Spenco Cycling Gloves: Cold SNAP
This past year Joe “J Sizzle” Solancho hooked up our team with a new team sponsor “Spenco“. If you haven’t heard of this company yet you MUST check them out. The company offered to send us some sweet gloves to ride with. I must confess that I initially was not impressed with the limited selection of colors to choose from. What can I say? I am a girl and I like pink – deal with it. I didn’t let my color preference deter me from giving these gloves a test run though.
Specs:
Designed with cold weather riders in mind, these gloves are declared perfect for temps as low as the 30s.Anatomically pre-curved for maximum comfort
Patented channel over the median nerve reduces hand fatigue and numbness.
Fleece lined for warmth and comfort even when wet.
Silicone dots on palm ensure great grip.
Neoprene cuff and wind gusset designed to keep cold air out.MSRP: $39.99
The riding conditions this past month have been a little chillier than this california native prefers to ride in. Great opportunity to whip out my Spenco “COLD SNAP” gloves. Now you must understand Lady P does not like the cold – hence the reason I reside in SO CAL. I am a cold blooded gal – seriously. My hands and feet are always freezing. RL screams at night when I place my feet between his legs because my feet are freezing to touch. Perhaps this is a little much information for you but I say this only so that you can get a FULL understanding of how extremely sensitive I am to ANY cold conditions. The cold makes me shiver, my teeth chatter and my bones ache. Granted, it is not thirty below zero, but 40 degrees in SO CAL is about all the cold I can handle!
Me wearing Spenco Cold Snap Gloves.
Anyways, now that you have an idea on my tolerance for cold lets continue. The past few weeks the temperature has deterred me from getting in a few good mountain bike rides. It’s sad, I know. This past Saturday though I was determined to make it out to Aliso Woods because rain is in the forecast for the next two weeks! When we arrived out in Aliso Woods at 8am I stepped out of the car and immediately thought that perhaps I should have just stayed in bed. It was cold and overcast and big rain drops were beginning to fall. Even the hottest blooded man I know (RL) was complaining! I threw on my third layer of clothing (no kidding) and tried to tape up the ventilation holes on my shoes but the tape wouldn’t stick because of all the dirt on my shoes. This was in addition to my ear warmers and leg warmers. It was cold. You get the idea.
RL reminded me I had my Spenco gloves and I knew immediately my hands were going to be a’ok. I have got to tell you that these gloves are a sure bet for keeping your fingers protected from the cold. These gloves are thick but not so thick that you can’t grip your brakes or drop a gear without ease. The outside fabric is tough, but the inside is FLEECE – wonderful fleece! That fleece kept my fingers toasty even as the temperature dropped another 10 degrees riding through the lower canyon.
RL wearing Spenco Cold Snap Gloves (he loves them!)
These gloves have become an absolute necessity for my winter mountain bike rides. My fingers don’t feel numb as they typically would. Actually last year I had to line my hands with a latex glove that would leave my hands looking like a wrinkled raisin by the end of the ride because of all the moisture. Since I have received these Cold SNAP gloves though I haven’t had to rely on latex to keep my hands warm. It’s still cold, but it’s much more manageable with these gloves. There’s other cool features – like silicone dots for gripping, and some sort of patent channel to reduced fatigue in the hands or something like that. That’s all great and all but what matter’s to me most is my hands are not freezing and I can still maneuver my breaks and levers. This makes Lady P very happy. Now if they can just come out with some socks for my toes so that they don’t feel like they are going to fall off. 😉
I am pleasantly surprised that I have enjoyed using these gloves as much as I have. Sure, they aren’t as feminine looking as I would like them to be..BUT they do what they are supposed to do – they keep these manicured fingers protected from the chill. And as long as that makes my bike ride that much more enjoyable then this glove gets two thumbs up from Lady P. 😉