Handup Cold Weather Glove Review

Review by Drew Rohde | Photos by Max Rhulen

If your bad circulation has you searching for new cold weather or winter riding gloves every season, then you’re no stranger to the struggle. It’s a double-edged sword for me as I take the task of finding the best cold weather cycling gloves to heart, because I need them! My hands are always freezing cold and it’s a normal occurrence for me to head out on a winter mountain bike ride with three different thickness gloves in my pack. I keep an “Oh shit I might lose a hand to frostbite today!” pair; another pair that’s a mid-40’s type glove; and then a thinner wind shell or minimalist winter mountain bike glove. The new Handup Cold Weather gloves sit in that middle zone and have been a welcome addition to my winter glove stockpile.

THE LAB

Handup’s Cold Weather Glove, what a great name by the way, features a single layer, insulated construction on top of the hand for moderately cold temps. Of course, moderately cold can vary wildly depending on if you’re a hot-blooded lumberjack in Wisconsin, or a thin-skinned SoCal transplant like myself. Regardless, the duck camo upper is lined with Fleece for extra comfort and some warmth. The top of the glove isn’t quite as “Puffy” or insulated as a 100% Brisker for example but isn’t far off. Handup recommends the Cold Weather Glove for temperatures from 38-50F, and also offers a “ColdER Weather Glove” for chillier 32-44F rides.

The palm is built using a durable, synthetic leather that has Handup Gloves’ trademark palm grip graphics. On trail influencers such as ourselves also appreciate the touch screen-friendly palm. It’s not the best we’ve ever used, but it gets the job done, even on a phone with a protective screen covering. This extends across the whole palm surface as opposed to just the fingertips like most gloves.

A neoprene cuff extends from the top of the glove and offers solid wind protection so even if your jersey sleeves ride up, you’ll be safe from Jack Frost’s attempts to send you home early. Another feature that I find incredibly valuable on cold weather riding gloves is soft, mucus-absorbing thumb cover. Handup’s Cold Weather Glove uses a soft towel sweat cloth the entire length of the thumb, which means even a kindergartner will have enough real estate to wipe his snot factory.

THE DIRT

Handup Glove’s website claims this glove is designed to be used in the 38–50-degree temperature range. Depending on your tolerance to cold and circulation, I’d say that’s pretty accurate. With my poor circulation, I found that unless I was super active, the gloves weren’t quite warm enough for me in the 30’s but felt comfortable in the 40’s up to about 50-52 degrees.

I’ve been riding in these gloves for the last two months or so and done everything from trail rides to shuttle days and even some dirt bike riding as well. Upon initial unpacking and my first time putting them on, I was a bit uncertain as to how comfortable they’d be and how much warmth they’d offer. When I first put them on, I noticed the seams and stitching around my fingers and thought they felt a bit unrefined. They also felt a bit thinner than some cold weather mountain bike gloves I’d ridden in. To my pleasant surprise, once I got on the bike I wasn’t focused on the seams and was able to enjoy the thin palms and the bar feel they provided. There’s no restriction like some winter gloves can give you, reducing the chance of hand cramps or fatigue on longer rides.

The Wolf’s Last Word

For $34, it’s hard to find a more affordable winter mountain bike glove that will help stave off the cold temperatures during those winter rides. They aren’t the most refined in terms of manufacturing or cushy internal feel, but again, for the price, they actually perform quite well. I was surprised at how warm they kept my hands as long as I was active and kept my core warm. If it was below 40-degrees I found myself wanting a thicker glove since I’ve got poor circulation but was quite happy using these anywhere in the 40s. The full-length thumb cloth is great for snot wiping and they work pretty well with smart phone screens too. All-in-all, a solid offering from Handup Gloves to the cold weather glove collection and I will definitely be putting a lot of miles in these over the next few months, and maybe looking to add their ColdER glove for the colder days.

Price: $34
Website: Handupgloves.com