Gripgrab Waterproof Winter Glove Review

Simon Tuck

A review of the Gripgrab Waterproof Winter Glove

These Gripgrab Winter gloves are waterproof and windproof. They aren’t too bulky and they have a nice long cuff. There’s a rubberised grip on the palms, a touchscreen pad on the thumb, and the Gripgrab trademark ‘doctor gel’ padding. They came with a box of Winter accessories we previewed here.

Rubberised grip on the palm and the Doctor Gel pad

First of all these gloves seemed to come up slightly smaller than expected. I have a pair of Gripgrab Summer gloves, so ordered the same size. Although, there’s no pressure points and the gloves have been very comfortable despite this.

Often Winter gloves can have quite bulky cuffs. One of my favourite features of these Gripgrab Winter gloves is that they have quite slim cuffs, the Velcro is very neatly placed. Although I normally tend to wear my jacket sleeves over the cuffs of gloves in heavy rain, I’ve found that these gloves sealed quite well on the few rides that I did get caught out by a shower. In addition, the slim fit is quite flattering to the rest of your ensemble.

The softer fabric on the back of the thumb is great for wiping your face, nose, or just clearing your glasses.

Winter gloves in the UK need to be waterproof and windproof. These gloves are 100% on both accounts. Although they can get a bit sweaty when you’re pushing hard, I find that they quickly wick the sweat away once you inevitably slow down a bit.

I’ve used these gloves in below freezing temperatures, on rides around 3 hours or slightly longer including waiting around for people to fix punctures. Whilst they do take a short while to warm up, that’s ideal for Winter training rides where you expect to be raising your pulse.

The cuff is neat and not too bulky. Aesthetically pleasing for people with skinny wrists.

The touch screen pad on the thumb is a bit disappointing if I’m being picky. I tend to try to use my forefinger, then remember it’s the thumb that has the pad. It’s not as easy for swiping through Garmin screens on the move, but it’s fine for tapping to get rid of the text notification that hides the ‘time of day’ field at the bottom of the screen. Using my Garmin when stopped was fine, and the gloves have plenty of feel for pressing DI2 buttons and ripping open snacks.

The Doctor Gel pad on these Winter gloves is slightly more noticeable than on other Gripgrab gloves I’ve used. I spend lots of time in the drops on the flat Cambridgeshire roads, and I had to re-learn where the drops ended with the Doctor Gel pad in the way. On the shifters or the tops, the Doctor Gel pad wasn’t in the way. I didn’t get numb fingers despite the cold, so I tend to agree that the gel pad helps absorb some of the road buzz.

Waterproof and not too bulky

I had the misfortune to crash in these gloves, and apart from taking some of the rubberised grip off at the ends of the fingers, they’re still as good as new. My general opinion of Gripgrab kit is that it’s well made and durable. It’s not the cheapest brand, but well worth the outlay to know that it’ll last a few years.

In conclusion I’ve really enjoyed wearing these Gripgrab Winter gloves. I’d like the touch pad on either the index or forefinger, but it’s not a deal breaker. The Doctor Gel pad could be slightly less prominent or perhaps moved slightly, but that might just be my weird shaped hands. And it’s something that didn’t cause a problem once I’d got used to where the ends of the bars were. I’d say these Gripgrab Winter gloves compare well to my previously favoured Winter gloves from Sealskinz. The Gripgrab gloves are slightly better at getting rid of sweat though, and they’re less bulky.

Gripgrab Website

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