Best winter cycling gloves 2024 - Just the right warmth for the full range of winter weather (2024)

Finding the best winter cycling gloves is a lifelong project for most cyclists. Unlike other sports, cycling requires holding your hands out in front of your body without moving for long periods of time. It's the hardest test of any gloves and it's a challenge I've thrown the full weight of this publication into solving. I talked to brands, I ran gloves under the faucet, and more important than any of that, I rode for hours on end no matter what the weather looked like. I tested every pair of gloves I could in cold and wet weather to see what worked and what didn't.

One of the things I found is that keeping your hands warm doesn't actually start with your gloves. Even the best winter cycling gloves are only one piece of the system that keeps you warm and comfortable. That means you need to start by keeping your arms and core warm. So, as you read through this list, make sure you also take a look at our lists covering the best winter cycling jackets and the best cycling base layers. Still, gloves are their own unique beast and it takes a lot of trial and error to get them right.

After I finished all the testing and investigation, this is my list of what I think is best. I tried to cover every situation I could think of and provide options at a range of prices. If you are looking for a solution to cold hands this winter, keep reading to see the best winter cycling gloves available.

Quick list

Best winter cycling gloves available today

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All-around winter cycling gloves

Most people don’t spend hours riding in the absolute coldest weather even in places where it gets relatively cold. If you need a warm glove, but you’ll skip the extreme days, these are the right choices for the coldest days you’ll ride in.

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Best all-around winter cycling gloves

Gore invented the idea of a breathable membrane. Many of the other options on this list use either a Gore-branded membrane or a duplicate of the same concept. Not every membrane Gore makes is waterproof, but the membrane in the Gore C5 Gore-Tex gloves is absolutely and completely waterproof and guaranteed to be so.

That makes these the warmest fully waterproof gloves that Gore offers. There is some small print to consider though. A waterproof membrane doesn't mean your hands will stay dry. Water has a way of getting in and while it won't come through the membrane, it can come through the wrist. The face fabrics can also hold water but one of the advantages of the Gore C5 Gore-Tex gloves is both the faux leather palm and the upper fabric are heavier than other options. These gloves hold up not only to rain but also to daily use. They also tend to show up at great prices. They do lack touchscreen functionality but anyone who rides long distances in cold and rainy climates will be well served by purchasing multiple pairs when the price is right.

Read more in our full Gore C5 Gore-Tex gloves review.

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Best all-around performance cycling gloves

Castelli often makes use of Gore-tex fabrics and then builds products that are similar to Gore Cycling but with a performance twist. That is the case here as well and the Castelli Espresso GT gloves use a traditional waterproof Gore membrane just like the Gore C5 gloves. The two gloves also share similarities in weight and use but Castelli focuses on hard and fast performance riding.

Instead of a hook and loop closure, Castelli uses a zippered closure. The Espresso GT also uses a longer cut at the wrist, a squared-off fingertip shape, and lots of silicone grip material on the palm. The overall effect is a less bulky feeling that is faster to get on and off and has a better connection with your bars than the Gore glove.

Between the two, the Castelli feels better to wear but there is a cost to that. Quite literally, they are much more expensive. They also lose the hard-wearing exterior of the Gore gloves, although both have held up fine for me. They also manage to hold on to the one major drawback of the Gore gloves and continue to have no touch screen functionality.

Read more in our full Castelli Espresso GT gloves review.

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Best budget all-around winter cycling gloves

The outer of the Velocio Alpha gloves isn’t waterproof and doesn’t claim to be. Instead the eVent DVStretch material is a competitor to the more common Gore-Tex Infinium and it combines a DWR (durable water repellent) coating with a windproof and water resistant membrane. You get tons of breathability and while the official rating is only water-resistant, it’s so close to waterproof that the performance is as good as any glove on the market. The real trick though isn't the eVent outer but rather what is on the inside.

