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Craft Siberian glove

7
£34.00

VERDICT:

7
10
Well-made mid-weight gloves that offer a good level of warmth without sacrificing too much lever feel
Weight: 
106g
Contact: 
craftsportswear.co.uk

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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The Craft Siberians are well-made mid-weight gloves that provide decent warmth without being too bulky.

My only real negative criticism of these gloves is the name. If you call something 'Siberian', surely the implication is that it's designed to keep you warm in the most extreme winter conditions. That's the message I get, anyway. Don't get me wrong, these are good gloves, but they're not right up there among the warmest you can lay your hands on.

Right, having got that off my chest, let's begin... Starting at the inside, you get a very comfortable fleece inner glove next to your hands, then the real insulation is provided by 70g Thinsulate. It gives you a reasonable amount of warmth that's suitable for most UK winter conditions – but there are bike gloves out there that use heavier weights of Thinsulate.

The palms are Clarino synthetic leather which feels a lot like suede, while silicon dots provide excellent grip even when the bar tape is wet. Several weeks in and those dots are all still present and correct, so I'm guessing that most of them are going to stay for the full lifetime of the gloves.

You get more silicon dots on the reinforced tips of the first two fingers – the ones that are going to do all the shifting and braking – which shows that Craft know what they're doing. The silicon really does stop you slipping on the levers.

The backs are windproof and they keep road spray out. These aren't waterproof gloves by any means, but your hands won't get wet and cold at the first sign of damp.

The cuffs extend well above your wrists and they're adjustable so you can easily tuck your jersey sleeves in there to prevent cold air getting up your arms. The adjustment is via that type of hook and loop fastening that doesn't snag on every bit of clothing within a three-mile radius, thankfully.

Craft have reinforced the area between the thumb and forefinger – useful if you spend a lot of time resting your hands on the hoods. You get a soft, fleecy nose wipe on the back of each thumb too, which is handy when you're in polite company and can't perform a snot rocket over your shoulder (don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about).

The thumb isn't windproof, though, which is a shame. This is something that a lot of manufacturers do: they make the backs of their gloves windproof but not the thumb – yet your thumb is stuck out there at the front most of the time, bearing the brunt of the cold air.

What else? Ah yeah, I've read a few other reviews that say these gloves are bulky. They just aren't. As winter cycling gloves go, they're medium thickness at most. You get a good feel for grabbing zip pulls and getting energy bars out of your rear pocket.

One other thing: what are they like to get back on after you've stopped to refill your waterbottles or fix a puncture and the insides are slightly damp? It's a very important test. These gloves aren't very stretchy so it's not a simple job, but the long cuffs are easy to grab and drag so it's do-able. I'm awarding them a pass.

For me, these are warm enough for rides down to about 5°C. Lower than that and I wanted a liner glove underneath, or I swapped to something thicker... but that's partly just me. I'd wear oven gloves in the winter if I thought I could get away with it.

Lots of people will get use out of these when conditions are a bit colder, just don't go expecting a duvet-level of warmth it you're heading off on an Arctic expedition.

Verdict

Well-made mid-weight gloves that offer a good level of warmth without sacrificing too much lever feel.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Craft Siberian glove

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?

These are cycling specific gloves for winter riding. Of course, we all ride at different intensities and some of us need more insulation than others. I found these warm, but I like to have some warmer ones to call upon in really cold weather too.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Good grip thanks to silicon on the palms, and good lever feel.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

I think the name implies these gloves are more hardcore than they actually are, and I'd have preferred that the thumb, like the rest of the back section, was windproof.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Maybe.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Maybe.

Overall rating: 7/10

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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