There’s a simple way to see whether a summer glove is any good at keeping you cool, and that’s to ride it in cold weather. When we were caught in an unseasonable hail storm, it became obvious how excellently ventilated the Mavic Stratos gloves are – we felt every bit of the bitingly cold wind and our hands went numb.
Provided you use them in correctly warm conditions, they’re very pleasant. The super thin and padding-free palm provides excellent feedback and comfort, and doesn’t bunch up.
The palms are sewn flat on the outside of the fingers, so there’s no inner seam to press against the grips and cause discomfort and, combined with the stretchy inter-finger segments, it’s easy to forget you’ve got them on at all.
The backing is stretchy too, with a silicone scuff guard that helps keep the shape over the knuckles as well as offering extra abrasion resistance, but don’t expect much protection from thorns or brambles.
The snot/sweat wipe section is a good size and the pull-on fit is snug but easy to get on and off. We’d wholeheartedly recommend these gloves if we could guarantee properly hot summers, but despite being well made they’re on the pricy side for something so specific.
This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.