Decathlon Winter Cycling Gloves

B'TWIN 700 Winter Cycling Gloves Review

The new Decathlon store opened up in Harlow just before Christmas 2014, for those of you who don't know who Decathlon are, they are a sporting goods company that sell their own brand name sporting goods, they originate from France and they now have 14 stores in large towns across the country.

Several weeks ago I went on a Billy Fleming memorial ride, I had to leave home at 7am to meet up in Woodford for 9am, the sun hadn't risen and it was minus conditions outside, so on went the thermals long trousers shirt, jacket, hat and full fingered gloves but after only 10 minutes my hands were frozen.
I decided on a new pair of winter gloves URGENTLY !!! and I needed them now, so the likes of Internet shopping was not a option, so local shops were going to have to be the answer.
Sometimes local shops can be the answer to many of our problems but are not always the cheapest for the budget conscious amongst us. After a visit to a couple of local stores who stocked high quality makes [ which come with high quality prices] I began to think maybe the Internet would be the answer, unfortunately I have odd shape hands, short but wide! so to get a perfect fit I really need to have to try them on, as they are either to long in the fingers or to loose across the palms.

The ones I went for were from the stables of Decathlon UK, because I was after a quality pair of gloves at a fair price and something that will stop my hands from freezing up.



 Here is the review on the pair I finally purchased, a pair of B'TWIN 700 Winter Gloves, Cost £5.99

Above is a photo of the label, top left hand corner shows a snow flake, making me think it would protect my hands in icy conditions, also they had a rating of 700 [other gloves in store had ratings of 300  and 500 ]  so looked good to me. After purchase I checked out Decathlons website to get a more detailed description and the B'TWIN 700 does not go down to the minus temperature I thought it would. Their description for these gloves are as follows "regular cycling in cold weather (between 5°C and 10°C) with touch screen function and are reflective," apparently the pair I have are old stock, but if they do what I am hoping they will do, ie: stop my hands from freezing ....job done! ..so we will see how I get on! 

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/700-winter-cycling-gloves-blue-id_8315314.html#avantages

B'TWIN 700 Winter Cycling Gloves

Description

1. • Thermal insulation
   • windproof gloves with a X g lining guaranteeing good insulation
2. • Wind proofing
   • Windproof fleece lining to prevent wind chill
3. • User comfort
   • Special pattern, fitted cut, for cycling with no folds
4. Guarantee : 2 Years
   
    I needed the Large size for my odd shaped hands, unfortunately they did not have that size in store, shame but that is life! but after a quick chat with the team on the shop floor a pair was ordered straight away for delivery in a couple of days, they said they would be on the next order from France, [ heard that story before, probably be at least 3 weeks and 10 excuses later] but no they said a couple of days and yes 2 days later they were in store ready for collection, all for £5.99. I had left my details with the store and they said they will ring me when they arrive,  I got a call to tell me the B'TWIN Winter gloves were in store and ready to be collected! Excellent customer service Decathlon.
   
   

   

    Sown in patches looked like they would have some padding in them, but I could not feel any.
   

   

    Nice tight elasticated wrist bands, trouble is it's white! 

   

    How long the 700 will stay a nice and white, I have no idea! Fits nicely around my wrists.

   

    Finger tip grips have a nice snug feel to them and gives a good grip on the handle bars.

   

   The 700's have a reflective strip sown into the design, making it show up when a head light beam hits your gloves added for extra safety.
   
   

   
   

   Verdict

   After a ride out on a very cold day, I found the gloves to be a really comfortable fit, my hands did not become sweaty, and they were certainly warm enough, even after an hours ride my hands were still warm. When I first looked at the gloves the padding did not seem up to much, but I found I had no problems with grip and feel, one thing I did find was if you do have a Touch screen phone you really do need to remove the gloves, but this is not really a problem. They fit and feel very comfortable and for £5.99 with a 2 year guarantee you can't go wrong.

   
   

   Shame they will not be making these any more, but knowing Decathlon they have probably  updated the design and technology, and will still be selling them at a great price.

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