SealSkinz Ventilated Cycle Gloves

When you hear 'SealSkinz' you normally think 'waterproof' but not here; their Ventilated Cycle Gloves are a gap filler for those times when it's a touch too chilly for mitts but you don't want to be sweating away inside your winter ones.

The materials are all pretty standard: no platypus or yak leather here. Simply Lycra for the back, synthetic leather for the palm and towelling for wiping your nose/forehead. The Lycra provides a good snug fit, moving with your fingers and hand as you change positions. The Ventilated moniker comes from the triangular section of mesh between knuckles and wrist. It does provide a small amount of breathability but the Lycra material is so thin overheating isn't an issue anyway.

The palm is thin making the gloves very light, while comfort is taken care of by three large padded areas that work well to spread the load. Even riding stiff bars with no tape on sees very little road buzz getting through and thanks to the padding below the ulnar nerve, no pins and needles either. There is a reinforced section on the thumb where you're likely to see wear from riding on the hoods or wrapping your thumb around flat bars which is a clever touch.

A Velcro tab at the wrist is long enough around that you shouldn't find it coming undone, and riding and adjusting the fit on the fly is easy.

Temperature-wise, my fingers were happy from around five degrees up to say 14, making the SealSkinz ideal for early morning or late evening rides in the spring or autumn. Once things have warmed up you can easily stow them in a jersey pocket without even knowing they are there.

Black is the only option but they do come in a range of sizes from S to XXL with a fitting guide on their website.

The palm has bunched a bit between the padding the more they have been used but this hasn't affected comfort, it just looks a bit tatty. Other than that though, everything is wearing well; no loose threads on the stitching.

I have eight pairs of gloves to suit year round riding conditions and these SealSkinz have slotted in quite nicely filling the gap for single digit temperature rides.

Verdict

An ideal glove for when it's slightly too chilly to get your fingers out.