the knuckles, and the outside of the hand. Giro has double stitched around the pads, so they should cope with plenty of wear and tear.

>>> Icons of cycling: track mitts

The back of the mitts is made of a lightweight mesh fabric. It doesn’t have perforations, but it provides good airflow and stretches well to accommodate the hand. The back of the thumb includes a large, effective microfibre wipe.

The mitts are closed with a Velcro strap with reflective dots and there’s no tendency to slip around when riding. The flip side of this is that they’re not too easy to get on and off. Giro includes a leather tab at the cuff that helps to pull them on.

>>> The best summer cycle clothing for 2017

There are a couple of doubled-over fabric tabs on the middle fingers to help pull the mitts off again, but it still takes a bit of coercion to get them from your fingers. Fit is accurate to size, with a Medium fitting me closely but comfortably.

The Monaco II mitts are comfortable for long rides and do give very good pressure distribution. But on the downside, the white leather does soon look a bit grey from road grime picked up from the bar tape. The leather soon looks a bit scuffed and creased too. Giro does make an all-black variant, for which this shouldn’t be a problem.

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You also need to be careful when washing the Monaco II mitts as the leather can shrink and harden if not washed on a delicate cycle, while the Velcro straps tend to stick to other clothing.

The Danish company, GripGrab specialises in looking after your extremities; it makes gloves, hats, socks, leg and arm warmers as well as overshoes.

Its Roadster mitts are designed to be really lightweight for summer riding. The backs of the gloves are made of a thin, see-through mesh. GripGrab says that they are made that way so you can get a tan through the fabric as you ride - so no more dodgy hand tan lines.

It also means that they don’t get too hot when the temperature does increase. But you don’t get a wipe on the back of the thumb though, as you do with many mitts, even summer weight ones.

The fabric has enough stretch to get the mitts on and off easily, and there’s a web of the palm material between the middle and ring fingers to help pull them off. But it’s also robust enough to keep the palm in place well – a nice compromise. There’s also a dart of reflective printing on the outside edge for extra low light visibility.

The palm of the Roadster is equally lightweight, but without the stretch of the back. It’s made of a synthetic suede, so it gives good grip and doesn’t slip around when you are riding. It has a layer of double fabric over the underside of the knuckles for extra padding where they meet the bars. And it also has small perforations for better airflow.

It’s also reinforced and has a padded insert between the forefinger and the palm, another pressure point. And the heel of the palm has a 2mm thick pad of GripGrab’s own DoctorGel built in. This is GripGrab’s thinnest gel pad, which it says is for the more competition-minded rider.

GripGrab says that the DoctorGel pad is positioned to reduce the risk of nerve compression and finger numbness.

Despite being thin, the gel pad is effective. I rode the 140km length Tour of Flanders sportive, including its famous cobbles, in the Roadster mitts without discomfort, although there are other gloves available that would give you more padding.

And being so light, if they do get wet the mitts dry out very quickly. They also seem well made and are resistant to wear and tear, while the white fabric hasn’t turned grey yet.

So the Roadster mitts look like a good bet for when the UK does finally warm up. GripGrab products are stocked in the UK by Wiggle.

Craft has been producing good products over the years as a dedicated outdoor wears brand, which includes cycling specific clothing. It also provides clothing for Peter Sagan's Bora-Hansgrohe World Tour team - items such as the Craft Glow gloves I've tested here, so it should know a thing or two about cycling kit.

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling gloves

These gloves are designed to be used in the height of summer and thus should be minimal, comfortable and breathable. The Craft Glow gloves have a mesh back and this is continued around much of the glove to help your hands stay cool and dry for as long as possible and it does do a great job.

Padding is kept to a minimum to help keep bulk down and it does mean that the dexterity on the handlebar is good, however, comfortable enough to take some of the harshness out of the ride.

Fit is very tight, race like, but isn't restrictive. Although the down side to that is that you can feel all the seams between the comfortable stretchy lycra cuff and cushioned nose wipe section. You may in this case want to go a size up compared to your normal glove. POC Fondo gloves for example do a better go here.

