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Castelli Tutto Nano Gloves

9
£45.00

VERDICT:

9
10
Fantastic, dexterous cool weather gloves with impressive water resistance
Minimalist
Water repellent
Warm
Expensive
Weight: 
36g

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The Castelli Tutto Nano Gloves are very impressive – their minimalist design is warm, impressively water-resistant and quite frankly the best I've used in years.

One thing Castelli has become particularly synonymous with in recent years is its minimalist transitional kit, and in my experience there are very few companies who have focused so successfully on this time of the year.

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Therefore it's fantastic to try the Tutto Nano, a minimalist and simple glove designed to be both warm and water repellent. The latter comes courtesy of Castelli's Nano Flex 3G fabric, with its extremely effective proprietary treatment – water beads on these gloves the same way it will on a brand new waterproof coat.

2021 Castelli Tutto Nano Glove - palm.jpg

I tested these in a torrential downpour, and whilst the rest of me got thoroughly drenched, my hands remained both dry and warm. Given that the material itself is fleecy and soft to the touch, this is a very impressive feature.

Castelli markets these for 'cool' conditions, with a suggested range of 12-20 degrees, but I used them down to around six degrees without any problems at all. These offer impressive wind stopping too, which helps.

2021 Castelli Tutto Nano Glove - back.jpg

While simple, there are still some cycling specific features. For instance on the palm there is a large silicone gripper, which helps, although given there isn't anything on the thumb it doesn't work quite as well as it could. Even so, I never found my hands slipping off.

> 25 of the best winter cycling gloves — keep your hands warm and dry

The only other feature (aside from a black-on-black logo) is the touchscreen-friendly finger and thumb. They're a little hit or miss, but then that's fairly standard – of the dozens I have tested, only a few have been 100%. These rank about median for those I've tried.

The lack of design features, rather than taking anything away, in my mind is a great thing. The lack of seams allows for more dexterity, and the thin fabric makes them a perfect under-glove for extremely cold temperatures.

Value

Their £45 tag is fairly good compared to others on the market. For instance the Altura Firestorm Gloves are £5 cheaper, but do not offer the same level of water resistance. You could also look to the Santini 365 Win XF Winter Glove, which is £2 more expensive, but is bulkier and has a palm that waterlogs easily.

Overall I was very impressed with these gloves. I have to admit that my favourite cycling kit is simple but done well, and these embody that perfectly. Warm, effective and great in the rain, these are genuinely one of the best pairs of gloves I've used in the past two years.

Verdict

Fantastic, dexterous cool weather gloves with impressive water resistance

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Castelli Tutto Nano Gloves

Size tested: Large

Tell us what the product is for

Castelli says: "A glove that's like a second skin. The Tutto Nano is water-repellent, soft, and provides just enough warmth for mild conditions, while ensuring dexterity too."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Nano Flex 3G fabric provides water repellency with exceptional warmth and soft interior

Silicone grip to keep your hands on the handlebars

Minimal seaming for dexterity and comfort

12°-20 °C / 54°-68°F

Weight:43 g

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Very well made.

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

Kept my hands impressively warm and dry despite being so thin.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

The material feels like it's good quality.

Rate the product for fit:
 
8/10

Supple fabric means an easy fit.

Rate the product for sizing:
 
8/10

Spot on.

Rate the product for weight:
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort:
 
9/10

Very comfortable, with a soft and fleecy aided by water resistance and windproofing.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

They aren't cheap, but compared to others in the same price range they are impressive.

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

Easy, just wash them at 30°.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

They offer warmth, water resistance and comfort - everything you could want in a pair of gloves.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Gloves that look and feel like this being so water resistant.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

No padding

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

Their £45 tag is fairly good compared to others on the market. For instance the Altura Firestorm Gloves are £5 cheaper, but do not offer the same level of water resistance. You could also look to the Santini 365 Win XF Winter Glove, which is £2 more expensive, but is bulkier and has a palm that waterlogs easily.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

These provide everything you could want from a pair of simple, dexterous cool weather gloves. There's nothing to seriously complain about – they're fantastic and a nine.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 32  Height: 6 ft  Weight:

I usually ride: CAAD13  My best bike is: Cannondale Supersix Evo

I've been riding for: 5-10 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

George is the host of the road.cc podcast and has been writing for road.cc since 2014. He has reviewed everything from a saddle with a shark fin through to a set of glasses with a HUD and everything in between. 

Although, ironically, spending more time writing and talking about cycling than on the bike nowadays, he still manages to do a couple of decent rides every week on his ever changing number of bikes.

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7 comments

Avatar
wtjs | 2 years ago
0 likes

When I see 'minimalist' it reminds me of tales (naturally, I have never entered such an establishment) of restaurants where they think arranging a couple of green beans and a miniature sweetcorn tastefully on a plate is more important than hoovering down the goodies. This minimalist nano coating appears to be so minimalist it's gone after a couple of rides, while the Joe Pesci character shouts 'what d'ya want- they're black ain't dey' before he blows you away. You'd have to be mental to buy this boutique c**p- Aldi neoprenes for about £5 work very well.

Avatar
SoS | 2 years ago
0 likes

Are these disposable gloves? Because of this review, I bought these gloves. During the first test under the tap and on the first rainy tour, everything was still perfect, the water ran off. But after the first wash (30 °) this effect disappeared and the rain penetrated the gloves after a few seconds.
Absolutely useless gloves! ... or never wash!
... ah and, the silicone coating on the palm of the hand comes off after wearing it twice.
the only positive thing: very comfortable to wear

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to SoS | 2 years ago
0 likes
SoS wrote:

Are these disposable gloves? Because of this review, I bought these gloves. During the first test under the tap and on the first rainy tour, everything was still perfect, the water ran off. But after the first wash (30 °) this effect disappeared and the rain penetrated the gloves after a few seconds.
Absolutely useless gloves! ... or never wash!
... ah and, the silicone coating on the palm of the hand comes off after wearing it twice.
the only positive thing: very comfortable to wear

Did you use non-biological washing powder? I've heard that biological detergents destroy waterproof coatings/treatments so I always use non-bio for cycling stuff.

Avatar
SoS replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
0 likes

non bio

Avatar
ktache replied to SoS | 2 years ago
0 likes

I have found that a delicate washing liquid, for wool and silk, keeps coatings going for a very long time.

And of course no fabric softener, even cleaning the fabric softener compartment in the drawer helps.

A little specialist liquid soap or flakes for the full goretex jacket too.

Wahing powders or liquids meant for normal clothing is very harsh and does not work well with our technical stuff.

Avatar
Christopher TR1 | 3 years ago
0 likes

12 to 20 degrees - surely you can wear mitts in those temperatures. I would still be interested to know how waterproof they are after a couple of months of riding as I'm after some new glove liners.

Avatar
kil0ran replied to Christopher TR1 | 3 years ago
0 likes

I read that and thought "oooh, Fahrenheit"

Even as a soft southerner I tend to ride gloveless at 12 degrees and up and I don't have great circulation in my hands.

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