The Ardennes Winter Glove from Galibier arrived a little too late for a proper winter test. Setting aside periods of extreme temperatures, when I could be found plugging away on a turbo trainer, I have worn these gloves as much as I can.

The gloves get off to a good start. Unlike many winter gloves, they are not bulky, and you can actually feel the handlebars. Not only does this help you hang on securely, but your forearms don’t fatigue as quickly.

Promoted as windproof, thermal, and warm, I was interested to see whether they would perform as well as I hoped.

Early impressions

The glove looked well made and was certainly comfortable to wear. I liked the neoprene cuff with the slightly extended tab for pulling it on. This really is my preferred style, I dislike velcro closures intensely as they inevitably fail and rub you raw.

The silicone detailing on the palm looks robust enough and certainly helps in the grip department. No complaints there but note, I have yet to use them in filthy and muddy conditions.

The website spiel promises “excellent ‘feel’ for the bars and handling” and I think I must agree. I certainly have no complaints in this department.

As usual with Galibier kit, the quality is right up there with the best.

The perfect winter glove?

Not quite.

In 3 and 4 degrees my fingers got cold. The rest of my hands were fine but there was no escaping the fact that my digits were suffering after a few hours on the forest trails. Effective range could probably be extended a few degrees by a pair of silk glove liners. This is no big deal as they can be picked up for slightly over a fiver online.

Once the temperature rose to about 6 degrees they were absolutely spot on.

In an ideal world I would like the cuff to be longer. I had about an inch of exposed flesh between the top of the glove and my sleeves. There is a caveat here and it may be very relevant.

At the thick end of 6 foot 4 inches tall and with arms that my wife says belong on an Orangutan, it may be my arms that are the issue rather than the gloves. This may also be relevant with the cold fingers issue too. My extremities always get cold.

On a positive note, the fingers work fine on phone and gps screens so you don’t have to take your gloves off to find out where you are.

Conclusion

A well made glove which has lots of promise. I think it is more of a spring/autumn and early winter glove than a ‘winter’ glove. To me “winter’ implies snow, frost and bitter chill. If I was riding in this sort of temperature, I’d be wearing something else.