Santini Fjord Gloves

Santini's Fjord gloves are exceptionally warm, and considering their thickness the dexterity is pretty good – I was able to operate my gadgets fine while wearing them. The grip is good, too, they're very comfy inside and the large strap keeps them secure with no wind getting in. My only real issue is that price, which is going to be hard to swallow for many of us.

• Pros: Very warm, easy to get on, handy additional pocket, adequate dexterity
• Cons: Very expensive

These are Santini's most heavy duty gloves for cold weather, and just to hammer the point home there's is an icicle pattern on the palm, fingers and inside of the thumb. There's a bit of reflectivity on the little and ring fingers, and a nose wipe on the thumb which obviously comes in handy through the chillier months of the year.

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What I also really like is how easy they are to get on and off, which can often be a nightmare with thicker gloves because of inner liners separating and cuffs with not enough stretch. That's not the case here, as the lining stays in place really well when you're feeding your fingers in, even when the gloves are a little soggy, and there's a really handy little pull tab on the cuff that you grab with your opposite hand to pull them on. 

While the cuff isn't quite as secure as options without a strap, it's very robust and fastens well with a big patch of Velcro to stop the wind from getting in.

Santini doesn't make any specific claims about waterproofing or weatherproofing, but after numerous soaking wet rides I can definitely vouch for these gloves providing plenty of protection against wet weather. My hands were kept dry and nothing got through even in full-on downpours. Wind resistance is also very good – usually on the start of my rides when the wind chill is into the minuses I still get cold fingertips for the first 10 minutes or so until I've warmed up, but I barely felt anything through these.

There's a big piece of rubber-like material on the inside of the palm for some extra shock absorption, and the grip is pretty good for such a thick pair of gloves. I could operate my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and various lights pretty easily, although I struggled a little with my Lezyne Mega XL GPS that has slightly more fiddly buttons.

The left glove also has a zip pocket which will just about fit your keys, card or some cash in; it's not exactly essential but pretty useful if you've really got your jersey pockets stuffed full, or perhaps have an irrational fear of being pickpocketed at traffic lights...

In terms of value... yes, they are expensive. There are no magical or particularly luxurious sounding materials here, they're made out of polyester (admittedly a good quality construction) with some elastane and a bit of Lycra for stretch, so the additional levy over the competition is a little hard to justify. They're not alone: Mavic's Ksyrium Pro Thermo gloves, described as similarly warm yet expensive by Stu, are £70. Rapha, which isn't known for making kit at the budget end of the spectrum, also has the Pro Team Gloves at £70.

You can get gloves that promise deep winter warmth for much less, such as the Specialized Element 2.0 at £53, which Dave reckoned were nicely warm with their Primaloft insulation, and Santini's own Deep Double Layer Winter gloves are just £39.99. I haven't tried the Deep Double Layer gloves so can't vouch for the difference in quality with the pair on test, but Stu reckoned they were some of the toastiest he's worn.

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

Overall, I do think the Fjord gloves are some of the best I've used for cold conditions, and – impressively for such warm gloves – they didn't appear to make my hands too sweaty on milder days. The inner stays in place which makes putting them on quick and easy, and I like the big thick strap at the cuff to secure them. You'll have to splash out, but if you do these will last you through the depths of winter and beyond and are a decent investment.

Verdict

A pricey but impressive pair of gloves for deep winter, keeping your hands toasty without overheating