There’s a very fine line between gloves that provide enough warmth to keep your digits from freezing and gloves that dull and reduce your ability to operate your bike, but the Hestra Windstopper Tracker gloves seem to have managed to tread that line just right.
Hestra is renowned for its ski gloves and has applied its winter weather know-how to these well made mountain bike gloves. Despite lacking any great bulk, the Windstopper Trackers have kept our hands really warm on rides with temperatures that were down into single figures. The Gore Windstopper uppers did exactly that – stopped wind.
The Chamude synthetic suede palms provide plenty of grip and are lightly padded at the heel and base of the fingers. The glove is available in six sizes, and Hestra says it’s crucial to get a proper fit, so do some careful measuring or try them on first if possible.
Despite getting splattered with mud many times over, the white uppers have resisted stains and cleaned up well, being machine washable.
Breathability is less good, however, so they can get a little sweaty. There’s also a degree of twisting between the inner and outer layers when moving around on the bars, and the short elastic cuff can allow the elements to creep in when changing hand position. But if you want a well-made, warm glove for cold rides, then look no further.