Inside the Velocio Alpha gloves you will find Polartec Alpha. Basically this is the newest wonder material. It's incredibly warm for the weight and it breathes better than any other modern synthetic insulation. Velocio wraps a stylish outer with plenty of colours available around Polartec Alpha and makes a glove that covers a huge range of temperatures while keeping the bulk low.

You will want to watch the size guide carefully though; these gloves run a bit small. They also lack a touchscreen pad. All of this used to come with a high-price on top of it but Velocio has actually halved the price of these making them the runaway budget option.

You can read an in-depth review of the Velocio Alpha gloves here.

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Best all-around winter cycling gloves for grippiness

Every Sportful glove I've ever tried feels amazing gripping the bars. It was exactly that feeling, almost like a surgical glove, that almost got the Sportful Fiandre Light gloves on this list. In the end, they aren't quite warm enough but Sportful does have another option that's just as grippy.

The Sportful Sottozero winter gloves represent the warmest option that Sportful offers.

Compared to both the Castelli and Gore gloves in this section, the Sportful offering isn’t quite as warm. On the interior you’ll find Primaloft Silver insulation which is still impressively warm but not quite the warmest out there. Unlike other gloves though, Sportful constructs the fleece interior in a way that it won’t pull out when your hand is wet.

Of course there is also the ultra-grippy palm carried over from the lighter Sportful designs. The only spots where there are no silicone dots are on the tip of the forefinger and thumb where there's touchscreen compatibility. The rest of the construction builds on the palm by first wrapping the same faux suede from the palm over the whole thumb and into the forefinger. From there, it gives way to a tight knit external fabric with a windproof membrane and a DWR coating.

At the wrist is a hook and loop closure to keep the wind out. It does a great job but it’s so good that it ends up being the only mis-step in the design and will sometimes require using your teeth to get it open.

Read more in our full Sportful Sottozero winter gloves review.

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Deep Winter winter cycling gloves

This section contains what most people would consider speciality gloves. When you need to head out on a fatbike in the snow, have Rayynaud's syndrome, or just find yourself venturing out when few others are willing, then you’ll want to check out something in this section.

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Best deep winter cycling gloves

I'm hardly breaking new ground here by recommending the Pearl Izumi AmFib Lobster Glove. Talk to most cyclists who've been riding in seriously cold weather for a long time and these will come up. The reason they are so well known and loved comes down to what it takes to keep you warm. You can make exceptionally warm five-finger gloves but after a certain point, the price starts to really jump.

These aren't bargain basem*nt pricing but there's nothing warmer at this price level. Pearl Izumi doesn't cut corners to get there either. The lobster glove design pairs your first two fingers and your last two fingers for warmth at a much lower price. It's still easy enough to handle braking and shifting, and there's even touchscreen compatibility, but it does require a little bit more thinking about it at first..

You will want to mostly save these for drier days though. Pearl Izumi uses a technology called PI dry to apply DWR at the fibre level. It won't ever wash off but it's still a durable water repellent and that only goes so far. After enough time these will soak through and it becomes hard to get your hands out when they are wet.

Read more in our full Pearl Izumi AmFIB Lobster Gel gloves review.

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Best heated winter cycling gloves

I'm always cold and my fingers turn white and painful at times when others seem to do just fine. Heated gloves seem like the perfect solution but in the past there weren't many options. The only cycling specific option I could find wasn't awesome and so I branched out and settled on gloves designed for mountaineering and snow. You'll see that the Eddie Bauer Climb8 gloves are still here because the whole system is worthwhile when you don't mind some bulk. These are different though. What makes the Giro Vulc Lightweight gloves special is that Giro knows how to build a performance oriented cycling glove. Without beating around the bush, the Giro Vulc Lightweight is the best cycling gloves I've ever tested.

What makes the Giro design so good is that there's no insulation and no attempt at being waterproof (though the electronics are waterproof). These gloves run a bit small because there's no bulk and no need for airspace to trap body heat. Instead, Giro uses a windproof membrane material that fits snug to your hand and allows you to feel the bars and controls. When that's not enough on it's own, that's where the electronics take over.

