Five WFX Prime Evo GTX gloves in black

The WFX Prime Evo is Five's top, winter glove.

 

The glove is made in the way that all winter gloves should be. That is to say with a textile upper and a leather palm. Leather in the palm is always preferable in terms of delivering grip and feel. A textile back is better because it will be less prone to absorbing moisture, and therefore wetting out.

 

On this glove, the palm is a full-grain, goat leather. Goat leather is great for gloves in that it is thinner than cowhide, but stronger. The back of the hand on the Prime Evo is a softshell fabric. Softshell is naturally insulating, but it also stretchy for better levels of comfort.

 

A winter glove will always comprise two elements. A waterproof membrane and an amount of insulating material.

 

The membrane does two things. Firstly, it protects you from the wet. And as it is more likely to rain in the winter months that is clearly important. But more importantly, perhaps, a membrane will protect the hand from the pernicious effects of the cold wind; something that becomes ever more prevalent as your speed increases.

 

The membrane on the WFX Prime Evo is a Gore-Tex one. Now one pays a premium for a Gore-Tex membrane, but Gore-Tex membranes are the most technical. They are more waterproof and more breathable than other membranes, but more importantly Gore-Tex offers a lifetime warranty on its membranes. If the membrane ever fails, and the glove leaks, Gore will simply send you a new pair, or a cheque for the original price. And we do mean ever!

 

But there's more. The membrane in the Prime Evo is a Gore-grip one, meaning that it is bonded to the inside of the outer fabric. This will prevent the glove from wetting out.

 

The real differentiator when it comes to a winter glove is that it will contain some form of insulation material. Whatever that insulation is, the main purpose here is to trap, and hold on to, heat coming from the body.

 

There's a zillion different types of insulating material, but one of the better known brands is Primaloft. In this glove there's 200g of Primaloft Gold. Gold represents the zenith of Primaloft's insulating technology. It is distinguished by its excellent warmth-to-weight ratio. To stop the heat escaping there's a layer of aluminium that sits on top of the insulation to reflect heat back into the hand.

 

In the palm you get 60g of Gold Primaloft, and this is what you might expect given that one does not want to overly compromise feel on the bars.

 

What Five is particularly proud of with this glove is the fact that, unlike with most gloves, they run the insulating material down the insides of the fingers. When you're on the bike it is all the exposed skin between the fingers that takes the brunt of the cold air, so having more insulation here in the fourchettes can only be a good thing.

 

In terms of protection, you get a one-piece, knuckle protector that is backed with foam. You get TPR protectors on two of the fingers. There's a slider on the palm. And a SuperFabric, scaphoid protector.

 

The rest, really, is just a matter of detail, although some of that detail is important. I'm talking about a touchscreen-sensitive finger and thumb, a visor wiper, a panel of digi-leather on the palm. A Velcro strap at the wrist and a Velcro flap on the cuff, some reflective highlights and some concertina banding on the  fingers and thumb. Finally, you get a zip on the cuff that allows you to open out the cuff should you want, on cold and dry days, to wear the cuff of the glove over the sleeve of your jacket.

 

This is a proper winter glove. It's got all the right components. Gore-Tex, Gore-grip and Primaloft Gold.

 

It is going to be as warm as pretty much any glove. Potentially there will be gloves out there with more insulation, but they won't have the feel of the these gloves. They WFX Prime EVOs are quite special. If you want a glove that will be up to the job of a daily, winter commute, yet won't feel as though your hands have been bandaged up by the junior nurse in A&E, then the Prime EVOs might be worth a look.