SEALSKINZ Waterproof All Weather Cycle Glove

Product Information

When I took these out to test, I initially thought I'd run them on low for as long as they'd last. The first ride, that's what I did. The battery held out for the promised five hours but the heat was so low it was pretty much imperceptible compared to the warmth of the glove. For how unique the experience is though, it mostly disappears. The app is set and forget and everything just works seamlessly to add heat all the way to the end of the fingers. It would be great to have the same tech in a less bulky glove but if you need help to stay warm these are the best heated gloves I've tried. The only thing you need to be careful of is keeping them clean as you can’t toss them in the washer. Inside the Velocio Alpha gloves you will find Polartec Alpha. Basically this is the newest wonder material. It's incredibly warm for the weight and it breathes better than any other modern synthetic insulation. Velocio wraps a stylish outer with plenty of colours available around Polartec Alpha and makes a glove that covers a huge range of temperatures while keeping the bulk low. Despite those disadvantages, the Sportful Lobster glove is still the best option for riding in cold rain. The Sportful gloves are a Lobster design so they pair your first two fingers together and your last two fingers together. That adds warmth and the outside is, unlike the Assos option, a hard wearing material that will stand up to making your way through brush on a gravel bike. You can put these over any gloves you want but they don’t fit as tight as the Assos and you’ll inherently lose some dexterity. A pair of neoprene gloves as a liner is still an excellent choice in cold rain but if you are looking for warmth instead of dexterity, these are your choice.

At the wrist is a hook and loop closure to keep the wind out. It does a great job but it’s so good that it ends up being the only mis-step in the design and will sometimes require using your teeth to get it open. Flip the gloves to the palm side and you'll find a luxurious expanse of goat skin leather. The feel of this is seriously impressive and it curves up from the palm so that the polyester membrane is only the top surface. At the base of each finger, and the base of the palm, there are a series of seven pads designed to relieve pressure.The first thing I tend to tell people about finding the right winter cycling gloves is to go warmer than you think you need. If you are someone who tends to run warm and constantly has warm hands, you probably know this and you can choose appropriately. For everyone else, go warmer. Your hands sit without moving much for long periods of time and at least for me, when it's cold my hands are cold. I don't think I've ever been on a long cold ride and felt like my hands were too warm. One of the most popular fabrics for this is Gore's Windstopper fabric, or Infinium as it's also known as. It's used in lots of the best winter cycling gloves across many brands aside from Gore itself. There are other options made by different manufactures too that can work just as well. In milder weather it's not actually necessary to have completely waterproof gloves. Your skin is waterproof after all, so as long as you have gloves that keep your hands warm, they don't necessarily need to keep you dry. Options such as a wet weather neoprene glove can work well in cool not cold conditions. They're often basic in style, with no padding or additional features, such as cuff adjustment. Finance is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. Performance Cycling Limited FRN: 720557 trading as Tredz are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a credit broker not a lender – credit is subject to status and affordability and is provided by Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC. Terms & Conditions Apply. The technology at work here is well disguised. This is a simple looking glove that will be appreciated by any minimalist. However the three-layered fabric, which almost has the look and feel of a knit glove, blends an durable outer with a waterproof membrane and a hypoallergenic lining. And it works very well indeed.

When you pull the Sealskinz gloves on without the battery you can tell right away that these are its warmest five-finger option. The interior is soft and fleecy and the goatskin really does stand out. As I continued to look for an elegant solution to keeping your hands warm in cold rain, new products came to market. Both Sportful and Assos have waterproof shell gloves and they've changed the game a bit. Unfortunately neither solution is actually waterproof but they have a couple of advantages that make it all work anyway. Neoprene gloves work by holding water close to your skin and allowing it to work as insulation. The problem is that they don't work when the outside air is near freezing. The outside air overcomes your body's ability to warm the water and you have both wet and cold hands. You have to keep the outside air away from the neoprene and if you put them inside of a shell glove it solves everything. The shell will leak but the water that comes through will become a part of your insulation. You can remain warm and comfortable for hours with a pair of neoprene gloves inside a shell. What are the warmest winter cycling gloves? We couldn't help but highly rate these brilliant winter cycling gloves from Endura. They aren't quite as finessed as the higher end brands, but with both impressive wind and water proof characteristics, they could easily fit in to both categories.However when the temperature drops further still, and the rain (and even snow) begins to fall, then you're going to want some more serious winter cycling gloves with an outer layer that will keep the precipitation at bay. Riding on wet or even icy roads can be treacherous, so being completely in control of your bike is more essential than ever. Even holding on to the handlebars in the wet can be difficult, particularly if you're using smooth bar tape. Read our full Specialized Prime Series Thermal Gloves full review here HOW TO CHOOSE Does owning a pair of winter cycling gloves make a difference?

