GripGrab Gloves

Paul Horta-Hopkins

We preview four gloves from Scandinavian brand GripGrab.

GripGrab was founded in 2000 by Martin, Kristian and Bjørn Krøyer. These brothers are runners and cyclists who live in Scandinavia, where they know a thing or two about cold weather and how to deal with it. The company focuses on producing clothing accessories that let you get out there and enjoy your sport, no matter the weather. We have been sent four pairs of GripGrab gloves to try out on this year’s ‘cross and mtb adventures.

We have four of pairs of GripGrab Gloves to try out

First up is the re-designed Racing glove that I reviewed last year, read it here. The GripGrab Racing glove is a high performance, full finger glove. Designed to be the “ultimate lightweight racing glove, suitable for both road and MTB racing”. It is very lightweight with no padding on the AX Suede palm and an Air flow mesh back. Despite the palm being so thin, GripGrab say it is made from one of the highest abrasion suedes on the market.

The GripGrab Racing glove has been updated for this year

Grip and feel are important with full finger gloves, thick bulky gloves can spoil the connection with your bike. To counter this GripGrab have added silicone grip to the inside of some of their gloves. They call this InsideGrip Technology. The idea is to improve the grip between glove and hand, as there is already plenty of grip between the handlebar and glove.

Here you can see the InsideGrip Technology used on some GripGrab Gloves, like the Racing and Vertical, to improve feel

I used my Racing gloves on all my Cross/Gravel rides, such as the CX Century, where they performed really well. They’ve also had a full season of cyclo-cross and they’ve been great whatever the weather. I’ll be interested to see how the updated version performs with the new InsideGrip and without any padding.

Next up from the GripGrab gloves range is the GripGrab Vertical. The Vertical is aimed at the downhill and free riders amongst you. Again it uses InsideGrip Technology to improve handlebar feel and control, even more important for these disciplines.

The GripGrab Vertical is designed for downhill and free riding

An Ax Suede palm and Rugged Mesh back should mean that the Vertical can probably take the abuse without feeling sweaty. Again there is no padding to get between you and the bars, these gloves are all about keeping you in contact with the bike.

Some nice discreet logos on the Vertical

Our next two GripGrab Gloves are from their women’s range, they are the Shark and Progel Full finger. The GripGrab women’s gloves are designed to fit smaller hands. While aimed at women GripGrab have avoided covering them in ‘girly’ patterns and colours. This also makes them a good option for children and men with smaller hands.

The GripGrab Shark is aimed at off road riders

The GripGrab Shark glove is aimed at off-road riding. With 4mm DoctorGel® padding on the durable synthetic leather palm you should be covered against trail buzz and falls. A supple mesh back will keep your hands cool and also provide some protection from thorns. A ‘sweat’ wiper, reflective logos and a slip-in cuff round off the details.

Last of all is the GripGrap Progel Full finger. This is designed to be an all round, all bike kind of glove. With DoctorGel® padding on it’s grippy Serino palm they should give a comfortable ride. The gloves have a full lycra back for spring/autumn days, and a ‘sweat’ wiper to deal with any emissions!

The GripGrab Progel Full Finger glove is an all round glove

Adjustable velcro fasteners make adjusting the fit easy. Also at the wrists are GripGrab’s gMagnets. I found these little magnetic tabs a real boon on my Racing gloves. Although seemingly too weak, they were great at keeping your gloves together when travelling. That I haven’t lost one of my gloves in a year shows they work!

DoctorGel® padding on the palm for comfort

We’ll be testing these GripGrab Gloves out over the coming weeks on various terrains and bikes. We’ll let you know how they perform once we’ve given them a good thrashing!

GripGrab Gloves

GripGrab Gloves

[rps-include blog=127.0.0.1 post=30824]