Campagnolo Challenge Glove

Campagnolo's Challenge Gloves are toasty down to about zero degrees, are windproof and water resistant, but they're not 100 per cent waterproof.

These gloves have separate inner and outer layers (effectively one glove inside another) made from a stretchy fabric with insulation properties called Thermo Textran, which is used on many other Campagnolo winter garments. There's also a waterproof membrane. Despite the double (or triple) layers, these aren't bulky and don't restrict hand movement. The fingers are cut so they curve inwards slightly, in the shape your hands would grip the bars, which adds to the flexible feel.

I've worn these gloves on some cold and windy days over the past few months (including this chilly April), with the temperature down to just above freezing, and they've kept my hands nice and warm. The fabric seems breathable as my hands didn't get sweaty.

The gloves were also absolutely fine for keeping my hands dry for several hours in drizzle and mild rain. But in a major downpour they started to leak, and my hands got wet. A second test in the road.cc shower cubical confirmed that they are not 100% waterproof in severe conditions. To be fair, they're not sold as waterproof gloves. Their description on the Campagnolo Sportswear website says the membrane is waterproof, not the glove itself.

So as long as you know what you're getting, these are totally fine for cold or damp days, and even in steady rain, but they won't stand up in a storm. This is not necessarily a disadvantage: if they were more waterproof, they'd probably be more sweaty.

Hand comfort is taken care of by gel pads at the base of the fingers and along the edge of the palm for buffering against the handlebars, and on top of these are some layers of silicon for grip. There's no pad or silicon in the area where the thumb meets the palm though, and that's the place you need it most, whatever bar position you use - tops, drops or hoods.

The cuffs have Velcro tabs to keep things snug around the wrist. Other features include a slim line of reflective piping on the back of the glove, and alongside it is a larger strip of rather plasticky looking material running from the cuff to the tip of the fourth finger - it looks like ti might be there for a purpose but it turns out the purpose is purely decorative. There's also a big Campagnolo logo on the back of each glove.

Size-wise, this test pair was a large, and fitted well around my fingers and palm, but I found the cuff a bit short compared to other gloves. If you're thinking of buying a pair of these Campag gloves (yes, for me it's always been Campag, never 'Campy') then it might be worth going up a size, to make sure you don't get a chill-gap between glove and jersey.

We tested the blue, red and black variety, but they are also available in yellow, white and black or red, white and black. There's also a plain black, and a white version.

The official retail price for is a penny under £60, which is steep - you can get gloves with similar performance for half this price - but it's par for the course with a premium brand like Campagnolo. They can be found at 35 quid or less on some major on-line stores which makes them much more affordable.

Verdict

Winter gloves from the iconic Italian brand - windproof and water-resistant, but not 100% waterproof. And not cheap either.