Review on 🧤 Review: Pearl iZUMi Men's Elite Softshell Gel Gloves, Black - Pros & Cons, Fit, and Performance by Chris Bertoli

I'm skinny and my fingers get terribly cold when cycling, even at 40 years old. A while back I realized that the only way to keep my fingers from getting to that painful point is to aggressively ride to the point where my heart is sweating. When my core isn't sweating and the temperature is below 40 degrees when I'm not wearing heated gloves, then my fingers kill all joy. So the "only ride in winter when you can ride aggressively” strategy works with these gloves up to a point, mostly until the perceived temperature drops below 25°F. For example, this afternoon the actual/felt temperature was 32/25F and my fingers were unhappy, and the morning was even worse at 27/19F. I always use a thinly lined glove at these temperatures. Both trips were commutes and each took less than 40 minutes. The big plus for me with these gloves is that they're pretty much the only gloves that meet all three of my next critical needs: (1) insulation; (2) Wrist padding. health; (3) Wiping the mucus with the surface of the thumb after blowing your nose. I don't know about you, but I have to release snot through both nostrils at least every 5-8 minutes when driving in the cold. Hard, but that's life. Bike gear company Pearl Izumi knows this and was smart enough to put a softer, nose-friendly fleece (not terry, but acceptable) on the thumb. Unfortunately, where I live, the average January minimum temperature is 13°F and it probably feels worse. So these gloves are definitely not enough. I think I should only use battery heated gloves under 25F. The touch on the index finger is normal but not very good. It's annoying to even start or stop Strava, and even worse when I have to restart my radio or podcast app in the middle of a trip. I think I could fix it with some touch liquid or sew on some conductive thread. The conductive material itself doesn't appear to be woven in, just applied as a surface coating, so it's likely to degrade over time. With these gloves you can shift. Of course, nothing beats bare fingers or even lined gloves. When upshifting I have to look at the gear with the smaller internal derailleur but hopefully I'll get used to it over time. Conclusion: Great cycling gloves for sub-zero temperatures, but not for teenagers or 20-year-olds.