When it’s just too cold to face the outdoors is the time these unique Split gloves from Gore really shine, with highly impressive warmth and comfort, and superb dexterity.
Pros
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Superbly warm
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Easy to operate gears and brake levers
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Luxuriously comfortable
Cons
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Quite expensive
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It's not always cold enough for them
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Gore Wear offers a vast range of gloves to choose from, and some of which have found a spot on our guide to the best winter cycling gloves available, but when it’s seriously cold, these strange looking lobster-style gloves are the brand's most deeply insulated, cold weather-beating option.
Where this type of glove may have meant compromised bike handling in the past, Gore avoids those pitfalls with a clever design that allows you to really enjoy the benefits of your fingers cosying up next to each other.
Gore's take on lobster-style gloves isolates the index finger for dexterity, and groups the rest for warmth (Image credit: David Arthur)
Design and aesthetics
When it’s seriously cold, the lobster-style mitt is often the go-to glove. The idea of buddying up fingers is a good trick for combating really cold weather, but the downside has always been limited dexterity and freedom of movement. Gore Wear cleverly avoids the usual pitfalls by using a three finger compartment with a single insulated index finger. This ensures you have no compromise when gripping the handlebars and operating the brake levers and gear shifters. They are totally windproof with a water resistant finish, a stretchy neoprene cuff, silicone prints for increased grip, touchscreen compatible fingertips and reflective details to go along with the bright yellow colouring - a black version is also available.
Some seriously premium material technology went into the making of these gloves (Image credit: David Arthur)
Specifications
Gore Wear uses the latest Gore-Tex Infinium fabric technology to develop a glove that is suitably warm for the very coldest of cold rides. The highly lauded Windstopper fabric over the back of the hands fends off wind chill, with a water-resistant coating to keep light rain from ruining a ride. The palm is heavily reinforced with durable stitching and they really feel like they're made to last. They come in a wide range of sizes from XS to XXXL and the sizing comes up really accurately and as expected, with the mediums fitting my hands like they were tailor-made. The lining is luxuriously soft and almost makes you want it to be cold enough to justify wearing them.
Silicone on all fingers helps with handlebar grip, while a reinforced fingertip provides both durability and smartphone compatibility (Image credit: David Arthur)
Performance
These gloves pull off a mighty impressive ability of providing ample insulation for the coldest rides whilst maintaining sufficient breathability that your hands don’t become a sweaty and clammy mess. On rides where the windchill pushed the temperature well below zero degrees Celsius (32F), these gloves enabled my hands to retain more warmth than regular gloves. What really impresses is that there’s almost no restriction on your dexterity compared to conventional lobster mitts - grabbing a brake lever or pressing a gear lever is as easy as a regular pair of gloves. The long cuff adequately overlaps jacket sleeves and the hard-wearing reinforced palm feels like it's made specifically for the toughest winter rides.
Verdict
Whether it’s seriously cold, there’s a high level of wind chill or you just suffer from cold hands, these clever lobster gloves offer a tangible benefit over regular gloves. The insulation is mightily impressive when it’s cold yet they ensure overheating is kept to a minimum with no nasty sweating to speak of. They’re also reasonably lightweight and low on bulk, easily fitting into a jacket pocket if necessary, and the fit and details are extremely good and go a long way to justifying the price. They might look a bit odd but it’s a small price to pay for total warmth in the most challenging conditions you might encounter this winter.