The Giro Vulc Lightweight gloves don't need insulation because the long gauntlet houses an Inuheat battery pack. The pack charges quickly and connects to the gloves with a pair of magnetic contact points. Although the gauntlets don't have much room to go over other clothes, they are still a smart design that keeps the battery packs away from your wrist. Hold down the button and the system turns on with a vibration. Then, once connected, the heating elements run across the top of the hand and cover the knuckles down to the tips of every finger. Even with my hands that run cold I was able to spend just under two-hours, the max battery life when turned all the way up, right at freezing with no extra insulation.

When riding in the rain, or if you want more battery life with less power, the low bulk nature of these again shine. Smartwool, or other, liners are an excellent choice to add insulation. If it's raining you could also add either the Sportful or Assos covers to better keep your hands dry. Although the system is pricey, it's the best on the market.

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Best heated gloves for cold and dry weather

I almost took these gloves out of the guide when the Giro Vulc Lightweight came out. They aren't cycling specific so they are bulky and very much a compromise on the bike. They also aren't a good choice for a rainy ride. In the end though, I left the Eddie Bauer Guide Pro Smart heated gloves as an option because they are warmer and the heating system is better than the Giro Vulc. In most cases I would call the Giro Vulc a better glove when riding a bike but not always.

The big standout feature is an app that handles adjusting heat based on the need. Instead of buttons on the gloves, the gloves know when you put your hands in and turn on automatically. That means you'll never pull these out of your bag only to find they have been on and are now half dead. Once you put your hand in, there's still no adjustment on the glove and instead the heating elements adjust based on need in order to match the temperature you've set in the app. A side effect of the app dependance is that despite the sausage finger you'll have because of the bulk, you can use a touchscreen. For how unique the experience is though, it mostly disappears. The app is set and forget and everything just works seamlessly to add heat all the way to the end of the fingers.

If you are a performance oriented cyclist moving fast on a road or gravel bike, you will likely prefer the Giro option. If you need warmth for slower rides, or really cold and dry rides, then choose these Eddie Bauer gloves instead.

Read more details in our full Eddie Bauer Guide Pro Smart heated gloves review.

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Wet weather winter cycling gloves

Like deep winter gloves, wet weather gloves are a bit of a specialty item these days. Many people will just skip rainy outsides in favour of the indoors. For those that venture out when it’s raining, and even when it’s just above freezing and raining, these are the options for you.

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Best wet weather winter cycling gloves

Neoprene gloves seem like the perfect solution to riding in the rain. In reality, that is true but only when the rain is reasonably warm. As long as the air isn't too cold your hands will get wet then warm the water in the neoprene and you'll be toasty warm. If that's your riding environment then neoprene gloves are a great option and there are a ton to choose from.

Despite all the competition, the Castelli Diluvio gloves stand out from the crowd of neoprene gloves in a few ways. The biggest differentiator is that there is touchscreen compatibility on the thumb and forefinger. It doesn't work great but given that other options have nothing, this is a big upgrade. Castelli has also really nailed the fit between the thumb and first finger where many of these gloves are unreasonably tight. The abundance of silicone on the palm is also a nice feature that makes grabbing the controls feel great.

There's another thing to consider about these gloves though. If you ride where it rains and it's near freezing, like it is most of the winter in the US Pacific Northwest, then the Castelli Diluvio gloves are the other half of your winter riding system. Pair these with one of the shell options here and you can happily ride all day in heavy rain and temperatures just above freezing. With the shell protecting these from the wind and cold air, your body can heat up the water exactly the way neoprene gloves work in warmer weather. You'll be wet but warm and you won't need to change gloves every few hours. It's a serious game changing option.

Unfortunately these will probably rip after a while as there's no pull tab to protect the wrist where you will need to pull them off. It's a small blemish on an otherwise incredible option.

