Sealskinz Women's Winter Gloves

Sealskinz winter gloves are everything you'd expect them to be - waterproof, warm and very comfortable to wear.

Last winter I wore these gloves out every morning at around 6am, and my usually chillblain covered fingers were kept toasty warn while riding out in between -2 and 3 degrees. I suspect that with a thermal guide of 4/5 they will keep the heat in at lower temperatures too - I'm just awaiting a further drop in the mercury to prove this.

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Beans meanz Heinz and Sealskinz meanz waterproof. Rain beads off the top of these gloves, and even full immersion to retrieve keys from a puddle didn't soak through to my fingers thanks to the inner membrane.

These winter gloves have three gel pads positioned over the palm of the hand. These provided a good level of comfort on longer rides. The soft wrist elastic which is buried in between the inner and outer fabric layers also adds to the overall comfort. The wrists are finished off with a neoprene cuff with a well-designed velcro tab. The tab is attached to a stretchy triangle of material, so it does not fold over or wrinkle when pulled tight against the wind.

>>Read more: Buyer's guide to winter gloves

The thumb and first finger of the gloves have touchscreen friendly pads. While the pads themselves operated my iPhone fine, the positioning of the forefinger pad was marred by the seams at the top of the finger. Extending this pad over the fingernail would have allowed for easier operation of touchscreen devices. The several seams meeting at the top of the fingers was one of my few niggles with an otherwise excellent glove. Four parts join over the top of each finger with an additional two on the inner layer, so this adds bulk and reduces nimbleness when using on-bike tech.

I tested a medium, which should have been the correct size for my hand. While the gloves fitted well on the width, they could have done with being a good inch longer, and I found the gel pads were situated as if for a much smaller palm. The padding was also better suited to flat rather than drop handlebars, as the area between the thumb and forefinger was unpadded. The sizing is the only aspect of these gloves which differentiates them from the men's version, with the medium suiting a hand diameter of 7in for the women and 9in in the equivalent men's size chart. I would recommend going up a size if buying online, or trying them on first if buying from a bike shop.

Verdict

Thermal excellence with gel padding, but they come up small so buy bigger