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Styling is subtle and the star shaped reflectives and Craft logo is a nice safety touch. Though as they are glued on rather than stitched in, even after a handful of washes these are starting to peel away. this doesn't reflect the rest of the gloves durability, though I'd be annoyed if I purchased the Craft Glow gloves based on the reflective styling.

So a decent glove, just with a few tiny issues. However to help you get over those the Craft Glow gloves woes, they only cost £25. A decent price compared to similarly performing gloves.

Mavic’s new Vision range aims to increase visibility on dark rides. It's a line of clothing that includes a gilet, overshoes, a cap, arm, knee and leg warmers as well as two weights of gloves, of which the Vision Thermo is the heavier. The garments are designed for warmth as well as visibility.

>>> Five tips for safe commuting (video)

As well as Mavic’s trademark yellow flash, the Vision Thermo gloves have reflective bands on three of the four fingers and a reflective dart built into the back of the hand. They increase road presence, particularly for following vehicles if you are making hand signals.

The gloves’ outers have an in-built waterproof membrane and are DWR treated to repel water. There’s a separate liner that's pretty thick and so gives a good amount of insulation. It does result in a bit of bulk between the fingers and makes using the controls a bit tricky – although this is true of the majority of winter gloves, not just Mavic’s. Not being connected to the outer, the liner can slip around too. There’s a risk of turning it inside-out when taking the gloves off, although I found that it soon settled down in the outer after a bit of use.

There’s an extra-long cuff to the gloves, which can be tightened with a Velcro strap. There’s also some elastic gathering. Together they provide plenty of weather protection at the wrist.

>>> Tips for cycling and training in the dark (video)

Watch: Buyer's guide to cycling gloves

The underside of the gloves, including the fingers, is made of a synthetic leather with padding across the top and the bottom of the palm for a bit of cushioning from the bars. There’s reinforcement in the high-wear area between the thumb and the index finger. I did find the palm material a bit slippery on the bars and found I needed to exercise care, particularly when using the brakes, to make sure my fingers didn’t slip.

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling gloves

So the Mavic Vision Thermo gloves are a good bet for wet, cold dark rides, although they do impede use of the shifters and brakes a little. They come in six sizes. Although they’re a useful addition to your winter kit, they’re quite expensive.

On paper, these are the gloves you’d want to have with you when Zeus comes to town. They’re heavy-duty neoprene gloves with glued seams, designed to withstand sudden downpours and long rides in the rain.

They’re beefy in their design and thick cut, like someone has cut an outline of your hand from rubber. But as anyone who’s worn a wetsuit can attest, this neoprene is only really suitable for its intended purpose – which is getting very wet.

>>> Giro Factor Techlace review

Well, the Giro gloves are much the same. Put them on in a storm and they’ll keep you warm no problem but try and wear them in sub-zero conditions and you’ll be feeling quite chilly.

In fact, should the temperature drop dramatically you're far better off reaching for a set of thermal gloves over these. The Giro Neo Blaze offers very little cold weather protection, instead being far more suitable to milder, wet rides.

Most importantly, though, I've been impressed with how warm they’ve kept my digits when things get wet. Plus, if you’re really set on wearing these on cold days, you can squeeze a liner glove underneath.

Watch: Buyer's guide to cycling winter clothing

>>> Giro Cinder MIPS helmet

Exactly like a wet suit, the Giro Neo Blaze keep your hands warm by trapping your own body heat. So it's no surprise that these gloves don’t breathe well. The insides are guaranteed to be sodden after any ride, as will any glove you wear underneath but that's just par for the course with this type of material.

Happily, even if they do get saturated they don’t lose any of their excellent dexterity or feeling through the fingertips.

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In fact, this is one of the best things about the Giro Neo Blaze gloves – they come with a tacky rubber spread across the palms and the fingers. This means you can get purchase on the shifters when it matters most, because everyone knows hurtling down a hill and slipping off the brake levers is not a fun experience.

