Giro Blaze 2.0 gloves

Winter cycling gloves must strike a balance between dexterity and warmth. If they’re too heavy, we struggle to shift and brake — too light and we end up with numb fingertips. Giro’s Blaze 2.0 gloves aren’t meant for Arctic riding, but they succeed in keeping digits warm without hampering our hands.

To hold in the warmth, Giro uses a microfleece lining and Polartec’s Windbloc material for the back of the hands. This material is windproof, water-resistant, and soft. The Blaze 2.0 gloves have simple, stretchy neoprene cuffs to keep wrists covered. This construction kept us comfortable in temperatures down to around 40 degrees, and we liked the lack of bulk. It is easy to stuff these gloves into a pocket on a warm climb.

Similarly, the thin Ax Suede palm with a modest gel pad on the heel afforded great dexterity. Cyclocross racers will love how these gloves shut out the cold without hampering bike handling.

Giro also built the Blaze 2.0 with touchscreen-friendly fingertips for Instagramming on those cold rides. However, we found that our iPhone didn’t always respond to our taps and swipes while wearing these gloves.

Also of note, the glove’s striped pattern is reflective, making the Blaze 2.0 great for the dark days of winter, perhaps commuting to and from the office.

If you live in a particularly cold climate, Giro’s Blaze 2.0 probably shouldn’t be the only gloves you own, unless you’re fortunate to always have warm hands. Below about 40 degrees, we usually reach for something warmer and bulkier. Nevertheless, the Blaze gloves have become a key part of our cold-weather wardrobe, for especially cyclocross races.