Sportful Fiandre gloves review

The Sportful Fiandre winter gloves lead with a low-profile fit, while incorporating essential protection from wintry conditions.

They're strong performers, especially if you like slimmer gloves, with plentiful grip and low bulk.

However, that performance comes at a high price.

Sportful Fiandre gloves specs and details

The Sportful Fiandre offers a combination of a PrimaLoft insulation layer and Polartec NeoShell outer fabric.

The Fiandre is impressively low on bulk for a glove that’s so warm, even when the early-morning temperature has been 0°C or below.

The fit is slim and the zipped cuffs fitted tighter to my wrist than any of the Velcro or neoprene cuffs of the gloves tested alongside them.

The soft, thin palms have a patterned silicone bonded to them to aid grip on the handlebar.

The gloves include a textured forefinger for touchscreen operation.

Sportful offers a generous range of sizes, from XS through to XXL.

Sportful Fiandre gloves performance

The textured forefinger tip worked both the screen on my Garmin bike computer and iPhone without issue, though the lack of the same feature on the thumb tip is a shame for pinching actions.

The gloves' lack of bulk makes them great for tactile operations. The Di2 levers on my Shimano GRX Di2-equipped gravel bike were easy to feel, as were the small blip triggers on my SRAM AXS-equipped road bike.

The pattern of the silicone grip is a huge win, because it enhances your hold on the bar, even in the worst conditions.

The palms gripped better than other winter cycling gloves, even on the messiest, muddiest winter gravel excursions.

The good news is, after a spin through the wash, the Fiandre gloves came out as good as new.

In such conditions, though, the Fiandres can get waterlogged eventually. Polartec NeoShell is a softshell-like fabric, but eventually wets out.

The palms also take on moisture eventually, so the gloves can end up feeling quite clammy given they're good at keeping heat in.

There’s also no denying the high cost of the Fiandre gloves. At £110 / $100, they’re certainly at the more expensive end of the spectrum – and twice the cost of the very good Endura Deluge or dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Polartec gloves.

Sportful Fiandre gloves bottom line

The Sportful Fiandres are warm, great-fitting, low-bulk gloves for cold conditions.

They cope admirably with wet weather, but most certainly aren't gloves for stormy conditions.

If you like to venture out on damp and chilly days for your winter thrills or fast training rides, the Fiandres remain excellent gloves that work well. However, for longer days and prolonged cold or wet, there are better options.