Endura Deluge gloves

Lots of cycling equipment claims to be waterproof; these gloves actually are. You can dip your hands in a bucket of water with these on and nothing gets through the membrane. We know because we tried it – as well as riding in them plenty too, obviously. The bucket of water thing might not be particularly useful in normal cycling life but the ability to keep your hands dry whatever the circumstances certainly is.

The Deluge is fairly lightweight (128g) and low bulk so you retain a good feel for your handlebars and levers – you don’t feel one step removed from the action like you can in some big, thick gloves. There’s still a decent amount of insulation though, the soft, fleecy lining is warm and comfortable and, being waterproof, it’s inevitably windproof too.

High neoprene cuffs stops chilly air getting in at the wrists while Velcro adjuster allow you to make doubly sure there are no draughts. The downside is that we found the Velcro hooks would catch threads on other sections of the gloves if we weren’t careful when we took them off – and, to be honest, carelessness is our default setting. You might be more vigilant. Some people obviously feel the cold more than others – we certainly do and we’d be wearing these in typical autumn and early winter temperatures rather than in the bitterest weather.

The stretchy Cordura/Supplex outers mean you get a good, close fit without any tightness, while gel padding over the heel of the hand and the areas around the base of the fingers and thumb fends off any numbness. There’s reinforcement in that space between the thumb and forefinger (Endura call it the ‘thumb crotch’ – we don’t think there’s any need for that kind of language) and a large terry wipe panel comes in handy when your nose starts to stream in the cold. A silicone palm print stops your hands slipping on wet grips – it works really well – and reflective knuckle panels and logos show up well in headlights at night.

Overall, these are well-designed all-weather gloves – despite our issue with the Velcro wrist adjuster. They’re going to get a serious amount of use for all kinds of autumn/winter riding.

Verdict

Waterproof, stretchy and well-padded gloves for autumn and milder winter days