Review: Review: Giro 100 Proof Winter Glove
Review: Giro 100 Proof Winter Glove
Winter riding is a very specific and peculiar beast, gone is the elegance and beauty of summer riding with glistening skin and minimal layers and we welcome the utility clothing, technical items that may get worn on only a dozen rides per year, but without them we would get precisely zero/zip/zilch/no/nul/nada joy from riding!
Gloves are one of the primary pieces of kit for cycling, and they come into a new realm during winter months, doubling up as shock absorbers but more importantly life savers – why life savers I hear you ask? Have you ever tried to ride with no feeling left in your fingers, bashing at levers with your palms and scooping the brakes with your wrists? Its bloody ugly, fairly terrifying and ultimately no fun whatsoever!
Winter gloves bring a new pleasure to the season, and armed with a good pair fresh impetus and motivation returns to riding.
Sadly winter gloves are expensive and don’t offer the like or return option that would be super handy (no pun intended!) so we try and skimp a little, read some reviews and throw a lucky dart to get the right ones.
Well the Giro 100Proof gloves are pretty close to being ‘that’ glove!
They are warm, complete with inner liner they are comfortable way below -10, windproof and water proof – just about everything you would need in a glove. The have a nod to high vis on the tops, but lets be honest here, thats not the bit that got your attention….
They are split into 3 section, thumb and then a pair of fingers in the next 2, lobster craw stylee – presumably to keep the extra warmth working with the fingers together.
Does it work? In 1 syllable, yes. It’s a sensible design that provides that extra oomph for heat, and as Tesco said Every little helps ( or did Asda say it?- who knows? who cares!)
The downside is that the fingers being this way do certainly restrict your hand movement, so if you are used to holding the hoods or drops in a certain way you may find it means moving your grip a little – no big deal for the extra warmth provided!
A little trickier is that with the extra thickness of liner and shell comes a huge loss of dexterity, braking is fine and I suffered no problems there, but shifting into a smaller sprocket can be a pain the butt! On a Campag thumb shifter I foresee no issues but on my Shimano setup I had to physically watch the gloves moving the levers to ensure I only hit the right level
With practise, and some effort, things become easier, but don’t expect to master it on the first ride – and it will be frustrating! I found myself changing between big ring and inner ring when needed rather than fiddle at the back, not ideal but it did the job as I persevered with my right hand. Figure about 50km to get the hang of it.
Cost of the gloves is around £60, but I am sure that shopping around will find it a little cheaper.
At £60 it’s a big hit, but one that is worth it – it will take a little mastery but the warmth will ensure you go out when others are watching Celebrity Big-Brother!