The Giro DND gloves tick all requirements as a lightweight, all condition glove to provide a bit of protection both on and off-road that can be worn year round. Obviously they don’t provide huge amounts of protection, nor do they provide insulation for the cooler months, but it’s a design that'll work for most people, me included.
It may be a small detail but what I actually like most about these gloves is that they don’t have any fasteners to do up. Pull them on and you’re done – simple as. I get on very well with the short cut of the gloves, with exposed wrists meaning it’s easy to stay cool (fun fact – it’s possible to control your body temperature quite effectively by heating or cooling blood at your wrist as the veins are quite close to the surface here).
The fit is tight enough that they don’t need fasteners. The stretchy backing material is robust with enough flexibility to allow freedom of movement. In addition, it’s nice to see additional gussets for the knuckles to allow flexibility for the fingers. This is also helped by a more stretchy fabric in the side panels of the fingers. Overall these gloves fit extremely well, with no bunching or tight spots noticeable anywhere.
The palm is made from a synthetic leather which has been hard wearing so far. The attention to detail is also obvious in the finger construction, which wraps the leather around the tips of the index and middle finger. I much prefer this because the stitching is away from the fingertips which I otherwise find irritating and impacts on sensitivity. This is not so important for the other two fingers which don’t have the important job of braking.
The fingers have the de-facto standard silicone grippers which inevitably start peeling off, as these have done, after some use. However, the snot wipe is useful for everything from nose gunk to sweaty brows. No garish logos are present, just a very subtle one on the pull tab which makes getting the gloves on and off easy as.
There is also a padded palm section which, whilst not significant or intrusive, still noticeably cuts out vibration. After long days in the saddle grinding gravel this does help reduce fatigue. However, I have noticed that it does seem to have packed down a bit with use and doesn’t seem quite as plush as it did initially.
These gloves are equally useful for mountain biking, gravel or even (dare I say it) road. They offer lightweight protection in a variety of different colours and designs. Though they are slightly on the expensive side, the quality of construction is high and mine show no significant signs of wear and should last me quite a while. If you’re looking for a simple, faff-free, yet well thought-out glove then this is definitely one to go for.
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