Despite their bargain price, Endura’s Deluge gloves are totally waterproof, thanks to a full waterproof membrane sandwiched between the Cordura outer and soft touch palm. They even passed the hand-in-bucket test.
They’re also impressively warm, helped by the long Neoprene cuff extension. A Velcro closure at the base of the hand enables a close fit. The snot wipe isn’t on the thumb but all the way up the forefinger, meaning there’s a decent length to wipe your nose with when the cold weather causes it to run.
The padded palm divided our reviews team, though. Our road tester felt the gel pads were well placed and gave a comfortable grip, but his off-road counterpart said they didn’t give as good feel through the bars as the best of the competition.
The mountain biker said the callous-covering ridge of padding meant his hands felt as though they were more on top of the bars than wrapped around them. The palm tended to bunch up towards the thumb too, and that was a little uncomfortable.
For road and commuting use we’d give these gloves full marks, but off-road they’re merely average. Good feel through the bars is essential when you’re at the limits of traction on wet, muddy mountain bike rides.
This article was compiled from reviews in Mountain Biking UK and Cycling Plus magazines