Hirzl Grippp Comfort FF gloves

These Hirzl Gripp Comfort FF gloves provide exceptional grip and just enough padding for the extra abuse of CX. The construction is top-notch and breathability is good too.

• Pros: Fabulous grip in wet and dry conditions
• Cons: Expensive

While full finger summer gloves aren't that common on the road, they're brilliant when it rains or if you choose to head off-road for a little cyclo-cross riding. The grip surface works brilliantly in inclement weather and it does pretty well in heavy mud too.

Hirzl uses a very similar construction to the short finger Light Mitts that I've also tested. A specially treated kangaroo leather is attached to a simple mesh. There is a nose wipe made from microfibre and an elastic wrist with no Velcro. Where the Comfort gloves differ is that they feature a small amount of padding in three key places on the palm.

Usually, I much prefer an unpadded glove but these are great for cyclo-cross and rougher roads. The padding isn't too thick and allows you a close feel of the bars.

Hirlz has built in a large pull tab on the inside of the wrist to make getting the gloves on easy. I found them easy to pull on thanks to the stretch in the mesh back. Getting them off is pretty easy too.

The fit is brilliant. Once on, the mesh has a good amount of stretch across the hand allowing a close but comfortable fit. The gloves don't stretch lengthways meaning that the gloves are secure and don't allow the hands to slip around inside the gloves.

I've been putting these through their paces in the local cross races. I've already crashed in these twice, done one mud-bath race, and swung myself around a few tight corners by holding the barriers. The gloves have withstood all of this without issue. The palms are fine and there are no tears in the mesh back. I'm really impressed.

The grip in the long fingers really helps with my braking on cantilevers that lose a lot of power in the mud. I find my hands aren't as fatigued at the end of a race and, more importantly, I feel more confident in technical and rough terrain.

One of the little benefits of a full leather palm and finger is that you can use your phone and bike computer touchscreen without removing the gloves.

In terms of value, these gloves do fall down a bit. At £44, these are significantly more expensive than most long finger gloves. But I would say that I've had a few other pairs and none come close to the Hirzl in terms of performance, especially in the wet. Endura's Hummvee Lite Gloves (£19.99) are ones I've used; they offer similar breathability but are nowhere near the grip of the Hirlz gloves.

Despite the cost, I'd highly recommend these, especially if you ride in poor conditions or plan to head into the mud of cyclo-cross.

Verdict

Expensive but worth it for the grip they provide in the wet