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Hirzl Grippp Tour FF 2.0

8
£55.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Premium quality mid-temperature gloves that come with a premium price
Weight: 
60g
Contact: 

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Hirzl Grippp Tour FF 2.0 gloves offer great grip and are well made from premium materials, but they are expensive compared with others on the market.

  • Pros: Grippy, comfortable, well designed
  • Cons: Velcro can be a little scratchy, expensive

Most road cycling gloves are either thick full-finger winter gloves or fingerless summer mitts, but the Grippp Tour FF 2.0s aim to be the middle ground between these two, essentially full-finger gloves for milder conditions.

In terms of materials used, these are much closer to mitts than winter gloves, but because they are full finger they offer that bit more protection. It means they're ideal for spring and autumn temperatures when you aren't likely to get frostbite but at the same time you want some kind of coverage.

hirzl_gripp_tour_ff_2.0_-_top.jpg

Windproofing is relatively good, although this isn't what they are primarily designed for. I found they were fine for about 6-20°C, good for riding into work on a colder morning and then back when it had warmed up later in the day. They offer a decent amount of breathability, with the relatively thin Lycra upper and perforations on the palm helping in this regard.

Hirzl has used a kangaroo leather palm with 'grippp' technology, which it claims makes them three times grippier in the dry and five times grippier in the wet than other gloves. They certainly are impressively grippy and offer a steady grip on the bars, though I didn't find they were quite as grippy as the Prologo CPC Short Finger Gloves I reviewed last year.

Padding is minimal, with some across the bottom of the fingers and on the outside of the palm. There isn't a huge amount of it, but Hirzl has put it in the right places and it is a comfortable glove, although perhaps not the most effective on rougher surfaces.

It is worth noting that this minimalist padding does have the benefit of making the gloves considerably more supple than others with more padding. The kangaroo leather can sit closer to the palm and allows for a really good fit. Hirzl has also included 'cutouts' beside the thumb and on the outside of the palm beneath the fingers to reduce bunching when you have a clenched fist.

hirzl_gripp_tour_ff_2.0_-_palm.jpg

The closure system is a Velcro strap across the top of the wrist which keeps them in place well. However, a few times I found my skin was a bit scratched by the Velcro from the top, and it was then quite difficult to adjust the strap to stop it happening.

Taking the gloves off is really simple, basically because the fingers are slightly elongated so you can grip the ends and pull them off. It's a simple solution done well, because despite this slight elongation it does not impact on their performance or fit.

At £55 they aren't cheap: the Specialized Grail long finger gloves come in £20 cheaper and the Cube Natural Fit Touch Gloves which Stu looked at a few years ago are also £20 cheaper, so it is a difficult price to justify.

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

Despite this, and that the Velcro is a little irritating, overall I really liked these gloves. They fit really nicely, they are well made, and offer a bit of protection against the elements.

Verdict

Premium quality mid-temperature gloves that come with a premium price

road.cc test report

Make and model: Hirzl Grippp Tour FF 2.0

Size tested: L/9

Tell us what the product is for

A full finger glove designed specifically with grip in mind.

Hirzl shouts, "GET CONTROL. GET GRIPPP.

MAXIMUM GRIP UNDER ALL CONDITIONS.

ULIMTATE GRIP IN DRY, HUMID AND WET WEATHER CONDITIONS

SWEAT RESISTANT KANGAROO LEATHER PALM

ERGONOMIC FIT ALONG WITH LOWWRIST CONSTRUCTION"

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Hirzl lists these features:

Ergonomic Fit

Low Wrist Construction

Gel Padding

Kangaroo Leather Palm with Hirzl Grippp Technology

Easy Pull-On And Pull-Of system

Microfleece Thumb Wipe

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Really well made with a great thought on fit, complete with the cutouts to aid with flex in the palm.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Performed very well throughout the review, offering great grip and a bit of extra protection compared to mitts.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Stitching seems strong throughout and the choice of kangaroo leather means they are unlikely to need replacing any time soon.

Rate the product for fit:
 
9/10

Really good fit.

Rate the product for sizing:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight:
 
7/10

A good mid-weight: not as heavy as a full winter glove but slightly heavier than mitts.

Rate the product for comfort:
 
7/10

In general they are very comfortable, but they don't have as much padding as some and the Velcro can sometimes scratch the skin.

Rate the product for value:
 
4/10

These are very expensive non-winter full-finger gloves, there is no way of getting around that, although their quality goes some way to justifying it.

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

They are leather so can't be machine washed; they need to be washed in cold water and then line dried out of direct sunlight. A bit fiddly, but nothing too major.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

They performed well, offering good grip, a bit of protection, and decent breathability.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The fit is really good thanks to the supple materials used and the cutouts allowing the gloves to sit closer to your palm.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

They are expensive for a full-finger glove that can't really be used below about 6 degrees.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

They are expensive, both the Specialised Grail long finger gloves https://road.cc/content/review/249245-specialized-grail-long-finger-gloves and the Cube Natural Fit Touch Gloves which Stu looked at a few years ago are £20 cheaper. https://road.cc/content/review/147602-cube-natural-fit-touch-gloves

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes, if discounted.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

They are a really impressive pair of gloves, even if the Velcro strap was sometimes a little irritating. They use premium materials and the kangaroo leather seems to work very well, but they are expensive.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 29  Height: 6 ft  Weight:

I usually ride: Cinelli Gazzetta  My best bike is: Cannondale Supersix Evo

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mountain biking

George is the host of the road.cc podcast and has been writing for road.cc since 2014. He has reviewed everything from a saddle with a shark fin through to a set of glasses with a HUD and everything in between. 

Although, ironically, spending more time writing and talking about cycling than on the bike nowadays, he still manages to do a couple of decent rides every week on his ever changing number of bikes.

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1 comments

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tugglesthegreat | 5 years ago
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Love mine, use them for cyclocross racing and other events. Really gippy and really nice fit.

I did get mine for about £20 so will be saving them and not using them for training.

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