Craft Siberian Winter Glove Review

Cold weather cycling without the proper equipment can be downright painful. As we all know it's the hands and feet that feel it first in lower temperatures. The right winter cycling gloves can make all the difference and allow you to get out more often and stay out longer. Over the last three seasons Craft Siberian gloves have done just that for me.

I purchased my Siberians before a trip to Italy to ride with the guys from Lampre, it was going to be below freezing and wet. I was living in Florida at the time and a little out of the loop with good winter gear. Turns out it was a great choice. I now live in Greenville, South Carolina and do a lot of cold weather riding. Almost three years down the road the Siberians are going strong, they still look great and show almost no wear.

On the low side. Craft Siberians keep my hands warm until just below freezing. My fingers start to feel the cold around 29 degF (-1 degC)

On the high side. For a glove that is good below freezing the Siberians are great when it warms up. I find I can keep them on for the entire ride most often and don't need to carry a second pair of gloves and stuff these into my pockets. They start feeling stuffy around 55-60 degF (15 degC).

Getting them wet. Don't do it. Craft Siberians are not waterproof, they manage a slight shower well but not a downpour. Water soaks right through and they become ice blocks. Used with a over shell they would be great in some really extreme conditions but they are not a do-it-all glove if you ride in below freezing wet conditions. So no Siberian winter for the Siberians.

Grip and feel. Perhaps the strongest characteristic of the Siberians is handlebar feel and grip. For a glove that manages the cold as well as they do they are not very bulky and feel pretty good on the handlebars. I have used them on my mountain bike and in some hard cornering road rides and they perform great. The synthetic leather palms are not heavily padded and have rubberized dots to enhance grip. They are reasonably nimble when zipping, unzipping, pushing computer and light buttons etc.

Get a pair if you want to keep riding through the winter and not let cold hands scare you off. They might not be the right glove for a winter cycling sadist. If you are the latter I suggest look toward a glove layering system and rubbing your hands with some hot embrocation before you go out.

Comments welcome, thank you for reading.

Clive de Sousa