GripGrab Neoprene Gloves review

Do you ride whatever the weather? For wet, chilly conditions these neoprene gloves from Grip Grab do a great job of keeping your hands warm.

Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Grip Grab Neoprene gloves do a good job of keeping your hands warm on cold wet days and are very comfortable to wear, but the poor breathability limits their use in milder conditions.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Comfortable fit

  • +

    Keep hands warm when wet

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Can feel heavy when full of water

  • -

    Not breathable

  • -

    No snot patch

  • -

    Price

We recently produced a guide on cycling in the rain, with the correct gloves being one of the essential pieces of kit outlined. Neoprene gloves are designed specifically for very wet conditions. For those unfamiliar with this concept, it is the same material as a wet suit. Neoprene traps acts to retain body heat, providing a layer of insulation to keep you warm.

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The padding certainly adds comfort, whilst the textured finish on the palm increases grip in the wet.

Comfort is hugely important for a pair of gloves and we can report that the Grip Grabs fit nicely and are comfortable over long rides. Padding on the palm adds comfort on poor road surfaces whilst a textured finish adds grip when your bars get wet and slippery. Internally they feel very smooth, with no annoying seams rubbing against your skin.

One of the downsides of neoprene is that it isn't very breathable, meaning things can get rather sticky on milder days, or when the temperature increases mid ride, consequently we found that the gloves were too warm to wear comfortable when the mercury rose above 10 ºC.

When the heavens opened the gloves became saturated with water pretty quickly, but they did a good job of retaining heat and keeping our hands warm. The added weight from the water was noticeable, but this is a general problem with neoprene gloves and not just these particular ones.  Once they have been saturated with water, drying can take a while, with the makers suggesting you dry the outside then turn them inside out to dry the inside. This might not be logistically possible if you need to wear them two days in a row.

In wintery dry conditions the gloves start to feel a little cold around freezing point. Considering this, you may wish to wear a heavier duty glove on the coldest winter days. They also don't feature a snot patch, which has become a welcome addition to cycling specific gloves, and is invaluable when your nose starts to run on a cold ride.

With a RRP of £39.99 these gloves are not cheap, especially when their limited versatility is considered.

For more information head over to Grip Grab.

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Oliver Bridgewood - no, Doctor Oliver Bridgewood - is a PhD Chemist who discovered a love of cycling. He enjoys racing time trials, hill climbs, road races and criteriums. During his time at Cycling Weekly, he worked predominantly within the tech team, also utilising his science background to produce insightful fitness articles, before moving to an entirely video-focused role heading up the Cycling Weekly YouTube channel, where his feature-length documentary 'Project 49' was his crowning glory.