Rapha Gore-Tex Insulated Waterproof Glove

The Rapha Gore-Tex Insulated Waterproof Glove are very impressive – once they’re on – keeping my hands warms and dry whatever was thrown at them in sub-zero temperatures. The only issue I had with them is that they are more difficult to get on than others I have used thanks to a narrow and inflexible wrist section.

> Buy now: Rapha Gore-Tex Insulated Waterproof Glove for £110 from Rapha

If you choose to ride in winter, a good set of gloves is a must, as your hands are always going to be away from your body and will always get the brunt of the weather as you ride. These Rapha gloves are some of the best I have used, though you might want to try them on before buying. For more options, check out our guide to the best winter cycling gloves.

Insulation & weatherproofing

Rapha has gone with Primaloft Gold insulation for the gloves and it works exceptionally well. I used these in sub-zero conditions a few times and my hands stayed warm and comfortable throughout.

Despite this insulation, my hands never felt excessively hot and sweaty, with sweat being wicked away well.

As you’d expect, being tested in a British winter these gloves had a lot of rain, salt, spray and mud thrown at them. They came through with flying colours – throughout the review period, nothing got through. Rapha has used three-layer Black Diamond certified Gore-Tex for the gloves, so this should come as no surprise. I even held them under a tap for a minute and nothing came through, so they are ideal for a British winter, where as much is flicked up from below as falls from above.

I was slightly concerned about the number of seams used in their construction, which is where you might expect to find water ingress, but that hasn’t happened at all – my hands remained completely dry throughout the review period.

Construction

The uppers are made from a softshell Gore-Tex material which extends the length of the gloves and wraps around the wrists too. They’re made up of multiple panels, to fit around fingers and so on, but across the top of the hand, which takes the brunt of the weather, there is a single seam. The top also has a reflective strip running across it to help with visibility in low light conditions.

On the palms the material is some kind of microfibre (80% polyester, 20% polyurethane) that works well to balance grip, warmth and weather resistance. I used the gloves in the wet a lot, and while some are more grippy, with specific silicone areas, I never found myself wishing these had them as they were more than adequate.

Rapha has included a wrist guard too, which is considerably thinner and more malleable than the rest of the gloves but keeps your wrist warm and sits snuggly against the skin, keeping out the elements.

Touchscreen-friendly areas on the fingertips are useful, but their positioning is a little awkward; they’re on the ‘face’ of the fingers rather than the tops, so when you’re wearing the gloves it’s difficult to see where you’re pressing.

Fit & sizing

The medium gloves fitted me very well, and are malleable enough to be comfortable over several hours. I sometimes find that deep winter gloves can cause cramping or discomfort simply because of their thickness, but this certainly isn’t the case with these.

One little irritation is that although the wrist guards themselves are very malleable, the seam that connects them to the main body of the gloves isn’t. This means getting them on can take a little more pulling and wriggling than is ideal; it’s not a huge inconvenience, but it is noticeable compared with others I’ve tried.

Value

With an RRP of £110, these are more expensive than many – the most expensive gloves we’ve seen on the site for a few years, in fact. They are very high quality, though, and I would certainly choose them over most other pairs I’ve tested.

They’re also cheaper than some – the Castelli Spettacolo RoS gloves I reviewed a couple of years ago are now £125. Those are thinner and have a different wrist opening, which is less usable with watches, and although very warm, they’re not quite at the same level as the Raphas.

Ben was impressed with the Pas Normal Studios Logo Deep Winter Gloves when he reviewed them in 2023 and they were ‘only’ £90 (they’re not currently available on the PNS website, though the Lobster version is), but they don’t offer the same protection in rain, and are bulkier.

Overall

In conclusion, these are a superb pair of gloves that performed incredibly well regardless of what came their way. I used them in some truly awful conditions and they performed admirably, not letting in anything while keeping my hands warm and comfortable.

They are expensive, though, and slightly more awkward to get on than some, but for the quality you get they’re easily forgiven.

> Buy now: Rapha Gore-Tex Insulated Waterproof Glove for £110 from Rapha

Verdict

Excellent winter gloves that keep your hands comfortable in truly awful conditions, but they are expensive

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