Altura Thermostretch II Neoprene Glove

Back in 2014 John gave the Mk I of Altura's Thermostretch Gloves four stars, saying "they'll really come into their own on wet spring rides". Two years on and £5 more expensive, the updated Mk II is still a good choice, but I found the cuffs loose, a bit of a let-down for a glove designed for wet, cold weather.

Altura claims the gloves have 'high levels of breathability', but being made of wetsuit material it wasn't particularly noticeable. Not that it really mattered because my test rides were mostly 0-5°C, either raining, very windy, or both.

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They come in two flavours – black with fluoro trim or the opposite. Both have a black sticky-dotted palm and finger-insides, which aided grip without feeling like you were a tree frog. On the black you get a reasonable amount of green 'Altura' and stripe running down the index finger for indicating and brand awareness purposes.

Size-wise – apart from the cuffs – they are about right, perhaps a smidge on the small side, my hand measuring 22cm around the knuckles, with a large fitting about right when clenched on the bar or hoods. In the 2014 review photo of the Mk I the cuff looks a snug fit around the wrist, but the Mk II definitely isn't. I could slide two fingers under it without stretching the fabric at all. (The pair John reviewed were mediums.) On the bike I felt a more-than-niggling need to make sure baselayer and jacket cuffs were pulled down to ensure a draught-free experience.

Despite this, out in weather the gloves worked well to keep my Raynaud-Syndrome-prone fingers warm. For days of 5-10°C the glove by itself was enough, once it got below 5 I used thin lambswool liners to beef things up.

> Buyer's Guide: The best winter gloves for cycling

My nadir of winter testing came in the 2016 Christmas storm, trying to top a Yorkshire moor heading into 80kph winds of 4°C. A critical part of keeping your fingers warm is keeping the blood flowing to them warm. In this case I was testing the rather excellent Lusso Aqua Extreme Repel Jacket (full review to come – that was just a hint!) over a simple merino baselayer, and everything was hunky-dory fingers-wise, a genuine surprise with hands out front in those sort of conditions.

If weather is less extreme, or you run warmer than I do, the Thermostretch IIs will probably work for you without a liner glove, but it's good to know there's enough room and give to allow their use.

Fundamentally, the Thermostetch IIs work well – I just wish the cuffs were a bit snugger.

Verdict

Warm gloves for awful weather, despite the cuffs being a bit loose