Cyclist
Best winter cycling gloves 2024: Keep your hands warm in cold weather
A solid pair of winter gloves is a must-have item for any cyclist looking to continue riding through the colder months.
Our extremities tend to feel the cold first, and worst, so gloves will ideally need to be windproof, insulating and breathable as well as offering water resistance, or be completely waterproof depending on the weather.
They’ll need to be fit for purpose. This means that they will need to offer considerable flexibility to ensure you can easily and safely brake and change gears, as well as offer good grip on the handlebars.
11 of the best winter gloves for cycling
- Assos Ultraz Winter Gloves: RRP £100 – Buy now from Cyclestore (£95)
- Café du Cycliste Classic gloves: RRP £69 – Buy Now from Cafe du Cycliste (£69)
- Castelli Perfetto RoS Gloves: RRP £85 – Buy Now from Wiggle (£59.99)
- Dhb Deep Winter FLT Gloves: RRP £36 – Buy Now from Wiggle (£27)
- GripGrab Polaris 2 waterproof winter gloves: RRP £89.95 – Buy Now from AlpineTrek (£89.95)
- Le Col Hors Categorie Deep Winter gloves: RRP £80 – Buy Now from Le Col (£80)
- Maap Winter Gloves: RRP £85 – Buy Now from MAAP (£85)
- Pas Normal Studios Logo Deep Winter Gloves: RRP £90 – Buy Now from Pas Normal Studios (£90)
- Rapha Winter Gloves: RRP £85 – Buy Now from Rapha (£85)
- Sportful Fiandre gloves: RRP £110 – Buy Now from Merlin Cycles (£40)
- Universal Colours Mono Thermal gloves: RRP £65 – Buy now from Sigma Sports (£65)
Keep reading for full reviews and detailed buying advice.
Why should you trust our advice?
We’re cyclists who know and love cycling kit. We hit the road, the trails, we commute by bike and we enjoy chilled leisure rides too. And that’s how we test products: out riding.
Our choices are based on our extensive experience of reviewing cycling gloves over the years. From frozen fingers to aching palms and soggy hands, we’ve gone through it all and we know what it takes to keep extremities warm on a cold winter ride.
Our guide takes you through the best winter cycling gloves on the market listed and all have been tried and tested by the Cyclist team.
Best cycling gloves for winter
Assos Ultraz Winter Gloves
£100 | View offer
- Pros: Designed for deep winter riding in low temperatures, Easy fit with pull-on neoprene cuffs
- Cons: Showerproof but not waterproof
The combination of Assos’s ‘Airblock’ windproof outer, insulation and fleece liner make these gloves a wonderfully warm option for riding even in freezing temperatures. They’re easy to pull off and refit on the go, which is essential if you need to use a touchscreen or do anything that requires much dexterity. While they will stand up to lighter rain showers, they won’t withstand use in heavier downpours, so are best for drier, colder rides.
- Read our full Assos Ultraz Winter Gloves review
- Buy now from Cyclestore (£95)
Café du Cycliste Classic gloves
£69 | View offer
- Pros: Comfortable, low bulk
- Cons: Not designed for very cold temperatures, lack padding in the palms
Designed for cold rather than freezing temperatures, these Classic gloves use a layered construction to trap warm air between the inner and outer fabrics and provide thermal insulation.
The palms are made of synthetic leather and reinforced with a third layer of synthetic leather in the usual contact points with the handlebars. We found these gloves strike a good balance between insulation and the necessary dexterity for effective use of the bike’s controls.
We also noted that they have enough insulation to keep your hands warm in classic southern UK winter temperatures and are more than adequate for the typical temperatures of around 5°C to 10°C. However, compared to others, these gloves do lack padding in the palms so aren’t well suited to super-long days in the saddle.
- Read our full Café du Cycliste Classic gloves review
- Buy from Café du Cycliste (£69)
Castelli Perfetto RoS Gloves
£85 | View offer
- Pros: Cosy fleece lining, warm even when wet
- Cons: Rated for use in milder temperatures between 4° and 14°C, tricky to get on once wet
More of a transition season and early winter glove than a deep winter offering, the Castelli Perfetto RoS gloves quickly became a go-to for milder rides. Their single-layer construction made the ride feel as close as you can get to feeling like you’re not wearing gloves, with impressive dexterity and grip. Despite their thin material, the fleece-backed material offers plentiful warmth down to 6°C, though they’re certainly the type of glove that’s best left on once fitted, as when damp they can be much more tricky to get back on.