Their cut is well thought out, too. There's added length to the wrist fabric, allowing for jerseys and gloves to overlap, leaving no annoying gap for cold winds and chilly breezes.

Bontrager’s Classique range packages modern features into clothing with a retro look and finishing details. It stretches to all the cycling essentials: jerseys, bibshorts, caps, shoes, socks, full-finger gloves and mitts.

>>> Best winter cycling gloves (video)

The Classique mitts are made predominantly from Pittards leather, both their palms and backs, which is soft and manages sweat well. The backs are perforated for a bit of ventilation. There’s a fabric nose wipe built into the back of the thumb and a reflective tab across the outer side of the mitts. They’re fixed around your wrist with a leather tab. This looks as if it has a press stud to fix it, but this is for effect only – the actual fastening is a Velcro strip.

>>> Ten worst winter kit mistakes and how to avoid them

Those disguised modern features continue into the palm. This has a lot of areas of foam and gel padding built into it, both across the majority of the palm itself and across the inside of the knuckles where they rest on the bars. It’s fairly low profile, but does add plenty of cushioning against road vibration transmitted from the bars. There are also mesh sections hidden in the middle of the palm and between the fingers to aid comfort and air circulation.

Watch: Buyer's guide to spring and autumn clothing

The Classique mitts have worked well on longer hot rides, my hands not feeling sweaty and the padding keeping my hands from feeling sore. The thumb wipe has proved useful too. The fit is good and the natural leather adds a bit of stretch to fit different sized hands. However without tabs to pull at, getting the mitts off warm hands is a bit of a struggle.

>>> 12 better than half price winter glove deals

They wash up well, provided you are careful, and durability looks good, although they take longer to dry out than synthetic leather. But at £50, they are quite a pricy item – although less so than Rapha’s equivalent. As well as the black model which we’ve tested the Classique mitts are also available in tan or white.

The Mavic Cosmic Pro gloves are minimalist glove and part of Mavic’s Cosmic clothing range. Mavic boasts that the total weight of a complete summer cycling kit including helmet and shoes is under 1kg. As you’d expect these mitts are designed not to contribute much weight to that total and at 30 grams a pair that’s certainly the case.

Watch: how to dress for hot conditions

There’s no padding in the palms, which are made of synthetic leather, but are nevertheless comfortable and hard-wearing. I’ve not had any discomfort or soreness when wearing them even for extended rides of over four hours. There are venting perforations in the palms, the fingers and the back of the thumbs. The seams are unobtrusive and well-placed not to be uncomfortable when gripping the bars or the lever tops – where poorly positioned seams can cause discomfort on long rides.

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The back of the thumb and forefinger are designed for wiping, with the latter including Mavic’s characteristic yellow flash and logo. The rest of the back of the Mavic Cosmic Pro gloves are made of a lightweight mesh fabric, for plenty of ventilation.

>>> How to keep cool on hot rides

There’s no Velcro cuff to secure the mitts closed, but despite this I found the Mavic Cosmic Pro gloves easy to get on and they stayed in place well too. Getting some mitts off can be a struggle, but Mavic has designed the Cosmic Pros with slightly extended pads on all the fingers except the smallest, which are easy to grip to pull the gloves off again.

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The Cosmic Pro mitts are available in loads of sizes: six in total from XS to XXL and four different colour combinations.

For more details visit the Mavic website.

The Pearl Izumi Pro Aero gloves is the final piece that will complete your Pearl Izumi kit, which features an aero jersey (the Pro LTD Speed jersey) and a bib short (the PRO Leader bib shorts or the Elite Pursuit Ltd bib shorts).

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling clothing (video)

The first characteristic of these gloves that attracts the attention is their weight: just 26 grams. This means that the Pearl Izumi Pro Aero gloves are some of the lightest mitts on the market and on the bike you barely notice that you are wearing them. This creates a very breathable pair of gloves that are comfortable to wear even in high temperatures.

