December Gear Review: Evo Thunder Gloves

Each month, our friends at Hawley share a review on the latest gear that is passing through their warehouse on its way to your local bike shop. As always, thanks to Ken Klatte, Production Artist with Hawley, for this sneak-preview and words of wisdom. For more from Hawley on the latest and greatest in bike gear, check out their blog or YouTube channel.

A lot goes through your mind when you’re trapped in a torrential downpour on your road bike when it’s 50 degrees. Apart from the usual abject hopelessness and thoughts of “just ending it so I don’t have to endure this anymore!”, the mind turns to what to wear for future bouts with rain and cold.

I thought of this as I rode down an extremely cold and wet mountain decent 2 weeks ago. As my hands were pummeled by a stinging rain and stiff headwind, I ruminated on how completely awesome my sample pair of Evo Thunder gloves were doing. Made from sturdy yet flexible neoprene, the gloves were like miniature scuba suits for my hands. After an hour of steady precipitation, my hands were dry and somewhat warm. Warm is a relative term when descending a mountain so I’ll qualify it with this: my hands weren’t stinging, throbbing or completely numb. The thermal lycra lining worked wonders! The resulting dexterity in my hands made the descent manageable and significantly less terrifying.

The Thunder gloves have a thin silicone palm pattern for increased grip on the handlebars and the extra long wrists meant moisture and wind stayed off the skin and out of the sleeves.

If you are looking for wet ride gloves that manage to keep hand warmth in and repel Mother Nature, the Evo Thunder should be on your short list. Available in the always fashionable black. Suggested MSRP $32.99