Scott Winter Stretch LF Glove

Scott's Winter Stretch LF Gloves are made from Gore-Tex's windproof and breathable Infinium fabric. They're thin, tight fitting and it's almost like you're not wearing gloves at all when it comes to dexterity, grip and using a touchscreen – but they'll keep your hands warm in dry conditions down to 5°C.

> Buy now: Scott Winter Stretch LF Gloves for £45.99 from Sportsshoes

Fabric

According to Gore-Tex, Infinium is 'an ultra-thin protective layer laminated to a lightweight textile', making the garment completely windproof. Though as our best winter gloves buyer's guide shows, if you're looking for a pair of gloves, there are numerous options when it comes to fabric, padding and reflectivity.

The Windstopper membrane, according to Gore, is also extremely breathable, with 'billions of pores that are 900 times larger than water vapour molecules, so even though wind can't get in, moisture from sweat vapour can easily get out'.

The fabric itself is not waterproof without the addition of a DWR (durable water repellent) treatment. Scott does not mention DWR and makes no claim about the gloves being waterproof – and they aren't.

Temperature range

There's no thermal layer to these gloves at all, as they consist of just a thin layer of fabric. But in spite of that, and in dry conditions, they kept my hands comfortable down to about 5°C. If it's any lower than that you'd really want to go for a pair of full-on winter gloves.

Bear in mind also that these are not waterproof. When they get wet, they do not keep your hands warm at all. Water conducts heat 25 times faster than air, according to the net (so it must be true) which means that even a fully windproof fabric won't stop the wind sucking warmth from your hands when it gets wet.

Fit

Because the fabric is really thin and stretchy, these gloves are skin-tight. In terms of dexterity, it's almost like not wearing gloves at all.

This also helps to make them handy when you're using a touchscreen, and with the tips of the index fingers and thumbs having touchscreen-compatible thread, you don't need to take your gloves off.

The downside of this is that if the gloves do get wet, they're a real pain to take off or to put back on again.

Grip and padding

There's a silicone printed pattern on the palm, thumb, index and middle fingers, which provides loads of grip though the gloves are totally without padding. As I like riding without gloves when the temperature allows, these work very well for me. If you prefer gloves with a bit more plushness and padding, these probably aren't for you.

Features

You get a little pull tab, which is probably designed to make putting them on easier.

There's also a plastic press stud to keep the pair together when you're not wearing them. In my opinion, I reckon these are gimmicks and unnecessary, but they don't get in the way.

There are reflective details on the cuff and there's also a printed pattern on the back of the hand. I must be a bit of an idiot, though, as more than once I tried to put these on the wrong way around – confusing the pattern on the palm with the pattern on the back of the hand!

You can have any colour you like, so long as it's black.

Sizing

My test gloves were medium/8.5, which is exactly what I'd normally go for in a glove, so I'd say Scott has got its sizing spot on.

Value

While £45.99 is a lot of money for a light winter glove, this seems to be the price point for a glove made from Gore's Infinium. Gorewear's own Infinium Stretch gloves and the Adidas Terrex Gore-Tex Infinium Gloves both retail for £45.

You can spend easily more, though. The Castelli Perfetto Light Glove is the non-fleece-lined version of the Perfetto ROS gloves that Emma reviewed, which are yours for £65.

Away from Infinium, Galibier's Ardennes Light Winter Gloves proved a hit with Steve when he tested them, and they're only £23.64.

Altura's Microfleece Gloves were our favourite budget winter gloves for milder temperatures when Liam tested them at £16.99, but they're now £24.99.

Conclusion

I love gloves made from Infinium. I've been using Castelli's Infinium gloves for the last couple of years, which were my go-to gloves down to around 5°C or so. The Scott Winter Stretch LF Gloves are functionally the same, but you'll save yourself £20.

If, like me, you prefer riding without gloves when the conditions allow and, if when you do have to wear gloves you want them to be as thin as possible and don't need padding, then you're likely to love these as much as I do.

Verdict

Minimally padded windproof gloves for dry conditions, with great dexterity and touchscreen compatibility