Full-finger gloves are part of most trail riders’ uniform, but there’s also a very practical reason to wear them – they protect your hands. You get reinforcement on the back, which is helpful when riding through spiky vegetation, and padding on the palm, which can lessen the impact force and abrasion should you have a close encounter with terra firma.
Full-finger gloves function as a second skin, which keeps grip levels high as palms get sweaty, and can stop blisters if you’re just starting out, or calluses if you’ve been around the block. Some use smart materials on the key impact areas, get perforated palms to enhance breathability, and also feature touchscreen compatibility for those impromptu trailside selfies or route checks.
Like most apparel, there is an overwhelming choice of gloves on the market. Established brands offer reliable performance for the most part, and with prices relatively low, mistakes aren’t as costly as they can be with garments like shoes and helmets.
USED & ABUSED
How we test
Since there is no consistency between sizes across brands and even within ranges, we ordered medium and large sizes of each glove and then tested the one that fitted the best. We also used two testers with different hand shapes because some of the pull-on gloves were hard to get on in the correct size. We looked for bunching in the palm, looseness or tightness in the thumb and fingers and sent dozens of texts to check the touchscreen compatibility. We also weighed all the gloves and assessed the wear on the palm and the collar, especially on the pullon collars because some often split there.
JARGON BUSTER
Know your gloves
SHAPED FINGERS
Your fingers are not perfectly straight, so the fingers of your gloves should not be either. Ergonomically pre-shaped fingers prevent bunching, improve the fit and cut bulk.
UNDER-WRIST CLOSURE
This removes bulk from the fold at the top of your wrist and is less likely to get snagged when riding through overgrown trails.
SIZING
With zero sizing consistency across brands, our advice is to ignore the label completely and try before you buy.
STRAPLESS DESIGN
Trail gloves have either a small Velcro securing strap/tag, or simply pull on using the stretch
