Endura calls these gloves, which are also available in black, Waterproof Winter Warmers. They
use 40g Thinsulate padding for insulation and the backs are covered with a single panel of a
durable windproof fabric with a terry nosewipe along the fi rst fi nger. Between the fi ngers is a
refl ective fabric — there are also refl ective transfers on the thumb and palm outer — and the
palms are soft, synthetic suede with silicone lines printed across the palm and
fi rst two fi ngers. There are two gel pads at the heel of the hand.
The cuff takes a belt-and-
braces approach with elastic
as well as a Velcro strap.
The Deluges are lightweight compared
to some in this test and it’s clear that
they won’t be the glove for the very
coldest day, but at 5°C they are fi ne.
They are particularly comfortable with
good shifter feel thanks to the minimal
padding and well-placed gel pads.
As their name suggests, where the
Deluges really come into their own is in
cold, wet weather. The insides feature a
waterproof, breathable membrane that
actually is waterproof rather than water
repellent. You could virtually wash the
dishes in the Enduras they’re
that waterproof.
Shimano says it has studied for decades how the hand-to-glove-to-shifter interface should
function and has designed a more seamless 3D pre-curved glove for a conforming fi t.
Largely the Shimano S-Phyre winter gloves do just that and follow the hand and wrist
with a nice cuff length and fi t around the hood and handlebars with little fuss. Something
that winter gloves struggle with is feeling bulky and usually have a
lack of dexterity, but the Shimano gloves feel slim and give good bar
and lever feel.
The only downside in terms
of fi t is that the fi ngers
were a little too long for our tester and
bunched at the end, making it fi ddly for
operating phones (they have
thumb and index fi nger
touchscreen-friendly
patches) and computers.
These gloves without using
the supplied inner layer glove
worked well down to 2°C, where
we started to feel the chill but didn’t
get any pain, unlike in our toes at the
time. They also defl ect a small amount of
water spray but are not waterproof.
A nice glove all round.
Endura Deluge II £49.99
Shimano S-Phyre £99.99
Verdict
Picking a winner has been particularly
diffi cult this time because the different
manufacturers construct their gloves to
deal with a particular temperature range
or even weather condition, so it can lean
towards an apples-oranges comparison
in some cases.
So we’ve tried to focus on the best
glove for UK winter riding, taking into
account the type of riding that the
average cyclist does between November
and March, and we decided that a
high level of insulation against low
temperatures is important since the
average winter club run can be slower
than during the season.
The Assos and Castelli gloves are two
of the top-priced ones but we think the
extra spend is justifi ed for the R&D that
has gone into them and the impressive
technical garments that have resulted.
We’ve giving ‘best on test’ to Assos
because we preferred the mechanism-
free cuff to the Castelli’s slightly messy
Velcro closure and the Assos had a
neater construction with fewer seams.
However, the performance of both of
these gloves would keep you smiling
through the winter miles.9
We i g h t
92
gramsWe i g h t
72
grams9
Cycling Weekly | December 7, 2017 | 41