You will want to mostly save these for drier days though. Pearl Izumi uses a technology called PI dry to apply DWR at the fibre level. It won't ever wash off but it's still a durable water repellent and that only goes so far. After enough time these will soak through and it becomes hard to get your hands out when they are wet. Neoprene gloves seem like the perfect solution to riding in the rain. In reality, that is true but only when the rain is reasonably warm. As long as the air isn't too cold your hands will get wet then warm the water in the neoprene and you'll be toasty warm. If that's your riding environment then neoprene gloves are a great option and there are a ton to choose from. Like any windproof outer layer, a waterproof layer on the best winter cycling gloves should be impermeable to the outside elements to keep your hands dry, but should also be breathable to prevent your hands overheating, particularly over the course of long rides.I didn't phrase the question asking "do you need more than one pair of gloves for winter riding?" That's because you absolutely do, the question is only how many do you need? You could think about it from the point of view of changing conditions. The longer you ride in the winter the more gloves you are going to add to your collection. Throughout the winter the temperature changes a lot and there are gloves available for very small differences. From this point of view, most people will want something from the early season section plus something from the all-around section. Rain and deep winter gloves are more specialised, so you’ll have to decide if you are willing to ride in that kind of weather. Sealskinz ‘Fusion Control’ refers to its triple layer construction: a merino wool inner lining, a hydrophilic waterproof membrane, and a soft-shell outer layer made from durable goatskin. The intention is to provide a close-fitting, breathable, waterproof glove that allows for flexible movement of the fingers. Are Sealskins gloves any good? There's another thing to consider about these gloves though. If you ride where it rains and it's near freezing, like it is most of the winter in the US Pacific Northwest, then the Castelli Diluvio gloves are the other half of your winter riding system. Pair these with one of the shell options here and you can happily ride all day in heavy rain and temperatures just above freezing. With the shell protecting these from the wind and cold air, your body can heat up the water exactly the way neoprene gloves work in warmer weather. You'll be wet but warm and you won't need to change gloves every few hours. It's a serious game changing option.

Pearl Izumi calls the Summit WxB glove a mountain bike glove. Don't worry, they work great on a road bike. Many of the best unpadded long finger gloves carry the mountain bike tag and this is yet another one. In the mountain bike world they are often summer specific but the Summit WxB is a bit more robust than that.It's easy to find replacement batteries or a charger since they aren't unique to these gloves (Image credit: Josh Ross) Verdict A nose wipe is an absorbent patch, usually located on the thumb with which to wipe a running nose. Most of the best winter gloves for cycling will have one. However they aren't all created equal. If you suffer from a runny nose when cycling in cold weather it's worth looking for a glove with a generously sized wipe. It's also vital that it's made using a soft material, such as a fleece-like material that feels pleasant against the skin. This area is also useful for wiping rain and road grime off your cycling glasses. 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. The answer depends on the timeframe we are talking about. A good pair of gloves with a waterproof membrane, or even a DWR coating, will keep your hands dry for a while. Ride long enough though and they all saturate. The only option that is actually waterproof is a shell. Sportful makes a shell I included here but there are some others out there. They are truly waterproof but they also require another glove for warmth and that second glove will eventually get wet also. When you leave the house on a bitterly cold day, you might make it through a ride with only a single pair of gloves. If you leave the house and it's raining you will need a change of gloves if you ride longer than about three hours. How many winter gloves do you need?