Northwave Sonic Full Gloves Reflective

Northwave's Sonic gloves are reasonably warm, grippy and well designed, with a stretchy cuff to keep your hands secure and the wind out. While they're very weatherproof and fine for most of the British winter, I did find that when temperatures plummeted to zero they weren't quite warm enough to prevent cold fingers, which stretches their description as "high performing gloves for winter use". For anything over 3°C, though, they were great and the liner is nice and comfortable.

• Pros: Very good grip, comfy inside, precise fit thanks to thermal cuff, good shock absorption
• Cons: Not warm enough for freezing temperatures, reflective outer showing signs of wear

The Sonics are available in red and yellow, as well as these reflective versions. Whether having reflectiveness on your gloves makes anyone see you better is open to debate, but aesthetically I'm not opposed to it. There's no strap over the cuff to open and close, instead it's a stretchy thermal cuff that Northwave says is specifically designed to stop warmth escaping. That does mean you need to make sure you get the right size, and while I'm usually a medium I did take a large in this glove, which is something to bear in mind (sizes go from small to XL).

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The insulation is courtesy of Thinsulate, which is very comfortable inside and keeps your hands toasty without things getting sweaty when it gets into double figures. Northwave says this is thanks to a windproof membrane in the intermediate layer working with an internal thermal layer, collectively providing moisture management.

On the outside there's soft fleece on the thumb, which comes in handy for wiping away nasal detritus, and the palms have synthetic leather to provide grip. The raised parts on the inside of the palm and the upper palm are well placed, providing additional comfort where you are applying the most pressure. Northwave's GEL padding provides shock absorption, and I felt that they did a good job of taming bumps on my occasionally hairy commute. My hands didn't feel achy after a few long rides day after day, and I could easily operate GPS buttons in them.

As previously mentioned, I would say they're not really suitable for sub-zero temps, but they're stretchy enough to use with a merino liner glove underneath if you can't budget for a thicker pair. My only other criticism would be that the reflective part on the outer is starting to crack a little, so best to wash by hand.

The price is fair, I'd say, but they're not the absolute cheapest mid-winter pair you can buy – the Brisker Cold Weather Gloves from 100% are similarly suitable for mid-winter according to reviewer Dave, and they're £26.99.

> Buyer's Guide: 21 of the best winter cycling gloves

If you consider that Pearl Izumi's Unisex Pro Barrier WXB Gloves are £69.99 and reviewer Ash still recommends a liner for colder temperatures, then the Sonics could in fact be considered a steal.

Overall, I really liked these gloves, and they will be fine for most of the winter, cooler early spring mornings and autumn.

Verdict

Comfortable gloves for all but the coldest days, with great grip and fleecy bits in all the right places