Five HG3 £229.99 inc batteries www.five-gloves.shop
The Fives are quite lightweight and feel like they are intended for late autumn or early spring riding rather than the depths of full-on winter — they have a slightly shorter cuff than some others. Good feel for the bike’s controls translates into a feeling of chilliness without the heating activated.
The fit is nice, with a good relationship between finger and thumb length and general comfort is good too, though it is possible to feel the seams of the liner and the electrical system between the inner and outer layers and the lining does feel a bit baggy in use.
Confidence is reasonable, with hard knuckle armour and palm slider but it does take a knock due to the lightweight feel and the short cuff.
On the lowest heating level, selected on the big and easy-to-see buttons, there is no indication that there is heat being generated, other than the fingers don’t feel cold any more. There’s no real difference between the three settings when it comes to overall feel — the hand doesn’t feel hot but turning them off from the highest heat saw an instant cooling across the hand.
The freezer test though showed they generate — and hold — heat well when the temperature gets low. However, they did get chilly in the water dunk test, though they didn’t allow water in.
Mid-sized batteries gave good life