The design is similar to the Pro Ltd Speed jersey, with a black and grey colourscheme and a fabric that is reminiscent of carbon-fibre weave. This understated look might be a positive for some, but I wasn't so much of a fan, and there are no other colours available if you want something a bit livelier.

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling gloves

On the other side, the palm is made from synthetic Clarino leather, which hasn't shown any signs of wear in the time we've been using the Pearl Izumi Pro Aero gloves. However this is not complemented by any serious padding. That might help to reduce the weight of the gloves, but means that there are more comfortable options out there if you're looking for support on long rides.

Finally the price, which at £30 seems a little on the high side for a pair of gloves. It's clear that Pearl Izumi has put a lot of effort into creating its flagship gloves, but the performance out on the road doesn't quite justify the price tag.

For more details visit Madison.

The dhb Aeron gloves are aimed at being your classic go to summer mitts for all day riding. Whilst they won’t win any points from the hip crowd, the plain, understated design and simple colour options will match any kit choices nicely.

The construction dhb Aeron gloves is robust and features a real suede palm that should, in the event of a tarmac interface, protect your hands from unwanted damage. Fortunately, unlike the leather mitts of old, modern treatments mean that even with multiple washes the suede shouldn’t dry out or harden.

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling gloves

dhb's plan is for these gloves to be a perfect choice for long distance sportives and so cushioning is high on the list of properties. The heel pad is made of 4mm thick gel foam whilst the centre of the palm and base of the fingers are protected by a more standard type of foam padding. This creates a very comfortable interface with the handlebars, however even from new the standard foam pads tend to compress quickly and take an age to spring back into shape. Fine if you use thicker bar tape, but it would be nice to see either a thinner gel pad or a better quality of foam padding.

Fit is nice and snug and the deep palm tab means pulling the dhb Aeron gloves on is a doddle. The only issue with fit is around the thumb; there are far too many areas and layers of stitching and on longer rides this became uncomfortable.

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling clothing

Hot weather comfort is good with an all mesh back panel and even the suede finger panels are perforated. The micro fibre sweat wipe is one of the most luxurious I have used and soaks up a lot of sweat. As a bonus when wiping your face the Velcro strap has a soft cover fabric to avoid scratching.

Getting the dhb Aeron gloves off is also fairly straightforward, with a small webbed tab of material between the index and middle finger to grip and thus avoid the inevitable inside out retrieval.

For more details visit Wiggle.

It’s unsurprising, with Endura’s links with the Movistar WorldTour team, that the Endura Hyperon gloves have more than a hint of racer about them.

They incorportate perforated, relatively thin gel pads in the heel and base of thumb plus a thin strip of gel cushioning the base of the fingers. Despite the relative thinness of the padding, the properties of the gel minimises compression and actually does a great job of reducing the transfer of handlebar vibrations. If you have slightly smaller hands, this thinness actually improves comfort as it allows more hand freedom and encourages a more relaxed grip

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling gloves

What the Endura Hyperon gloves lack in out and out cushioning and comfort they make up in control. They feel great as a race mitt or for fast sportive riding with the extensive silicon printing on the palm allowing almost limpet like grip of the bars in all weather conditions. For my hand shape the fit of the Endura Hyperon gloves are easily some of the best I have tried, with minimal palm wrinkling, very comfortable around the thumb without being too loose a fit.

Getting them off was easy with finger pockets on two of the fingers keeping them the right way out even when soaked with sweat. The palm and back of the hand feature mesh areas and thinner materials, along with the strapless cuff, making the Endura Hyperon gloves a good choice for riding in hotter climes.

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling clothing

Though not as soft as some, the sweat wipe is big and worked well with glasses. The lightweight materials do mean you have to be a little bit more careful in use. The elasticated split and hem need a little care when putting them on.

For more details visit the Endura website.

The Specialized Sport gloves might be the entry point for Specialized’s Body Geometry range but packs all the same features of its more expensive brethren.

