The Hellbent by 4Shaw is the Aussie firm's first foray into road cycling gloves. Made from high quality Scandinavian elk leather, the gloves feature embroidered fingers in a tattoo style.
The elk leather is seriously comfy – words don’t do justice as to how soft these gloves actually are. This combined with well placed seams make the gloves a pleasure to wear all day on the bike. For those who experience a runny nose while riding, the Hellbents have a plush nose wipe on the thumb.
The Hellbents come in white and black
To relieve pressure points the Hellbents employ minimalist 3mm GT padding. The perforated palm and top of the glove do well to manage heat and sweat, though on occasions our palms became a bit slippery. While no crash testing took place, the leather palms look as if they would stave off road rash well.
The Velcro-closing Hellbents initially provide a very snug fit, but as you sweat they stretch in the right places and shape themselves around your hands.
Perforations on the top of the glove provide plenty of ventilation
The Hellbent gloves aren't machine washable – they must be handwashed with warm soapy water before being laid out to dry. It's a simple process, albeit an annoying one. We did find after riding in the black gloves they stained our hands (and bar tape), but this subsided after the first wash.
All in all, 4Shaw has turned out a high quality and extremely comfortable glove. At AU$80 (US$75/£44 approx, direct from the 4Shaw website) the Hellbents are cheaper than similar offerings from brands like Rapha but on par when it comes to quality and comfort.