All Arround MTB

With a thin perforated palm and ventilated elastic back, theses gloves are aimed at riders who favour feel over cushioning and protection. Therefore, they don’t feel very substantial. But for what they’re designed to do, they excel. The pre-curved shape makes for a comfortable grip on the bar. Because the backing isn’t overly stretchy, we never ended up with bunched fabric in our palms (a common problem with thin, very stretchy gloves). The finger length felt good for our testers, and the small wrist opening stops them feeling sloppy, like cuffless slip-on gloves can. The downside is that it makes them a bit trickier to get on, and could lead to the stitching getting damaged in the long run. It’s good to see a microsuede thumb panel for wiping eyewear or snotty noses. Price $30

The SingleTrack gloves have quickly become some of our favourites. This is down to the well-shaped, thin palm, which ensures you get plenty of feel and feedback from the grips. It doesn’t bunch when you’re gripping on for dear life either, and gets some useful reinforcement on the thumb. There’s silicone print on the palm (though not much of it) and some on the index and middle finger too, which can give a bit of extra purchase in the dry, but gets a little slippery if your brake levers are wet. The back of the glove is a robust affair, with some added TPU strips to protect your most exposed knuckles. These are flexible, so go unnoticed while riding. The thick neoprene cuff has a small Velcro tab to keep things feeling secure, though it can get warm on hot days. Considering the level of quality on offer, the price is good. Some riders may miss having a snot wipe, though. Price $40

These mid-weight trail gloves can be worn throughout most of the year. The single-piece palm is pre-shaped rather than totally flat, so on the bar there’s little to no bunching of material. There are perforations on the fingers to aid breathability but none on the palm, so in the hottest weather the G2s can get a touch warm. Loads of silicone gripper on the palm and fingers means great traction on all but the grippiest of grips. The fit of our size-large gloves was good, though the fingers weren’t quite as long as we’d have liked. A bulky tab on the long-ish wrist offers reasonable, if not amazing, adjustability. There’s a good-sized microsuede snot wipe, which even when sodden with sweat is good for wiping away more, and it’s not too rough on the skin either. While the seams aren’t flat, we had no rubbing issues. Price $45

Sealskinz are best known for their waterproof winter attire but these lightweight gloves are designed for fair weather riding. A super-fine stretch mesh fabric is used on the back, which makes them particularly cool in hot conditions, but offers little protection on overgrown trails. The synthetic palm doesn’t stretch and is surprisingly tough – our gloves have stood up well to a few crashes during testing. Touchscreen-compatible sections on the thumb and index finger work well. Our only gripe is the feel on the grips. While our size large samples fitted us like, well, gloves, we found the palm didn’t give the best contact, especially when pulling up hard on the bar to manual. It’s nicely pre-curved but the stretchy back allows it to come away from the hand slightly in these situations. It’s not the end of the world, but similarlyventilated gloves such as the 100% Celiums have a more secure feel. Price $45

These gloves fit seriously well and offer some well-considered features, but aren’t cheap. The deep elasticated cuff wraps around the wrist snugly and adds to the overall sense of support and security. This is bolstered by the well-contoured cut of the rest of the glove, which means there’s next to no bunching of the palm when holding onto the bar and a nice tight fit around the thumb. Aramid impact panels at the base of the palm, on either side, go unnoticed when riding, as does the soft, thin padding that covers the three outer knuckles. The silicone print across the palm and on the middle and index fingertips adds a little extra grip in the dry but can get slippery in the wet, so we’d happily live without it. Both the thumb and index finger get touchscreencompatible patches, just in case you need to use your phone while on the trail. The stretchy mesh back means the MTR IIs don’t overheat but they don’t feel overly lightweight or flimsy, thanks in part to that great fit. Price...

Knuckle protection used to mean having a big chunk of plastic or carbon sewn onto the back of your glove, but luckily we’ve moved on since the days of those unergonomic monstrosities. The new Evo IIs from SixSixOne have rubber strips on each knuckle and a pre-curved, flexible D3O underlayer that hardens on impact but otherwise leaves hand movement on the bar unobstructed. Made from Clarino synthetic leather, the palm gives an excellent bar feel but will still protect your hands when you take a digger. There’s also a thicker pad on the heel of the palm for a bit of impact protection. So far, the gloves have shrugged off everything we’ve thrown at them, apart from being a bit less white than they started out! They’re not the prettiest mitts around, but hey, they’re a hell of a lot better looking than armoured gloves used to be. Price $66

Bontrager know a thing or two about making gloves that fit properly, and the Forays are a great example of this. That’s not to say they’re without faults though.

The Fluxes are Madison’s priciest mountain bike gloves and offer impressive overall comfort. The thin, perforated, multi-panel palm fits reasonably well, with a bit of bunching when holding the bar that, fortunately, goes almost unnoticed in use.

Although the airlines are from Fox’s moto range they’re don’t feel out of place on the trail and we really like the pared back, no frills design.

The Rock Solid-Cs have a hand-hugging fit and a thin palm, allowing for plenty of feel and feedback from the handlebar. We experienced a tiny bit of bunching in the palm but it didn’t affect overall comfort.

A good set of gloves go unnoticed – they grip well, don’t bunch up, and don’t restrict your movement. Plus – they keep your skin in place when they need to.

These gloves are very pricey, but something happened – or rather didn’t happen – when I rode them: hand numbness. I’ve always had it – 10 minutes into sustained climbing and the tingling starts.

If these gloves seem to bear a resemblance to a popular work-glove pattern, it’s because they’re built not just for shredding, but for the dedicated few who pick up a shovel after roosting berms flat.

You won’t find any padding on this minimalistic mitt, but that doesn’t mean it is devoid of valuable improvements. To start, Giro incorporates a Pittards leather palm. Pittards has been specializing in leather–mainly for gloves and footwear, for damn near 200 years.

The Sentinel sits atop Dakine’s women’s glove line, and it’s a noticeable upgrade from the lower-priced Covert model. After about five months of regular wear, the glove’s durability stands out–the seams remain intact and the stretch mesh between each finger free of rips.

I’m usually not a big fan of protection on the outer part of my gloves because it tends to be hot and restrict movement. But you know what restricts movement even more? A broken hand. I learned this the hard way last summer, when a low-speed crash left me with a boxer’s fracture.

Out of the three pairs of gloves that 100% sent for our consideration, the Ridefit was easily my favorite. It wasn’t difficult to knock the iTrack model out of the running because the factory decided not to finish them prior to sending them out.

The Stratus gloves from Alpinestars offer a decent amount of protection from the cold and wet without compromising control at the bars.

THESE WINTER GLOVES from O'Neal use a thin, insulated palm that doesn't feel too bulky when gripping the bar and doesn't get in the way of shifting gears or braking.

SO GOOD When the mercury freezes in the thermometer, these are the gloves you want to have on. They're the warmest on test and the soft leather palm stays stuck to your grips.