Winter gloves

With technical designs maximising warmth, breathability and dexterity, the choice is now greater than ever

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It only takes one ride in cold temperatures to realise just how important a good pair of winter gloves is. After all, numb fingers don’t just spoil the enjoyment of a ride on a clear, crisp morning, they also impact your ability to brake, change gear effectively and even steer.

However, while winter gloves must guard against bone-jarring cold, this shouldn’t come at the expense of dexterity or ‘feel’, otherwise you’ll find yourself in the same boat, albeit with significantly warmer digits. In essence, the best winter gloves should balance these elements without compromise, allowing for control while also delivering warmth.

“They must keep out bone-jarring cold, but not at the expense of feel”

Of course, UK winter conditions these days can be a real mixed bag. The result is a tendency for modern winter cycling gloves to focus on one element above others, hence the proliferation of gloves positioning themselves as ‘deep winter’, ‘waterproof’ or ‘windproof’. To achieve this, technical fabrics are now the norm.

All of this probably suggests that you need to invest in more than one pair of winter gloves, in the same way that it’s prudent to switch between a race cape and an insulated softshell jacket depending on the forecast. That said, there’s still room for a solid all-rounder; with several of these ‘specialist’ gloves performing well across a range of temperatures and conditions.

For this group test, we’ve selected six pairs of dedicated winter gloves that are designed to fend off the worst of the elements, examining their merits across performance and value for money.