I never thought I would be one of those people who can never seem to keep warm. My body’s heating system is the equivalent of trying to heat a room by putting a block of ice in there. I don’t know if you’ve tried doing that but trust me it doesn’t work.
At the height of my loosing battle against the cold was my gloves. The fingerless gloves were certainly not going to cut it and my normal gloves whilst warm didn’t have enough grip for cycling.
For the past couple of weeks I’ve been trying out the DeFeet Dura glove. They have received positive reviews on Wiggle and are at a pretty good price point so I wanted to check them out.
When they arrived I went out on my first date with them. I took them to Hampstead Health Park for some cycling. Please don’t assume this is what I do on all my dates. Just because I run a cycling blog a lot of people assume stuff like this!
Anyway, back to my on a date analogy. The first part of the route to Hampstead Heath park is a steep climb. Here they kept my hands warm but not sweaty. So far so good. However, as the tough cycling ended and it was more of a casual cycle through the park my fingers started to feel slightly cold. At the time it was 4C degrees (40F).
What I did notice about the DeFeet Dura gloves is how comfortable they felt. At the end of the cycle I didn’t want to take them off. The medium size fitted really comfortably on my what I guess are average hands. (Seen as no one has ever said to me “wow, you have giant hands” I’m safely assuming they are pretty average)
The DeFeet Dura gloves also have really good grip. Never at any point did I feel like my hands were going to slip off. At the same time they offered good control of the bike and I could feel what I was doing. I do however prefer to buy slightly padded gloves to absorb some of the shock of all the road bumps. After a couple of longer cycles (3-4 hours) my wrists were feeling a bit strained.
At the moment if it is particularly cold I use the DeFeet gloves as an under layer and place my fingerless gloves on top. This seems to keep my hands at the perfect temperature. One really important point to mention is that not at any point have my hands felt sweaty due to the gloves.
Review summary
The DeFeet Dura glove is by far the most comfortable pair of gloves I have ever worn. Combine this with the excellent grip and the good temperature they keep my hands at most the time then you have a really good pair of gloves. At around £13.99 RRP (Wiggle ~£12.50) I think that is excellent value.
On the downside as the temperature drops below 4-5C degrees you will need an extra layer on top of them. Though hopefully we won’t be seeing any more weather like that for a while.
The DeFeet come in black, red, white and blue.
Click here to check them out on Wiggle Online Bike Shop
I got the Pearl Izumi Women’s Softshell Winter Cycling Gloves. Though it’s fit for women’s smaller hands I’m sure there’s the male equivalent of this glove.
They are really good when the temperature is low and also when it’s raining…totally waterproof. But when it drops below 0 degrees I’ve had to add glove liners.
Haven’t had sweaty hands in them yet…but then again, I don’t tend to go for greatly long rides…I only have time for my commute to and from work at the moment. 🙁
Pros: Warm, good grip, good fit, seem to be breathable, have soft material on thumb and back of hand (useful for wiping rain away from glasses if you wear them), velcro closure at wrist to adjust size, grip plastic material on palms, thumbs and first two fingers…oh I forgot…also waterproof…also fleece lining on the inside of glove.
Cons: Expensive(ish), a bit on the bulky side, velcro on strap gets caught on fabric of glove causing wear and tear, had to return them once as some of the grip material came off (manufacturing fault?).
Sorry for the long reply…just thought I’d share what has kept my poor chill blained hands warm over the winter months. 🙂
Angi not at all! It’s really awesome you took the time to review it for people I’m sure someone will find the information really useful. I need people like you here to counter balance my sometimes more male orientated reviews! (When it comes to clothing I’m a little stuck!)
I dont really get the whole glove issue. I find I get enough control with mittens. You thumbs are free, your fingers are still completely able to touch what they need to touch, all the while staying warm and toasty. But then again, I don’t ride with a touch screen in front of me…
Hehehe the iPhone is great if you have no idea where you are going! Not everyone is fussed about buying bike gloves and neither should they be. If what you are using now is fine then that’s great.
Thanks for the review, got some and they are great, similar to the old thermal factory gloves I used to have but a bit thicker, but thin and well-fitted enough to still be able to handle keys to unlock bike whilst wearing them.
No problem Paul. Glad you liked, they are really comfortable aren’t they! I contacted the company about the review and they have sent me some of their socks to try out (won’t be quite as an exciting topic!) but I’ll let everyone know how I get on with them and if they are worth the money
Where did you get the holder for your iphone?
Hey Jon! Checkout my review:
https://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/cycling-accessories/bicio-goride-iphone-bike-mount-review/
Hi there, just wandered by. I have a Body Glove site. Truly more information than you can imagine on the web. Wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but cool site. Have a nice day.
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service? Appreciate it!
Nice share, thanks a lot for the valuable information, keep up the good work.
Just bought a pair of Defeets myself and I agree they are perfect! No sweat and very grippy/ comfortable for the commute. You are right they are not much good below 4c. Makes me feel a bit more comfortable if I fall off and stick my hand out!
Thanks for your review of the DeFeet Duragloves. It sounds like your experiences are much in line with my own, expect I ride in warmer conditions than you, so I find I use my Duragloves as my dry weather middle of winter glove.
I have been really impressed with them and glad that I came across them last year.
Are you still using yours? Any durability issues to watch out for?
Hi Andy,
If you were talking to me – yes they are still good – I’ve worn them everyday for slightly over a month now. All the sticky things on the inside are still on so we will see.
Thanks for your review. It sounds great.
The gloves looks warm, but there is a concern that is it waterproof? Or can it be used in small rain weather?