Chiba Drystar Plus Waterproof Gloves

The Chiba Dry Star Plus Gloves are waterproof (and therefore also windproof) and breathable thanks to the use of all sorts of clever materials.

Those materials are combined into a glove that fits and works well. You get biogel padding sparingly applied on the palm. Sparingly is good by the way – there's enough of it to do the job, but not so much so the glove gets bulky.

There's silicone grip on the insides of the fingers as well as on the outside tips of the main four. Those fingers are pre-curved, again reducing the feel of bulk in use. On the thumbs, there is a generous amount of terry fabric, all ready for you wipe your snot on. Neoprene is used on the cuff to keep the wrists nice and cosy. Chiba have also applied an extra layer of insulation to the top of the gloves to help keep your hands warm. There's a puller tab on the inside of the wrist to help get the gloves on.

Having used a fair few so-called waterproof garments, I've learned to expect waterproofness for a while. Gloves, socks, even jackets all become saturated, water starts leaching in and you get dampness. And so it is with these too. An hour's ride in persistent rain will see your hands starting to get damp. As you keep riding, that damp turns to wet and inevitably warm hands turn cold.

This is all very personal of course, depending on how well your hands cope with cold, and down to the circumstances, like temperature and wind-chill. The only way I've found to keep my hands warm really wet, really cold, long rides is to take multiple pairs of gloves.

That doesn't make these gloves bad, though. They cost a significant amount less than comparable waterproof winter gloves from other brands and they perform as well, if not slightly better.

When the temperature starts going down to low single digits, a bit of compromise on fit is unavoidable. Do you go for more bulk, and leave more room for warm air to get trapped, but compromise on feel through the gloves? Or do you go for a less bulky, slightly tighter fit which is slightly less warm, but works much better for braking and changing gear?

For me, it depends how cold it is. The closer to zero, the more willing I am to give up on feel, because I know I can't keep my hands warm in tighter fitting gloves. At least, not the ones I've tried. Depending on wind-chill, from a few degrees above zero I'll go for tighter, better feel, but slightly less warmth. These Chibas have that tighter fit, with excellent grip and lever feel, and for me that means they're good to a few degrees above zero.

I tested a medium, which is the same size I'd go for in Endura, Sealskinz, Gore and Pearl Izumi. Out of all of these, these fit me the best, though obviously this is highly personal and you'll need to try before you buy. Or at least make sure you can send back if they don't fit.

Verdict

Great affordable, waterproof (for a while) and windproof winter gloves