Giro Candela 2.0 women's gloves

Giro's Candela 2.0 Women's Gloves offer great protection against biting winds and are durable, despite avoiding the bulk of full-on winter gloves. They're not as cosy as many, though, plus the fit is a little odd and breathability is low.

These gloves got plenty of use during long, steady rides, but really they're better for shorter commutes on cold mornings and evenings. Their lack of breathability means that any kind of purposeful training ride leaves you with rather sweaty hands.

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Following Giro's size guide, I tested a medium. The actual palm area is a great fit for me, but these are too snug around the fingers for my liking, and the fingers are too short as well. I'd certainly consider sizing up – or even trying the identically-styled men's version, the Ambient 2.0.

The cuffs are a reasonable length and tighten with Velcro adjusters – their thickness means they're happier outside your sleeves than in, but at least the Velcro is protected from curling or fraying too easily by its robust AX Suede backing.

Comfort

Turn the glove inside out and you see a super fleecy, teddy bear-like lining on the back of the hand and down the front of the thumb. It's well placed to protect against chill. If you want the technical version, it's 'high loft Polartec Windbloc'. Around the palms the lining is much less bulky for dexterity and feel, which works well.

The finger seams, though, detract from the comfort offered by the lining; I just don't feel the degree of cosiness I expect from something this fluffy. Possibly sizing up for more wiggle room (and more warm trapped air) would help.

The gel padding is not excessive; just a couple of patches on the palms. Although not so neatly finished in places, they seem extremely durable – after a lot of miles they remain unmarked. It also proves perfectly sufficient for rides up to 4.5 hours, and even outings on gravel.

Performance

These really do stand up to cold winds well. Giro's recommended range of between 4° and 13° is pretty accurate, though I find they get a bit sweaty at anything over 10° – and if I'm working hard, the limit is more like 7°C. Breathability is simply not good.

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The Candela offers some protection from rain too – short showers and light drizzle are no problem for the DWR coating. Persistent rain eventually soaks in, though, leaving them feeling weighty and very unpleasant.

For early morning and late evening commutes, though, I'm rarely going eyeballs-out and they're ideal; I get to work with fully functioning digits and no sign of sweaty palms. Effective reflective detailing helps them in that role, too.

Nurse the screens...

The touchscreen-sensitive fingers and thumbs are not reliable – I found them stiff, awkwardly shaped and basically useless on phones, though okay on a GPS with its much bigger targets.

The generous strip of insulating fabric along the edge of the thumb makes for a great nose wiper, if you are looking for that.

Value

Female-specific gloves are becoming more common, even though many women may (like me) still be happy with a unisex glove. Castelli's Perfetto RoS women's gloves offer a similar level of protection to the Candela 2.0, though with better breathability. They will set you back more at £65, though, and may not be so durable.

Sportful's WS Essential 2 Gloves are similar too, with better performance on touchscreens and a price that matches the Candela 2.0's exactly. If a female-specific glove is a priority, Sportful has just that in the WS Essential 2 W for the same £50 price.

If you are keen to get something cheaper, Triban's 900 Winter Cycling Gloves perform very impressively for £25.

Overall

The Giro Candela 2.0 gloves are particularly suited to commuters and those not so focused on performance – especially if they also have quite small fingers.

However, for me, the fit affects both comfort and performance, and the lack of breathability limits them to a narrow range of just a few degrees for hard efforts.

Verdict

Capable performers in cold, damp weather, but they're bad with screens and the fingers are small