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Best performance wet weather winter cycling gloves

Assos is second to market with a game changing product for those who ride in cold rain. Given that no glove is truly waterproof, the best you can hope for is warm and wet. Neoprene gloves will keep you warm even when wet but if the outside air is too cold then they need protection. A shell glove provides that protection but keep in mind, you won't be able to use a shell on its own. Not only would it not provide much warmth but the Assos RSR Thermo rain shell gloves use a five finger (standard glove) design that's sized perfectly to fit over the top of standard gloves in the same size. Without something as a liner, you'll swim in these gloves.

Aside from the concept though, Assos RSR Thermo rain shell gloves are completely different from the Sportful Lobster glove shell option. Assos tends to focus on performance and that's no different here. The material feels almost like a surgical glove that still has the powder on it. It's a bit delicate, very thin, highly stretchable, and quite smooth to the touch. Buy your standard glove size and these will fit perfectly over the top of any of the all around winter options above. You will lose touchscreen compatibility, if you had it, but the palm has reinforced sections that also add some grip back. The length of the cuff is enough to reach your sleeve as well as cover the cuff of the liner glove.

Like the Sportful shell, these are also both waterproof and not. Assos uses a two layer waterproof membrane material that is completely waterproof then chooses not to tape the seams. You could add these to any glove as a way to add extra water resistance but they will leak through eventually. If you want to stay warm for hours in cold rain, add a pair of neoprene gloves as a liner. The biggest difference between the Assos and Sportful options is that Assos sticks to a five finger design allowing more dexterity.

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Best cold and wet weather winter cycling gloves

The most challenging situation for the best cycling gloves is cold rain. No matter what a brand might say, there is no such thing as a waterproof glove. There are gloves with waterproof membranes but those gloves still aren't waterproof. If you ride in cold rain for more than a couple of hours you will have wet and freezing hands.

The more I investigated this problem, the more I heard that the best option would be a shell without any ability to absorb water. The only problem was that there wasn't a good option available, then the Sportful Lobster glove hit the market. These gloves are the solution you need if you want to ride long distances in cold rain.

Just so I'm clear though, the Sportful lobster gloves still leak. For some reason Sportful didn't tape all the seams and water will work its way through. The advantage is that even when water comes through, there's no insulation to hold that water. Of course that also points to the other negative of the Sportful Lobster gloves, you will need another layer inside of them.

Despite those disadvantages, the Sportful Lobster glove is still the best option for riding in cold rain. The Sportful gloves are a Lobster design so they pair your first two fingers together and your last two fingers together. That adds warmth and the outside is, unlike the Assos option, a hard wearing material that will stand up to making your way through brush on a gravel bike. You can put these over any gloves you want but they don’t fit as tight as the Assos and you’ll inherently lose some dexterity. A pair of neoprene gloves as a liner is still an excellent choice in cold rain but if you are looking for warmth instead of dexterity, these are your choice.

Read more details in our full Sportful Lobster gloves review.

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Shoulder-season gloves

If you run hot, ride where it’s not that cold, or need something for the fall and spring, these are the gloves that will best match your needs.

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Best lightweight winter cycling gloves

I tend to do longer rides in colder weather and I'm constantly cold. That combination of traits has led me to spend a lot of time looking for warmer and more extreme gloves. Most people aren't looking for that though. Instead, most people need a much lighter glove that will do a lot and still be packable. That's where the Castelli Perfetto RoS gloves do the best work.

Gore fabrics see heavy use in Castelli designs. For the Perfetto RoS gloves Castelli uses Gore-Tex Infinium as the outer layer. That means there is a membrane and it's completely windproof but highly breathable. It also offers a high degree of water resistance although it's not considered waterproof. Aiding in the water resistance, Castelli applies durable water repellent to the outer surfaces and there's a minimal seam design. The wind resistance alone does go a long way towards providing warmth but the inside is a fleece that feels great against the skin and adds even more warmth. The result is a glove that is easy to stash in a jersey pocket but provides outsized warmth. You can use these across a wide range of temperatures and for many people, they provide more than enough warmth. These are quite a bit warmer than the Pearl Izumi Summit WxB and might work well through the whole winter in warmer climates.