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling gloves

The Body Geometry design looks to create the most comfortable gloves with, in the case of the Specialized Sport gloves, foam pads are located in specific positions to bridge over the palm in order to alleviate pressure. Particular importance has been put into protecting the Ulnar nerve area (at the heel of the palm) so reducing the chances of numbness and pain in the palm and fingers

The Specialized Sport gloves are one of the lightest pair of glove that you can get at this price point, even though they incorporate a Velcro wrist closure so if every gram counts they should be high on the list. The foam padding feels comfortable to a point but compared to the gel pads featured in the other gloves it suffers from compression over time and with repeated use they have lost a touch of comfort

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling clothing

Fit is very good and the lighter weight construction and mesh back works really well on shorter, faster rides when ride comfort isn’t quite so important. Handlebar feel and grip is adequate but the gloves lack silicon grippers on the palm.

The Specialized Sport gloves features pull tabs on the middle fingers for easy removal. The sweat wipe run the entire length of the index finger and is very welcoming in hot weather.

For more details visit the Specialized website.

Etxeondo is based in the hills of Spain’s Basque Country, so cold climbs and descents are a staple of its winter riding, with the Etxeondo Esku gloves being designed for riding in cold, dry conditions. They’re made from windstopper fabric front and back and I found that they kept my hands comfortably warm when out this winter, without adding a lot of bulk or inhibiting grip or bar feel.

Watch our buyer's guide to winter clothing

>>> Buyer's guide to summer cycling gloves

The logo-infested palm pattern affords plenty of grip even in the wet, although since the Etxeondo Esku gloves are not waterproof, they wet out and your hands will get damp if it rains. The logos continues onto the thumb and first two fingers to help with shifting and braking too. But they’re not padded, so there’s no protection from road vibrations or jolts, which you might find gets a bit uncomfortable on longer excursions.

>>> The best winter cycling gloves

They come quite high over the wrist, so that with most jackets there’s plenty of overlap and no cold spots here either. There’s no adjustment to the cuff though, with just the stretch in the fabric to ensure a good fit, although I did not find this a problem.

The Etxeondo branding on the back of the gloves is reflective, but otherwise there are no additional safety features.

For a pair of gloves that are designed to protect your hands from the worst weather, the Rapha Deep Winter Gloves are light, not overly bulky and look high quality.

In line with Rapha’s long held reputation for cycling apparel with a more refined appearance (see  Rapha’s new affordable Core range) the gloves come with leather palms and finger tips.

>>> The best winter cycling gloves (video)

Aside from adding to the aesthetics, the leather sections provided good grip and made operating a cycling computer on the move pretty straight forward.

The cuffs are a good length, ensuring no gaps between your jacket and the gloves, and they fasten securely thanks to the velcro strap.

The outer shell does a really good job of keeping out the wind and the water repellent treatment applied to the gloves means your hands stay dry in all but the heaviest downpours - I put this to test at the Tortour Cyclocross race.

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The decals are reflective for enhanced visibility and there are wipes on the top of the thumbs for when your glasses, or your face, need a clean.

>>> How to dress for winter racing

Often deep winter gloves fall down when you try to take your hands out and then decide to put the gloves back on – the inner material gets pulled out and it can be a real hassle.

This happened very minimally with the Rapha Deep Winter gloves and was far better than many other gloves that are designed for the coldest days.

>>> Sealskinz Thermal Performance Gloves review

Rapha says the Deep Winter Gloves are designed to be worn with Merino Liners (which retail at £40) and overmitts as required. Therefore, on extremely cold days your total hand coverage could cost towards £150.

For more information go to Rapha.

When the weather is at its worst you want a good quality pair of winter gloves. There’s a lot to like about the Nemos- for the price they are hard to fault.

>>> How to dress for winter racing

The neoprene FS260- Pro gloves keep your hands warm when the temperature drops and the snug fit – the gloves are available in various sizes- means that at a push you can wear them beneath a larger pair of gloves in the most extreme weather.

Is this the world's hardest bike race?

The gloves do a good job of repelling the rain although in the heaviest downpours some water gets through - but this is where the neoprene gloves act like a wetsuit, the gloves keep your hands warmer than most when they get wet.

