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Louis Garneau Mondo gloves

8
£34.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Very comfortable summer gloves with effective gel padding and good ventilation
Weight: 
34g
Contact: 
www.evanscycles.com

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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These Louis Garneau Mondo gloves offer very comfortable gel padding and good ventilation for hot summer weather.

One of the main features of the Mondo gloves is that they keep your hands cooler than most. That's largely down to the centre of the palm being a mesh panel that Louis Garneau call the Ergo Air Zone – a small window in the Amara synthetic leather. There are also lots of vent holes in the palms, most of them going right through the gel padding.

The majority of those holes are covered most of the time when you're gripping the bars or the hoods, but some of them are always open – which ones depends on your hand position – so you do get some additional air conditioning here compared to most other mitts.

The backs are similarly well ventilated, the white sections being stretchy Lycra Power fabric and the black areas being a highly breathable mesh. The overall result is that your hands usually remain cool in these mitts, and even when they do sweat, the moisture can escape quickly. It's not a massive difference compared to most other summer gloves but it's certainly discernible, and if you do tend to get sweaty hands in hot summer weather, these are worth considering.

The padding is very good. You get gel strips across the base of your fingers and right across the heel of your hand. Crucially, the meatiest padding protects your ulnar nerve and I've never experienced any numbness or tingling in the hands while wearing these, or any aching towards the end of long rides. They're really comfortable.

The backs are seamless; the various sections are bonded together rather than stitched so there are no pressure points there. I wondered whether this would be a weakness but after several weeks of regular use and a few trips through the washing machine there are no signs that this is going to happen. I also thought the silicone discs on two of the fingers of each glove – designed to help you get them off easily – might come a cropper after a while, but that doesn't look likely either.

Problems? The sweat/nose wipe on the thumb is tiny so you have to be a pretty good shot to make it count, and the stitching has come undone next to one of the Velcro fasteners - I should get out a needle and cotton and repair that. And after getting energy drink, chain lube and various other forms of gunk on them, the palms will never be completely white again. They look lived in rather than knackered, but I'd still go for the black version instead.

Verdict

Very comfortable summer gloves with effective gel padding and good ventilation.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Louis Garneau Mondo gloves

Size tested: Large

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Louis Garneau say, "The Mondo Gloves have a vented gel padding that is engineered to relieve pressure of the median and ulnar nerves, reduce shock, and offer superior ventilation. A seamless upper hand prevents irritation, relieves pressure points, and allows no bulge. Edges of the fingers are laser cut for minimal bulk.

FABRICS:

- Upper hand: Lycra Power - Mesh

- Palm: Digitalized Amara - Amara

DETAILS:

- Seamless back with Air Zone vent

- Progressive and perforated gel padding

- Lightweight microfiber thumb made of open cell foam

- Laser cut fingers

- Integrated silicone finger puller

- Ergonomic Velcro fastener

- Low profile cuff pull tab

- Reflective fingers

- Ergo Air Zone

- Pre-shaped

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

The palms are made of Amara which is a synthetic suede microfibre. It closely resembles leather in terms of its look, feel, durability and air permeability.

The Velcro is the smart type that doesn't stick to anything and everything – just to what it's supposed to stick to. It does't catch on the Lycra used for the back of the mitts, for example.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Those Amara palms are really hardy and the bonded seams, which I thought might be a weakness, are not at all.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
9/10

Great comfort courtesy of the gel padding and good ventilation.

Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Towards the upper end of the scale for fingerless mitts but not mega-pricey and good materials justify the cost.

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

The main points are that these provide effective padding and good ventilation.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The gel padding is good at reducing vibration and it's well placed to avoid hand numbness.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The sweat/nose wipe is tiny.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Would certainly consider it.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 41  Height: 190cm  Weight: 75kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding,

 

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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