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Proviz Reflect360 Waterproof Cycling Gloves

8
£49.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Fantastic reflectives, effective water resistance, good warmth and great build quality but they come up a bit small
Padding is a bonus
Snug cuffs keep the cold out
Loads of reflectivity
Well made
Come up a little small
No nose wipe
Weight: 
106g

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Proviz's REFLECT360 Waterproof Cycling Gloves do a great job. They keep the water out in all but the heaviest of downpours, offer loads of reflectivity for visibility, are warm, and they even come with some padding. My only realm criticism is that the fingers are shorter than most brands' gloves, and there is no nose wipe. And if you are in the market for gloves, check out our best winter cycling gloves buyer's guide.

If you ride a lot in the dark, especially in traffic, reflective gloves are a big bonus, giving drivers behind a 'glow-in-the-dark' hand indicating your intentions once their headlights illuminate it.

2022 Proviz REFLECT360 Waterproof Cycling Gloves - reflective.jpg

There will be absolutely no missing these Proviz gloves on that score, considering how much reflective material Proviz has used. This covers the entire back of the hand, the thumb and a strip on the cuff. And if you don't want to go for all-over reflective gloves, Proviz also does them in other colours – yellow, black, orange, blue and pink – with reflective stripes on the fingers and cuffs.

In the months I've been wearing these gloves, they've been washed numerous times – well, this has been a wet British winter – and I'm glad to say the reflective material is still looking in tip-top condition. Some reflective materials can be quite fragile, so it's good to see that Proviz has focused on quality here. In fact, the gloves are well made throughout.

2022 Proviz REFLECT360 Waterproof Cycling Gloves - finger.jpg

I also found the gloves effective at keeping my hands warm whatever the temperature. Even riding in sub-zero conditions isn't an issue, with the very soft lining material proving extremely warm. And the lining doesn't pull out when you have sweaty hands.

The water resistance is also pretty effective. Riding in very heavy rain, which there's been no shortage of recently, some water did get in through the seams. But the reflective sections repel water, and as they cover most of the glove that faces the elements, the level of protection is very good.

And I found that even when my hands did get a little wet, they certainly remained warm.

2022 Proviz REFLECT360 Waterproof Cycling Gloves - palm.jpg

The gloves have a silicone pattern on the palms that stops you losing grip of your bar in the wet and, a bit of a bonus on winter gloves, these also have a couple of padded sections.

These consist of a thin section across the top of the palm, with another section in the middle. They are subtle, but they provide sufficient plushness if you're riding gravel tracks or bridleways in between road sections.

2022 Proviz REFLECT360 Waterproof Cycling Gloves - cuff strap.jpg

The cuffs are long enough to fit under a jacket's sleeves, and they're secured by a Velcro strap, ensuring a snug fit and preventing your wrists from getting cold.

In fact, I like the fit of these gloves. They have quite a slender cut, so they don't feel bulky and you retain 'feel' through your hands while you're riding.

2022 Proviz REFLECT360 Waterproof Cycling Gloves - back.jpg

I do think the sizing comes up a little small though. I wear a large glove in pretty much every manufacturer's line-up, but as I have shortish fingers, I normally have a bit of spare length at the end of the glove.

These were a snug fit. There wasn't a huge amount of room around my fingers, and my fingers went right to the tips of the gloves' fingers; if you have 'normal'-length fingers you might want to go up a size.

Value

At £49.99 these are much cheaper than the £73 Cafe du Cycliste Audax Cycling Gloves that Ben gave a mixed review to.

Chiba's Bio-X-Cell Winter Warm-Line Thermal Waterproof gloves not only have an impressively long name, but George found they also kept the elements out and maintained warmth. They are a little bit pricier than the Proviz gloves at £54.99.

The Galibier Barrier Deep Winter gloves come with a good amount of reflectivity and will shield you from pretty much everything the weather can throw at you, and cost just £28.68.

Conclusion

Get the sizing right and you'll find yourself with highly reflective gloves that also stand up well to the winter weather – and for a decent price too.

