Castelli S Rosso Corsa glove

The Castelli S Rosso Corsa gloves are a neat, well-ventilated option for summer riding.

The best bit is the Pittards leather palm. It's soft and supple so it moulds to the shape of your palms and you get useful gel padding across your thumb joints and the heel of your hand. It's not the deepest cushioning ever – in fact, it's pretty slim – but it's well placed and effective for avoiding any numbness. If you like deep, plush padding to isolate you from the road, these aren't the gloves for you, but if you like more feedback, they're worth considering.

The gel is perforated and so are the palms to help avoid sweatiness while the back of the hand is made from what Castelli describe as a 'diamond micromesh fabric'. It's low density so plenty of cool air can get in there too, and it's stretchy enough that there's no tightness across the knuckles when you grab the bars.

The back of each thumb has a synthetic microsuede panel that's absorbent enough for wiping your brow, nose or whatever, and large holes allow for more airflow.

Closure is by a Velcro tab. The hook section sticks only to certain fabrics and that doesn't include most Lycra shorts, which is a bonus because it'll inevitably come into contact with your favourite pair sooner or later. It does stick to the micromesh section on the back of the gloves if you take them off and leave them scrunched up, but that's not a problem – it doesn't pull any threads or cause any other damage.

I used these gloves a lot at the end of last summer, occasionally under long-fingered gloves over the winter, and more this spring. They leather provides good grip even on wet handlebars, with silicone stripes between the thumb and forefinger helping keep your hands firmly in place when you're resting on the hoods.

As I said, you get effective padding where it really counts and everything is lasting well here too. The palms have become shiny in certain areas and some of the black leather dye has stained one small section of the back section but there are no real signs of wear after many miles and many washes – all the stitching is still intact, there's no fraying around the ends of the fingers, and the rubbery lettering on the backs is still firmly attached. All in all, these are a good investment.

Verdict

Airy summer gloves that are well made with effective gel padding.