Castelli Diluvio Glove Review

It is May 1 so I can't think of a better time of year to review a winter cycling glove. Why? Because it is deal time in most shops and online retailers so you can get winter stuff (if you can find it) pretty cheap. I really enjoy riding outside in tough conditions. There is something about finishing up in the cold and rain and knowing that some of your competitors decided to stay home that almost makes it worthwhile. The truth is that technical cycling gear has gotten so good that I rarely find myself uncomfortable in bad conditions with a couple of exceptions - my hands and feet.

Enter the Castelli Diluvio cycling glove. I probably own 8 or 9 pairs of different weight winter cycling gloves. Some I like and some are total crap, but one thing that was missing from my arsenal was a good rain glove.  Diluvio apparently means "flood' or "deluge" so from the name alone these gloves seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.

The gloves are made of 2mm neoprene so they are pretty light weight and thin which is really beneficial when messing with computers or trying to pull items out of your back pocket. Another big benefit of a glove this size is that you can pull your jacket off without removing the gloves. This is not the case with bigger, bulkier, winter gloves. The palms and fingers of the gloves have an almost sandpaper feel to them. This is really nice for holding onto the bars in rainy conditions. The fit is true to American sizing and what I mean by that is that I am in between a L and XL in virtually every American made glove I have ever tried (this includes non-sport gloves) and I am the same with these. One nice thing about the neoprene is the stretch so you can go a little smaller and be ok which is what I did.

The warmth of the gloves is amazing, but there is a trick to it. If you stick your cold hands in the gloves they are not going to get very warm, but if you take a second to warm your hands up before putting them on they will stay that way. I have worn them at temps into the upper 30's and they have been more than adequate, but they really excel in wet conditions. I am still amazed out how these things repel water. They are ok at breathing, but not super so you will likely have slightly sweaty hands, but not enough to be problematic.

I could pretty much end the review there. These are great winter/rain gloves, but there are some things I don't like about them so I will share those things as well. The graphics are garish. I just don't like the Castelli logo at all and the way they look on the gloves is straight out of 1995. The seams in the fingers are on the thick side. What I mean is that where the two halves of the fingers are sown together and folded inside the finger, you really notice it. So if you are touching a computer or phone with the tips of your fingers the material gets in the way. Because it is neoprene, you notice the thickness more than you would with normal materials. The gloves are a pain to dry out. You have to dry out one side and then turn the gloves inside out. I suppose if you stayed on top of it you could wear the gloves two days in a row, but for someone as lazy as me I can't remember to do things like that. Finally, while the sandpaper like texture of the palms and fingers is great for grip, when you need to touch your nose or exposed skin it is pretty uncomfortable so sinus drainage is not really fun to deal with.

Even with those negatives, I think these are great gloves and I have never seen another person use them nor have I seen them in any local shops. At $50+ a pair, they are not super-expensive nor cheap so I guess you could say they are priced in the middle of winter gloves. One thing to note, these are basically the same gloves that kayakers use. I looked into going that route as they are a lot cheaper and there seem to be many more options. So if you have a good outdoor store, you may want to check there before you buy.

-T


******** Update ******************

We have had a fairly mild winter this year and I have gotten out quite a bit more than last season and these have become my go-to gloves. If I am not quite sure how to dress I will go with these. I am okay with the gloves down to around 38 degrees and up to 55. I've gotten in a couple of 4+ hour rides and although sweat can build up inside, I have not had any problems with overall comfort. The gloves have held up well. I was nervous about that as neoprene is not the most durable material, but so far so good. Finally, I must reiterate a major downside is the time it takes to dry the gloves out. I have to air-dry them inside out and then outside....out before they will get completely dry.