- Read our full Castelli Perfetto RoS Gloves review
- Buy Now from Wiggle (£59.99)
Dhb Deep Winter FLT Gloves
£36 | View offer
- Pros: Fantastic value at around half the price of rival models, Windproof and showerproof
- Cons: Best for colder rides to avoid getting sweaty
The most striking element of the Dhb Deep Winter FLT gloves was the price, at around half that of rival models from competitor cycling brands. This was backed up by solid performance, proving to be windproof, showerproof and warm, even as temperatures dropped towards freezing. Best used at lower temperatures, in milder conditions the well insulated gloves can become sweaty inside, making the fleece lining more fiddly to get your fingers back into.
- Read our full Dhb Deep Winter FLT Glove review
- Buy Now from Wiggle (£27)
GripGrab Polaris 2 waterproof winter gloves
£89.95 | View offer
- Pros: Fully waterproof, good warmth, good grip, 75% recycled
- Cons: Bulky
Made for the coldest and wettest days out on the bike, these are the only fully waterproof gloves in our guide. The GripGrab Polaris 2 have a rating of 15K (15,000mm), which translates to dry hands even in torrential downpours.
The gloves are brilliantly warm thanks to the three-layer construction and PrimaLoft Gold insulation on the palm and back of the gloves, ensuring hands remain toasty. All this insulation does mean they are on the bulkier side but this isn’t overly so that the gloves become burdensome to actual cycling.
They also have padded and grippy palms with silicone strips on the first three fingers and upper palm, which gives them good handlebar grip.
Notably, GripGrab says 75% of their material is recycled, which makes them a great choice for the environmentally conscious. Shown here are the black pair but you can also nab these in hi-vis if that’s your jam.
- Buy Now from AlpineTrek (£89.95)
Le Col Hors Categorie Deep Winter gloves
£80 | View offer
- Pros: Good dexterity, decent warmth for UK winters
- Cons: Not fully waterproof, need to be careful on sizing
Made from polyester and elastane. the Hors Categorie Deep Winter gloves are Le Col’s warmest offering. Featuring windproof and thermal fleeced materials to keep the winter out, the gloves have a comfortable snug fit and keep hands toasty. While the gloves offer decent levels of warmth, they aren’t bulky and instead have a notably slim design. They are very dexterous so using levers is a breeze.
Added to this are the silicone grippers on the palm, which ensure good grip on the handlebars. Like many in this guide, the Le Col gloves have an elongated neoprene cuff for a neat overlap between glove and jacket to ensure you stay warm and reflective panels on the side for added visibility.
There is also a microfibre suede nose wipe over the back of the thumb. Of note is that these gloves are not fully waterproof but have a DWR coating for some water resistance. Also, Le Col’s size guide is unique so it’s definitely worth measuring your hands before buying. These a versatile pair of winter gloves, which are ideal for a classic British winter weather ride (unless the heavens open).
- Buy Now from Le Col (£80)
Maap Winter Gloves
£85 | View offer
- Pros: Fantastic performance in milder drier conditions, touchscreen-friendly fingertips, good dexterity
- Cons: Not quite warm enough for deep winter riding
Employing a technical three-layer material, the Maap gloves achieve impressive performance for a low-bulk winter glove. Recommended for use in single-digit temperatures, the windproof gloves keep your hands warm and dry in all but the coldest and wettest conditions. True to size and with a generous wrist length that tucks in well under a winter jacket, the gloves are well suited for milder wintry rides as well as transition season riding.
- Read our full Maap Winter Gloves review
- Buy Now from MAAP (£85)
Pas Normal Studios Logo Deep Winter Gloves
£90 | View offer
- Pros: Good for sub-zero temperatures, rubberised elements improve grip on bars, wide soft nose wipe
- Cons: Bulk impacts dexterity
Designed for the very coldest conditions with temperatures below zero, these are highly insulated gloves that perhaps look more akin to ski gloves than most winter cycling gloves. While the serious level of thermal insulation does work a treat, it does come at the cost of dexterity – and cash. It’s also good to find that the nose wipe is both generous and soft; a key feature when heading out on the bike in these conditions.
- Read our full Pas Normal Studios Logo Deep Winter Gloves review
- Buy Now from Pas Normal Studios (£90)
Rapha Winter Gloves
£85 | View offer
- Pros: Well insulated, stylish design, generous faux suede nose wipe
- Cons: Tend to become sweaty at milder temperatures
While the appearance of the Rapha Winter Gloves may not scream ‘performance’, they certainly deliver in spades, being both very warm in single-digit temperatures and surprisingly waterproof through multiple heavy downpours. The only downside I could find is that the fleece lining has a propensity to become sweaty during rides in milder temperatures.