>>> The best winter cycling gloves (video)

Often gloves that keep your fingers warm are let down by a lack of flexibility. Not so with the Nemos. The neoprene gloves are flexible, stretchy and supple without being too tight. The silicone print across the palm and fingers help with gripping the bars, for operating a cycling computer and removing supplies from your pockets.

The cuff comes up well over the wrist and there is no slippage. On the upper the Endura logo is reflective for enhanced visibility.

The only criticisms of the Endura FS260-Pro Nemo gloves, and in fairness it is to be expected from gloves that are 90% neoprene, are that on long rides due to limited breathability your fingers will look like you’ve been in a bath too long and some may prefer padding on the palms.

For more information go to Endura.

The Sportful Fiandre gloves are designed to be the ultimate pair of winter cycling gloves, offering windproof protection, insulation, and “total waterproofness”, and with their 70 quid pricetag, you’d expect them to deliver on all of these.

>>> Buyer's guide to winter cycling gloves (video)

The good news is that the Sportful Fiandre gloves are a great choice for cold, dry weather. The outer layer is completely windproof, while the layer on insulation and the fleece-lined inner does a great job of trapping warmth within the gloves, so I never suffered from cold hands in these gloves.

The Sportful Fiandre gloves also do a good job with some of the smaller details that can really help to keep your hands warm. Most notably the neoprene cuff, which sits tight snug around your wrist even before you secure the Velcro strap, meaning it’s easy to pull the sleeve of a winter jacket over the top to keep the cold out.

>>> Buyer's guide to the best winter cycling clothing (video)

However, what was disappointing is that the Sportful Fiandre gloves fall well short of expectations when it comes to keeping your hands dry. They’re fine if you’re only out for a short ride or if it’s little more than spitting, but in heavier rain it can be overwhelmed.

Watch: Buyer's guide to winter cycling gloves

The only one saving grace in this area is that although your hands won’t be dry, they will at least be warm, and I never had all that insulation fail me even on long weekend rides in more than inclement weather.

>>> 10 worst winter kit mistakes and how to avoid them

Durability is much better, as is comfort. The area between the thumb and the forefinger has been reinforced, and hasn’t begun to show any sign of wear even with consistent use through the whole of this winter. The fit is also good, while the slender layer of padding on the palms helps with all-day comfort.

The final point that can’t be ignored is the price. At £70 the Sportful Fiandre gloves are some of the most expensive on the market. If you’re looking for a very warm glove, then this price might be justified, but if it’s dry hands you’re after then look elsewhere.

For more details visit the Sportful website.

The Castelli Illumina gloves are made from Castelli's Stratos Light upper fabric, with these women’s specific middle-weight gloves covering a temperature range of between 12-18 degrees. A rather wet and windy late autumn means I can vouch for their wind and water resistant properties, and thanks to their breathability – they have still been by go-to pair of gloves on the on the rare dry days we’ve had up to now.

>>> Buyer's guide to winter cycling gloves (video)

Any chilly jacket-to-glove gaps are prevented thanks to longer than average 5cm wrists and reinforcing between the thumb and forefinger web should make these pretty durable, and doesn’t interfere with the sensibly sized nose wipe, a must have feature for cold weather riding.

Watch: Buyer's guide to winter cycling gloves

Being female-specific, the sizing of the Castelli Illumina gloves has been scaled down for smaller hands – but I found myself in between sizes, settling on a medium, as it offered the best fit lengthwise for my fingers.

>>> Buyer's guide to women's bib shorts

The Castelli Illumina glove’s minimalist construction allows for great radial grip and still manages to squeeze in a decent palm pad and reflective detailing, making these ideal for night rides. I normally suffer really badly with numb hands, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that despite the marketing and low profile padding - I found them actually kept my hands warm down to about eight degrees, with a wind and rain chill making it feel much colder. The price tag does make these a considered purchase, but are ideal for autumn early/late winter and spring.