The apparent white heat of technological change is clear in these Malmo winter gloves from Weise. They’re marketed as a winter glove and the Swedish name certainly infers good insulation, yet they are slim, light in weight and lacking in bulk. They appear more like a summer or autumn glove, so I confess that when I went for my first ride, I put my old winter Alpinestars in the top box, just in case…
That light weight was the most striking feature when I first pulled these Malmo gloves on. The second thing that hit me is that they are short of cuff. Disturbingly so. If you wear your gloves under your jacket sleeves you’ll not notice, but I had difficulty getting them to encompass my jacket cuff, as the Velcro-closing aperture is not generous and is definitely shorter than I’d expect, to ensure a draught-free seal. That sounds negative, but in use these gloves really belie their size.
Construction is a mix of materials. The palm is full-grain leather with a suede-like panel to improve grip, further enhanced by a Weise logo in silicon. The rest of the outer shell is a textile material, with padding at the knuckles, palms, fingers and thumbs. Best of all there’s a little squeegy blade on the forefinger to clear moisture from your visor.
There’s a waterproof, windproof and breathable liner, and insulation is provided by a Thinsulate™ G60 thermal lining, which seems to be the magic ingredient enabling that super-slim profile. The lining is a perfect fit and there’s no twisting, no separation when removing your hands and no internal stitching to chaff.
There hasn’t been a lot of snow this winter, but some mornings have been particularly bitter and even when the temperature hovers in single figures all day I’ve been pleasantly surprised by just how capable these gloves are at keeeping the cold at bay. Yes, I use heated grips and have handguards on all my bikes, but so far these Malmo gloves are performing very well indeed and the lack of bulk continues to surprise and impress me. I’m able to maintain full dexterity and really stay in touch with the bike, rather like the way I can in summer. They even have a little flash of dayglo on the cuffs!
Perhaps they really do deserve the Scandinavian name and it’s me who should trust in technology!
Paddy Tyson
Sizes S – 3XL £74.99