There's no change of material for the palm, just added panels of synthetic suede covered in silicone dots at the base of the knuckles and heel of the palm. The first two fingers also have a strip of silicone to help with grabbing the levers. The one thing to watch out for is the length of the fingers. This will depend on your hand but for me, they are long and since I am on the line between sizes, down a size is better.

Read more details in our Castelli Perfetto RoS gloves review.

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Best comfortable winter cycling gloves

Knit gloves are a staple of winter riding in the cold and wet and there is a somewhat endless range of choices for them. Lots of companies make them and I've yet to find a particular advantage to one brand. The Giro Xnetic H20 gets the nod because they have a high visibility colour and some of the best pricing. There are lovers of these style gloves that manage to make them work through an entire winter. I run cold though and I find that in the US Pacific Northwest, these are strictly an option for milder days.

When the temperature is right though, they are a joy to wear. It doesn't feel like you are wearing a heavy performance glove. Instead, it's a comfy knit glove that just happens to build in complete wind-blocking. They do also have a waterproof membrane but you have to keep in mind that the exterior isn't waterproof and will hold water. This is true of almost all waterproof gloves but knit gloves are particularly prone to this phenomenon. This feature is part of what makes them work in early-season riding. When the temperatures aren't too low, they might end up wet but warm and it works. Aside from understanding how to get the most out of this style of glove, don't expect the touchscreen controls to work. There is a conductive spot but I always needed to take the gloves off to use a phone.

Read more in our Giro Xnetic H20 gloves review.

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Best early season winter cycling gloves

Pearl Izumi calls the Summit WxB glove a mountain bike glove. Don't worry, they work great on a road bike. Many of the best unpadded long finger gloves carry the mountain bike tag and this is yet another one. In the mountain bike world they are often summer specific but the Summit WxB is a bit more robust than that.

This pair of gloves from Pearl Izumi pairs a synthetic suede palm with a Polartec Neoshell backing. Polartec Neoshell is a fabric that competes with Gore-tex and is both waterproof and breathable. Given that the whole glove isn't meant to be waterproof, they won't keep your hands dry in a downpour. Instead, the choice Neoshell means the fabric is heavy enough that it will handle a wider range of temperatures without sweat build up. It's also worth noting, since it's rarely spelled out, that waterproof and breathable also means windproof. These are lightweight but very capable.

The palm is also a highlight. The synthetic suede is vegan but soft and grippy with extra silicone grip on the thumb and first two fingers. Then on the inside there's a thin layer of fleece. It's not much but like the back it adds a lot of warmth without bulk. On the palm it also means that there's a surprising amount of padding even though there's no silicone.

There is also touch screen functionality on the forefinger and thumb. In each place there's two lines of conductive thread and it works quite well, except when it doesn't. You have to line up your finger in just the right way to get the thread to touch. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't so while it's a nice detail it could be better.

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How to choose the best winter cycling gloves

The first thing I tend to tell people about finding the right winter cycling gloves is to go warmer than you think you need. If you are someone who tends to run warm and constantly has warm hands, you probably know this and you can choose appropriately. For everyone else, go warmer. Your hands sit without moving much for long periods of time and at least for me, when it's cold my hands are cold. I don't think I've ever been on a long cold ride and felt like my hands were too warm.

The other useful thing to remember is that you should bring more than one pair of gloves. In some ways, this is the counter to my first piece of advice. Not everyone is as cold as me and having another option solves that challenge. It's not always about options though, changing gloves mid-ride is the only way to manage a long winter ride if it's raining. I promise you will not mind the extra bulk of a second set of gloves when you change into them.

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