If you like your gloves as simple as they get, ION’s Logo gloves more than fit the bill. They’re a simple slip-on affair that offers a great bar feel and comfort for the price. However, sweat shows through and the silicone grippers have worn off pretty quickly.
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ION says that the Logo gloves are designed for enduro riding, trips to the bike park, and urban orientated mountain biking. They’re built with a synthetic leather palm that wraps partially around the thumbs with grippy silicone dots on the pointer and middle fingers, along with a patch on the upper palms. The upper is made with flexible mesh fabric for ventilation and there’s a thinner mesh between the fingers. Finally, the cuff is elasticated.
So it's safe to say that as far as gloves go, the Logo gloves are pretty basic but it’s very much a case of all killer, no filler. There’s no padding or fancy D3O to interfere with the comfort - and comfortable, they certainly are.
On test is the Logo glove in a large that’s designed to fit a hand with a knuckle circumference of 21.1 to 22.5cm and the fit is perfect for me. They’re easy to slip on too, thanks to that stretchy elasticated cuff.
The synthetic suede palm is reasonably thin, so the bar feel isn’t too shabby but what comes as a small concern is that the upper is very happy to soak up sweat, and show it. While generally, the gloves are pretty cool, they struggle to remain dry. It’s a niggle more than anything as comfort isn’t affected, it's just the sight of the sweat patches temporarily marring a great colour.
Something that’s more of a quality, or even a design flaw is that the silicone grippers have been dropping like flies. It’s just from general use as I’m missing far more on my pointer, or braking fingers and my thumbs where I’m shifting gears or actuating my dropper.
Even with a couple of downsides, they’re mighty cheap at just £20 and ignoring the silicone, they’re built very respectfully for the cash. A couple of years ago, I had 661’s Evo glove on test and at more than twice the price, they were unfortunately quick to fall apart, although their bar feel was really good.
Another pair of gloves that compare in terms of comfort is the Bluegrass Prizma 3D. Though their uppers were keen to show signs of wear and it can get pretty toasty. Again they're near twice the price at £37 but the materials used are noticeably more luxurious.
If you can live without a few blobs of silicone and don’t mind showing off some sweat every now and then, the ION Logo gloves are great, especially for their modest price tag. They’re comfy, offer a great bar feel and they look rather good too.
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