Northwave Arctic Evo gloves

Northwave's Arctic Evo winter gloves do a great job of blocking the wind and rain to keep your hands really warm in the coldest weather.

The Arctics are multi-layered with a soft, fleecy lining offering loads of warmth. Around the outside of that there's a polyurethane membrane that provides the waterproofing. Then the bulk of the insulation comes courtesy of 100g Thinsulate over the back section and the cuff while the outer is a hard-wearing synthetic fabric.

These are immediately warm and comfortable. I've worn them in temperatures down to about 3°C and my hands have felt fine. Most people will be fine in temperatures a bit colder than this. Plus, the seams are on the outside of the liner rather than pressed up against your fingers so there's no irritation there.

The lowers are synthetic leather with silicon printing on both the palms and the fingers that gives you a decent amount of grip. My hands certainly didn't slip on wet bar tape or levers. There's no Thinsulate underneath the palms but that area is less exposed so you don't miss it. You don't get a wipe on the back of the thumb either, so you'll have to use your sleeve for a change.

The section between the thumb and forefinger is reinforced with the same synthetic leather fabric so there's no danger of wearing through there, and a small amount of reflective print on the back of the fingers helps you get seen at night.

I've done some soaking rides in these and they've kept the water out well. The fleece liner extends a little further up your wrist than the outer so you need to keep that covered up by your jacket sleeves in wet weather or it will soak up the rain and transport it inwards... but that's common sense. Water can eventually work its way in but only very slowly. I didn't notice any dampness inside until over an hour of wet weather riding.

The other thing to bear in mind is that sweat from your hands can eventually make the inners damp on long rides, even if it's not raining. I've never found a pair of gloves where this doesn't happen sooner or later – although it's dependent on the temperature and how hard you're riding, of course. Again, this didn't happen on hour-long rides, but when I was out on a big weekend jaunts things could get a bit moist in there after a couple of hours or so.

My only real criticism is that when the liners do get a bit sweaty and you then have to take the gloves off to fix a puncture, buy a Snickers or whatever, it's difficult to get them back on. It's not impossible, but it's hard work. Again, that's common to many gloves of this kind.

Verdict

Warm, well-made, weatherproof gloves for winter rides