- Read our full Rapha Winter Gloves review
- Buy Now from Rapha (£85)
Sportful Fiandre gloves
£40 (RRP £110) | View offer
- Pros: Low bulk insulation, plenty of grip
- Cons: Not fully waterproof
Fiandre is Italian for Flanders and denotes Sportful’s range, which is designed for the very harshest conditions.
These particular gloves have been made with technology from material experts Polartec to ensure warm, dry hands regardless of conditions. They have a Polartec outer membrane that creates an impermeable surface from rain and a fleece-lined inner, which helps keep hands warm.
We found these gloves coped well with all conditions and offered protection from the wind and cold without being too bulky. The palms are heavily silicone printed from fingertips to cuffs, so there’s masses of grip and the gloves have a slight pre-curve, which offers better grip on the handlebars.
The gloves are not fully waterproof (only water-resistant) but feature a waterproof zip and an extra-long cuff ensuring a good overlap with a jacket.
- Read our full Sportful Fiandre gloves review
- Buy Now from Merlin Cycles (£40)
Universal Colours Mono Thermal gloves
£65 | View offer
- Pros: Quality wind and rain resistance, flexible, plenty of silicone grippers, high recycled content
- Cons: Not warm enough for sub-zero rides, no gel inserts
Good things come in threes and so Universal Colours has designed these thermal gloves to be triple-layered.
The internal fabric is soft brushed material for comfort and warmth, the middle is made from Polartec Alpha recycled insulation and the outer from Polartec NeoShell softshell, which offers premium wind and rain protection. These are a warm pair of gloves without the bulk. For sub-zero temperatures, however, these gloves would need an additional thin pair of gloves underneath.
We found they offer considerable bar grip as they have lots of silicone dots on the palm and it is really easy to operate bike levers and a bike computer – the gloves are very flexible and have touchscreen inserts on the thumbs and index fingers. That said, they don’t have gel inserts to aid with vibrations on the bike.
The Mono gloves also have reflective details and we found they didn’t bunch. Plus they come with the brand’s trademark swig of goodness. They are made with majority recycled fabrics and in an internationally audited factory to ensure social and environmental good practice.
- Buy now from Sigma Sports (£65)
What should I consider when buying cycling gloves?
Warmth
The primary reason we buy a pair of gloves is to keep our hands warm. Some brands will provide useful guides such as temperature gauges as to when the gloves should be used but, if not, look for features like windproof materials, fleece linings and double material constructions for a toasty feel.
Waterproofing
Getting any of your three contact points (backside, hands and feet) wet on a ride can be miserable and enough to put you off cycling for at least a week.
Brands will utilise waterproof technologies – such as Gore-Tex – to provide an impermeable barrier to even the heaviest downpours without diminishing the gloves’ ability to breathe. Some gloves are water-resistant rather than completely waterproof but ultimately, keeping warm is the key thing, and that doesn’t necessarily depending on being 100% waterproof.
Dexterity
Changing gear and braking are two very important aspects of riding a bike. This means that gloves need to provide a real-life feel, akin to gloveless hands, which will let you be in total control of your levers and shifters.
Comfort and grip
Like dexterity, gloves without grip are pretty useless for cycling and, in fact, quite dangerous. Some brands will use silicone grippers to increase grip and also make handling stuff such as mobile phones easier. Glove designers may also incorporate strategic padding to cushion your hands.
Nose/glasses wipe
It’s gross but it’s useful. Some winter gloves will include a soft panel for wiping the runny nose you’ll inevitably get on cold days and you’ll be grateful when it saves you chafing your chilly face. If you’re not using it for your nose, it’s handy for wiping mist or rain off cycling glasses. Just don’t mix the two.
Size
As with any piece of kit, make sure your new pair of gloves fit properly and assess the size guides before buying. Some riders prefer to err on the larger side for winter gloves as the extra space within makes them warmer.
If you’re trying on gloves in a shop, it’s a wise idea to opt up a size compared to what you might think would work best. When you get onto the bike and onto the drops or shifters, the material of the gloves is pulled a little tighter, so if you have a snug fit off the bike, then it may become restrictive or even uncomfortable in the riding position. It’s just like an aero-cut jersey or jacket; they don’t seem to fit quite right off the bike, but once you’re riding it all makes sense.
Sizing up is also a good idea if you’re planning to use glove liners (ie, a thin additional inner glove), which can be a good option for particularly cold weather, or for riders who really struggle to keep their hands warm.
Want to learn more about the science behind cold hands? Read our in-depth feature explaining why your hands and feet get cold when you’re cycling.
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