SPECIALIZED MEN’S TRAIL THERMAL GLOVE

£42

SPECIFICATION Sizes: S-XXL • Colours: Black, red • Contact: specialized.com

The best winter gloves are made with good insulation on the back of the hand for warmth, and thinner material on the palm for feel and control. The Specialized Men’s

Trail Thermal Glove runs with this formula, it uses a three-layer softshell upper to keep out the cold, while the palm is made with thinner Ax Suede.

No glove would be much use in the age of the iphone without touchscreen fingertips, and both the index finger and thumb come with the Specialized Wiretap fabric. The index, thumb and middle finger also gets silicone hexagonal-shaped dots on them for extra grip, and the glove is held in place with a long neoprene cuff and Velcro fastening.

It’s a good all-round package, the Trail Thermal Glove is reasonably warm and does do a good job keeping out the wind, even on the chilliest of days.

That said, my hands run pretty hot and you’ll generally find me riding gloveless nine months of the year, so cold-blooded riders might need something chunkier. The connection with the bar is OK, and even when wet or muddy stayed grippy and safe.

Sizing is spot on too, and the whole item is really nicely made and doesn’t show any signs of coming unstitched or even fading with use. Finally, I like the long neoprene cuff, it covers the gap between jacket and glove, all without digging into my wrist or impeding my movement.

There are some problems though, the glove is just that little bit too chunky, with excess material around the fingers making them feel somewhat clumsy. This doesn’t actually interfere with riding, but it makes it harder to operate a phone. The palm is also slightly too thick to deliver all the feedback I want from my grips and it’s this that spoils it for me.

Really though, the main problem with the Trail Thermal Glove is that the Brisker does it better. Ride 100% nailed it a few years ago, with the Brisker’s thin palm and padded back, and for me that’s the real backhand to the competition.

Jamie Darlow