Cold hands are never fun when riding, so investing in a good pair of winter-specific gloves will pay dividends. The Madison DTE 4 Season DWR gloves hit a great price point at £25, which won’t break the bank. Performance and bar feel are right up there with some leading brands, and the fit is excellent.
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Madison DTE 4 Season DWR Gloves - Technical details
The Madison DTE 4 Season DWR gloves use a thick softshell material for the back and cuffs, with a DWR coating for wind and water resistance. The single-layer, one-piece synthetic palm is seam-free for comfort and thin for maximum bar feel.
Silicone print areas at the palm and middle finger increase grip in wet conditions, and there’s a double layer of material at the thumb and index finger for increased durability. The cuff is a pull-on design with no adjustments. Full thumb snot/sweat wipes are super soft and very welcome.
Small reflective print logos run along the little fingers, which is nice. Sizing ranges from S to XXL, available in black, rust orange and midnight green.
Madison DTE 4 Season DWR gloves - Performance
These gloves didn't need any breaking in to feel instantly comfortable. The one-piece palm and stretchy softshell back facilitated really good unrestricted mobility with no hand fatigue on longer rides – which some winter gloves can suffer from.
The fit is excellent, with no excess material bunching up on the palm and a near-perfect fit in finger length. The whole build feels substantial without being bulky and pretty premium for such a well-priced glove.
So far, thermal performance and windproofing have been excellent down to single figures, but below that, something with a more substantial construction may be required, especially on longer, low-intensity rides. They handled the wet well and took quite a long time to dampen on splashy wet trails or short downpours. They took quite a while to wet through riding in the rain, too, and still did a great job of windproofing, keeping my hands warm even when fully saturated.
The thin palm offers loads of bar feel, which I love, and the grip is excellent, even when wet. Social media warriors will appreciate the touchscreen-friendly index fingers and thumbs for eradicating the need to remove the gloves in cold and wet conditions – they also work when wet.
They’re very similar in design and construction to the mighty 100% Brisker glove, a favourite of many riders (including me). The only big differences are the adjustable Velcro cuff closure and the asking price, at £10 more for the Briskar. The Madison DTE 4 Season DWR gloves are a great option if you're watching your pennies, especially considering the cracking fit and performance levels.
Madison DTE 4 Season DWR Gloves - Verdict
Madison is good at creating competitively priced technical riding gear, and these gloves are no exception. They excel in cold, wet conditions and wick moisture effectively if the mercury rises without overheating. Fit is excellent, and I’m finding them hard to fault.
They are almost £10 cheaper than the excellent 100% Brisker Cold Weather Glove and come in £20 cheaper than our high-scoring Troy Lee Designs Swelter Gloves. Although both the Brisker and Swelter are available in many colours and designs, the Madison DTE offers similar levels of performance, just in a more understated aesthetic.
Depending on how well you handle the cold will decide how deep into winter you can wear these of course, but so far I’m loving them.
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