Verdict

Fantastic reflectives, effective water resistance, good warmth and great build quality but they come up a bit small

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Proviz Reflect360 Waterproof Cycling Gloves

Size tested: Large

Tell us what the product is for

Waterproof winter gloves with the benefits of plenty of reflectivity.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

100% reflective outer shell for visible hand signals at night

Silicone web grip

Padded palm reinforcement

Touchscreen compatible

Utilises Korean Hipora waterproof and breathable insert

Waterproof, windproof, breathable

Adjustable 'hook & loop' velcro cuff

Soft brushed inner lining for enhanced comfort

Nose wipe

Machine washable

Sizes available: Small – 2XL

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for fit:
 
8/10
Rate the product for sizing:
 
7/10

I think the fingers come up a bit short compared to a lot of brands on the market.

Rate the product for weight:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

The material and stitching is still looking in as-new condition after plenty of washes.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Great reflectivity and highly effective weather-fighting performance.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Impressive waterproofing.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Fingers are a bit short in relation to the gloves' sizing.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

They have a sensible price tag, sitting at the mid-point between many of the competition.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

Double check the sizing, but once you get the fit right you'll find the Proviz gloves to be impressive in tough weather with the added bonus of loads of reflectivity.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 44  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

As part of the Tech Hub here at F-At Digital, our senior product reviewer Stu uses the knowledge gained from putting well over a 1,000 products through their paces (including hundreds of bikes) to write in-depth reviews of a huge range of kit. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 160,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. Although, as he spends a fair bit of his time reviewing ebikes these days he's becoming an expert in letting the motor take the strain. He's also waiting for 23mm race tyres to make a comeback!

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6 comments

Avatar
joules1975 | 10 months ago
1 like

Not a comment on the gloves, more about proviz. I have their Pixelite Gilet, and would happily buy a pixelite jacket, but they are only available in black. So, very visible at night, not so much in the day.

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to joules1975 | 10 months ago
0 likes
joules1975 wrote:

Not a comment on the gloves, more about proviz. I have their Pixelite Gilet, and would happily buy a pixelite jacket, but they are only available in black. So, very visible at night, not so much in the day.

My thoughts exactly, I've no idea why a company whose customers are, by definition, going to be highly visibility conscious makes jackets that are only visible in certain conditions. Mrs H has a Proviz Nightrider silver/grey jacket, absolutely perfect at night, she wears a fluorescent gilet over it most of the time because in daylight and at dusk it could actually have been designed to camouflage a rider in traffic. 

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Rendel Harris | 10 months ago
1 like

Yep, grey is bonkers.

Avatar
OnYerBike replied to Rendel Harris | 10 months ago
1 like

The unique selling point of ProViz was their garments being made almost entirely out of a retro-reflective material. It certainly seems that the best (or at least most widely used) material for retro-reflective garmets is grey - any generic hi-viz jacket, the reflective bits are grey. I would certainly agree there is a trade-off, but some people may prefer greater reflection than more conspicuity in daytime. 

If you want something that is a mix of reflective and fluorescent/hi-viz, I don't understand why you would have chosen ProViz in the first place - plenty of established cycling brands already catered to that market segment (think Altura Nightvision; DhB Flashlight). 

I think ProViz now offer jackets that are colours other than grey whilst still being reflective all other, but looks like those colours are still fairly subdued compared to (non-reflective) fluorescent/hi-viz colours.

Personally, I think being well lit is far more important at night than being highly reflective. For daytime riding, reflectives are largely pointless and I would stick to bright/hi-viz colours. 

Which is a roundabout way of saying I agree and I don't think ProViz jackets are the best solution, but I also think it's a bit harsh to criticise ProViz for trying to do something a bit different and finding their own niche.

Avatar
Cycloid replied to joules1975 | 10 months ago
0 likes

Provis rely heavily on retroreflective materials in their garments., The retro prefix means they reflect light back towards it's source, ie vehicle headlights. (Nothing to do with old school!)
A grey retroreflective garment is only Hi-vis if you are picked up in headlights and offers little benefit on roundabouts, slip roads, etc, or protection from vehicles emerging from side roads. They may even have the adverse effect of making cyclists think they are more visible than they really are.
A Hi-Viz garment must contain both Fluorescent and Retroreflective materials.

Avatar
Secret_squirrel | 10 months ago
0 likes

Admittedly my version of these gloves are a good few years old but I found they were neither particularly warm or waterproof, so barely used them.

Glad they have improved. 

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