Sportful WS Essential W Gloves

It's around now that you don't want a full winter but it's certainly not quite time to be exposing your fingers to the cool air. Sportful WS Essential W Gloves are a great solution; they offer excellent wind protection with hardly any bulk and are impressive when it comes to breathability, with no overheating or sweaty palms.

The backs are made from Sportful's Gore WindStopper 4 Way Warm material. The '4 Way' refers to the way that the fleece-backed fabric stretches four different directions to ensure a snug fit around the hand regardless of its position. It's great stuff, warm but breathable.

Buy Sportful WS Essential Women's Gloves

The Sportful Essentials don't have the bulk you'd associate with a winter glove, but the fleece lining gives a cosy feeling. The inside cuff is made from Sportful's Thermodrytexplus, a thin, stretchy fabric that sits snug to the wrist and is just as breathable as the main body of the glove.

I am always sceptical about gloves without Velcro adjusters or fasteners but these have convinced me that they can be just as good. The material stretches and compresses to fit as required and has not deteriorated with washing or wear. The lack of Velcro has obvious advantages: less abrasion against other fabrics, and fewer seams and stitched parts to show signs of wear.

Gloves without Velcro wrist tabs can be a bit difficult to get on and off but the soft lining means that these slipped on just fine and, thanks to effective breathability, there was no moisture to make removal a struggle. The long, slim cuff sits perfectly under a jersey sleeve.

The synthetic palm has a soft brushed inner surface and the outside provides decent grip against bars despite there being no additional silicone patches. That's another spot where Sportful has eliminated a potential wear problem.

The synthetic fabric did not offer the friction against levers that it had against bar tape, though. Some additional grippers on the first two fingers and thumb wouldn't go amiss.

Sportful have kept padding to a minimum in an effort to strike a balance between 'protection and control/contact with the bike'. Unfortunately I didn't find the padding meant for the heel of the palm to be in the right place. I admit to having large hands but the pad sat way too high up the palm to serve its purpose effectively. I'd be interested to see how the men's glove fitted.

The gloves look the part. The blue is fresh and striking and the reflective S is a nice addition. The Ultrasuede nose wiping strip on the top edge of the thumb feels like natural suede and is fab for quickly whisking away snot trails.

In addition to keeping the wind chill at bay, feeling cosy, not being too bulky and looking the part, the gloves can hold off light drizzle pretty well. They will not stand up to consistent rain for too long though.

The price tag is not excessive considering that these gloves perform brilliantly in temperatures from 5 to 12 degrees. Just be careful with sizing and perhaps even opt for the men's version if you have larger than average hands.

Verdict

Surprisingly outstanding wind protection and breathability without bulk, let down a little by poorly positioned padding