Sportful Sotto Zero Glove

The Sportful Sotto Zero Gloves are very warm, grippy and comfortable, and although water resistant rather than fully waterproof, they provide impressive protection in changeable conditions.

• Pros: Warm, dry, very grippy
• Cons: Long cuffs can get in the way of watches; touchscreen elements are unpredictable

As temperatures begin to plummet, one of the most important elements of any ride is keeping your hands warm. Getting cold arms or legs is annoying but doesn't necessarily stop you being able to operate the bike; cold hands, though, represent an entirely different scenario.

The Sotto Zeros' insulation comes from a 60g Primaloft material, and this kept my hands warm throughout the review period. I used these at around freezing a few times and didn't find myself wishing I had more substantial gloves at any point. This insulation is helped by the softshell upper, which is windproof and water resistant, and meant that my hands stayed toasty even when the rest of my body was freezing cold.

The gloves aren't completely waterproof, but the only time I felt anything come through was after about 30 minutes of riding in a torrential downpour, so they will be good enough for most situations.

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Perhaps the most striking feature of the gloves is on the palms, with the whole bottom of the glove (minus two small areas to the left and right of the wrist) having a silicone webbing covering. Even in the wet these are incredibly grippy. I used these in a whole host of conditions and always found that they offered a huge amount of grip on the bar or hoods.

At the top of the index finger and thumb are two areas of a slightly different material, which act as a way to use touchscreens on phones or smart watches. As on basically every set of gloves I've used with this feature, their effectiveness is variable: sometimes they work first time, others you need to do the same thing four or five times in order for it to register.

On top, the gloves are made with a single panel which helps with both insulation and waterproofing as there isn't any stitching that can let in cold air or water. On both thumbs is the obligatory microfibre areas for clearing glasses or wiping sweat.

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Sportful has also reinforced the area between the thumb and index finger, the area that experiences the most wear, with another panel of the silicone webbed material, which also helps when gripping the hoods.

At the wrist the gloves have a Velcro strap which allows you to secure them against the elements while also keeping them in place. The straps are nice and wide, so are easy to grab while still wearing the other glove. The only slight downside is that the fairly long wrists can get in the way of watches, although I got around that by loosening my watch and wearing it slightly further down my arm.

With an RRP of £55 the gloves aren't cheap, but they're on a par with other similar designs on the market. For instance, the Endura Pro SL Primaloft Waterpoof gloves use much of the same materials and cost £54.99, while the Specialized Element 1.0 gloves are £10 cheaper but aren't quite as compact.

Overall, I was very impressed by these gloves. There isn't a huge amount to not like about them: they keep the elements out, keep warmth in, and aren't bad value. They're impressive.

Verdict

Well made, warm, dry and robust winter gloves without the usual bulk