Specialized Deflect Gloves

Specialized's Deflect Gloves bring warmth via windproofing rather than insulation, and work really well on dry, cool days – or seriously cold ones when combined with liners. They even do fairly well when sodden, but for me their padding placement means comfort is an issue.

• Pros: Accurate size and shape, good cuffs, create warmth without bulk
• Cons: Padding only delays onset of discomfort, stark colour choice

I'll be honest – I love windproof kit. It makes more sense to stop what heat you have being stolen than to add bulky insulation that's still vulnerable, especially when thinner windproof fabrics breathe better too. It's logical.

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That makes it doubly frustrating that Specialized has chosen such an illogical approach to padding and comfort with these otherwise very effective gloves.

Despite the padding itself being good quality, springily resisting crushing to stay theoretically supportive, its positioning on the heel of your palm ends up adding to the problem rather than solving it.

Yes, the Deflects cushion the load at first, but after a while (around an hour in my case), the now-even-more-pronounced high spots start to suffer under pressure. The result was compromised blood flow, leading to tingling and numbness in disappointingly short order.

Okay, comfort is somewhat subjective, but testing these back to back with other gloves showed that, ironically, those with no padding at all were actually more comfortable. What's frustrating is that Specialized itself has proven what type of padding really works. Its orthopoedically designed Body Geometry Equalizer pad (as seen in its Grails, takes the opposite approach by filling the palm's cup, leaving a level surface to meet the bar – and no high spots. It fixes the pressure point problem rather than papering over them. It's logical.

On the other (numb) hand, the Deflects are far from the only gloves to feature padding like this, so it's not just Specialized. Maybe it's me?

The Deflects' windproof backs do very well on cool to cold days even without much insulation, while the naturally grippy Ax Suede palm is bolstered by silicone bars on the thumb and first two fingers for braking. I had no issues with slipping whether wet or dry.

They're not at home in the wet – water soaks in immediately rather than beading, and I've wrung probably half a glass out of each post-ride – but they lose little of their protective ability, so it's not a total disaster.

The wipe on the side of the thumb is softly nose-friendly, while a reflective strip along the little finger and the reflective logo are welcome, if rather minimalist. A bit of pattern or more reflectivity would be nice, especially as your colour choices are a rather binary none-more-black or screaming neon yellow.

The ribbed cuff is a good length for sealing out draughts (and features a useful loop for pulling them on), while the sizing is perfectly judged for use either alone or with thin glove liners. Though they feel a bit loose across the palm, they never crease, slide around or feel too big, and my only issue was finding them just a little short in the thumb.

Actually, that wasn't quite the only issue: there's screen-friendly silver thread on the thumb and forefinger, but the stitching is ugly and, worse still, barely works – I couldn't even unlock my phone in these, let alone use it. Then again, you might not consider that a bad thing...

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They're not bad value: Gore's repetitively named Gore M Gore Windstoppers are a fine choice, and have no padding, but they're £43, Kalf's Five Mens Gloves are very similar at £35, while Lusso's Windtex add water repellency and are just £30.

The biggest surprise with the Deflect gloves was that even thin liners add considerable comfort at the bar, as well as extra warmth for those near-zero rides (they're warm enough on their own down to around 5°C). If you already own glove liners, add several points to the value column for these well-made, stylish and protective gloves.

Verdict

Well-shaped windproof gloves that won't let you down even when soaked – though the padding is not the best