DexShell Arendal Biking Gloves 2.0

The DexShell Arendal Biking Gloves 2.0 are, like the infamous Apollo 13 moonshot, successful failures. They don’t actually keep your hands dry, despite being billed as waterproof, and yet they’re really warm, comfortable, tough and very easy to recommend. (For legal reasons I will add that no astronauts were at risk during our test. Feel free, DexShell, to quote us on this on the packaging.)

While I wouldn’t recommend wearing these waterproof gloves if it’s definitely going to pour, I would recommend them for just about every other winter ride. I should also point out that, even if it does pour, it’s not a complete disaster.

In steady rain, the thick PrimaLoft Gold padding gets soggy pretty quickly despite the durable water repellent (DWR) treatment, and absolutely waterlogged not long after that. After such rides, I had to wring out gushes of water. I dropped one once and it landed with the single, unflinching splat of a trifle.

The microfleece linings and my hands also got very soggy, despite the waterproof Porelle inserts. The inserts certainly work – I scrubbed a boat for winter storage in these, using a bucket and sponge, and stayed dry. The water can only get in at the cuffs.

The bulky cuffs are broad and nicely shaped to go over jacket sleeves, and seal with hook and loop tabs, but inevitably it’s not enough to stop rain running down your arms and straight into the gloves. You could potentially fit them under your waterproof, but you’ll need a pretty loose fit for that. None of my jackets allowed it.

I found Arendal 2.0 hard to get on with the extra friction of even slightly damp hands, and once soaked it was an ordeal getting them either on or off. At least the liner is secure, so you don’t have to deal with it pulling inside out.

Once on and riding, however, they caused no issues, either with bulk or with any movement of the lining inside the outer. They give an entirely secure grip on the bars and are easily dextrous enough for the gravel riding they are intended for.

They also have a soft section for wiping at the torrential pestilence jetting from your frozen nose (and to be clear that’s your nose not mine; mine’s lovely).

Okay, all this sounds bad, but even when soaking these gloves remain warm – not as toasty as when they’re dry, but still warm. The tough-feeling outer layer blocks wind extremely well and that, alongside the quality insulation and total lack of draughty stitching gaps, makes them immediately and constantly cosseting in cold air.

For context, I have the bloodless and grave-cold hands of a zombie, and anything that can keep them warm even temporarily is doing well. DexShell recommends a minus 15 to 0°C range, and that’s probably reasonable. I was typically wearing them happily between 0-8°C, and honestly I think anyone with ‘normal’ extremities would be happiest with it a fair bit colder (8° and it was getting a bit warm even for me) – though obviously freezing rain would affect that.

While waterproof gloves that don’t keep you dry seem like a bust, I really feel the Arendal 2.0s are anything but. I was more put out by just how long they took to dry out, even once you’ve wrung out what water you can, than by their leakiness.

I’m also not quite convinced by the sizing. They’re just a little bit on the small side against DexShell’s comprehensive size chart. My hands are firmly within the numbers for a medium in two measurements (around the knuckles and hand length) and exactly on the upper limit of the third (middle finger length). The chart says medium is my size, and it fits – but only just. All my fingers and thumbs press noticeably into the ends, and the obvious ‘wrists’ sit slightly short of mine.

They’re pretty skinny inside, too, so if you have the kind of spade-like hands and girder fingers that can undo car wheelnuts without a spanner, you’ll struggle to get these on. My fingers are quite slim and these still fit snugly. There’s no room for even thin glove liners.

Obviously, they’re still wearable enough for me to test and genuinely enjoy them, but if I were buying I’d be returning them for the next size up. Unless you’re close to the lower values for your size, you should seriously consider going bigger.

Value

At £48 these are very reasonably priced given their quality and performance, though you can still find decent cycling-specific gloves for a little less.

The Velotoze Knitted Waterproof Gloves are £42.90, for instance, while the Proviz Reflect360 Waterproof Cycling Gloves are £39.99.

It’s just as easy to spend more – the Rapha Gore-Tex Insulated Waterproof Gloves are nicely made from excellent materials as well, for instance, but then at £110 they really should be.

> Keep your digits toasty on the bike: the best winter cycling gloves for riding through the colder months

Overall

Thinking over my criticisms, these really should have been a fail. And yet on dry days the DexShell Arendal Biking Gloves 2.0 are among the best winter gloves I’ve ever worn, swaddling me well away from freezing blasts without ever reducing grip or control. Brief showers aren’t a real problem either, and even when soaked they keep working.

Though the sizing is just a little bit off, that’s potentially fixable by sizing up. Fixing the leaky cuffs would take a redesign, however. I feel they’d be better slimmed to fit under your jacket, where they wouldn’t funnel everything running down your sleeves inside the waterproof liners.

If you ride every day in all weathers, are constantly putting your gloves on and taking them off, or just generally expect functional rather than theoretical waterproofing, you may not get on with the Arendal 2.0s. If you can plan your rides to avoid the worst weather, however, and have a few days between to get your gloves dry if it does pour, you’ll probably appreciate them.

They’re tough, very windproof, really nicely insulated and the price is reasonable. For cold riding on dry or slightly showery days they’re excellent, and even on properly wet rides they stay protective and keep you warm, if not actually dry. They’re flawed, then, but only in certain conditions.