Endura Pro SL Primaloft Waterproof glove

Endura's Pro SL Primaloft Waterproof Gloves are warm enough even for freezing temperatures without being bulky, and they live up to their billing by keeping the rain out.

• Pros: Warm, waterproof, breathable, low bulk
• Cons: Some people might want cuff adjustment

These have become my favourite winter gloves over the past couple of months. They're the ones I've been using day in and day out and they've never let me down.

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For a start, they're warm, and you really don't want to make any compromises there. You know that person who always gets cold on a ride before everyone else? That's me, yet I've not had numb fingers with these on and my hands have only felt the slightest bit cold in freezing temperatures. Being waterproof, they're also windproof so cold air can't blow through, and Primaloft Gold insulation keeps the warmth in.

That insulation isn't too bulky at all. I've had gloves as warm as these before but they've usually been big old oven mitts that reduce dexterity and weigh a ton when they get wet. In contrast, the Pro SL gloves are fairly lightweight and don't affect lever feel too much, yet they perform like full-on winter gloves. If you ever wanted to take them off mid-ride, roll them together and they'll take up about half a jersey pocket's worth of space.

The Pro SL Primaloft gloves are made largely from a softshell fabric with a seam-sealed internal membrane to make sure that water stays out. That membrane is also breathable. The only time I've had wet hands while wearing these is when I've sweated so much on a long climb that the membrane hasn't been able to cope, but it's the same with any gloves I've ever tried. Obviously, that's more likely to happen in warmer temperatures. For me the cut-off for wearing these is about 9°C, although it might be lower for you.

The palms are made from synthetic leather with what Endura calls 'grippy overlays' to stop your hands from slipping on the bars and levers – these bits feel quite rubbery. They work well and the only real signs of wear so far are a few little pressure marks towards the heel of each hand that show where I've been resting on the handlebar.

The insides are fleecy and comfortable throughout and the long cuffs ensure there are no draughts around your wrists. Those cuffs are stretchy and they sit closely enough on me that there's no need for a Velcro closure or a drawcord to tighten them, particularly if you have the end of a baselayer sleeve tucked inside there.

Crucially, the fingers of the inner layer don't turn inside out when you take the gloves off so there's no arsing about trying to sort that out next time you want to put them on. Similarly, if you have to take your gloves off in the middle of a ride, there's enough stretch that getting them back on again is easy enough, even with damp and sticky hands.

> Buyer's Guide: 21 of the best winter cycling gloves

One other feature worth mentioning is that a little strip of reflective fabric runs along the outer edge of each glove. It looks grey most of the time but it's noticeable when it catches the light.

We've reviewed loads of full finger gloves here on road.cc recently, priced from £14 to £70, so although these sit towards the upper end of the range, they're far from ridiculously expensive. I'd certainly pay £55 for the privilege of having warm hands between, say, November and March/April. It's money well spent, if you ask me.

If this sounds like a gushing review... well, it is really. These are exceptionally good winter gloves.

Verdict

Warm, waterproof and highly comfortable winter gloves that aren't too bulky