Reflective mitts

[ravenbait]

I was looking at the Rapha Brevet mitts, because they are the only ones I've ever seen with a reflective strip across the knuckles, and I like that idea for signalling at night. But it's way too much money for the sake of some 3M tape, especially as the reviews suggest they are not as hard wearing as they should be, and they come up very small.

Does anyone know of any properly hard-wearing, comfortable (i.e. well padded, I have arthritis) mitts that have reflective details for nocturnal signalling?

Sam

[rafletcher]

Caveat - I haven't used these, but they would seem to meet the brief

https://provizsports.com/products/reflect360-cycling-mitts-reflective?country=GB

And for winter

https://road.cc/content/review/proviz-reflect360-waterproof-cycling-gloves-299707#:~:text=Good%20scores%20are%20more%20common,even%20come%20with%20some%20padding.

[HTFB]

Gore do this, but also for a lot of money. On the other hand (which is mine) they're the only brand I've found that's properly big enough.

[ravenbait]

Gore do this, but also for a lot of money. On the other hand (which is mine) they're the only brand I've found that's properly big enough.

The C5 short gloves are £25 cheaper than the Rapha, so I'm not sure I would describe that as a lot.

Sam

[Cudzoziemiec]

Depends what you mean by "across the knuckles". Lots of mitts have reflective lines but not many have a broad stripe across the whole knuckle.

Gore do this, but also for a lot of money. On the other hand (which is mine) they're the only brand I've found that's properly big enough.

The C5 short gloves are £25 cheaper than the Rapha, so I'm not sure I would describe that as a lot.

Sam

Or even £40 cheaper:
https://www.deporvillage.net/gore-wear-c5-gloves-black-1

[ravenbait]

Until you add in the extortionate postage, anyway.

I have a special hatred for sites where you don't find out you'll be charged almost as much as the item for postage until you are at the final step of checkout.

Sam

[Cudzoziemiec]

Hmm, yes. I hadn't looked that far. Now you've prompted me to look for it, they do have a page listing shipping costs:
https://www.deporvillage.net/help#shipping-costs
but it's hardly clear what's what (and all of it is expensive!)

[Jurek]

I can send you some self-adhesive 1" hi-viz/reflective tape if you pm me a postal addy.
I'm not sure how good the adhesive on it is as I've never applied it to  anything.
Somewhere I have a length of the white stripe which is normally fitted to the side of an AA van, I suspect the adhesive on that will be robust, but I cannot remember where I've put it.

[L CC]

I wear Loffi in winter.

https://loffi.cc/

Caveat - I run hot so can not confirm how well they keep you warm. With liners in the cold. I've also bought them for my mum who doesn't think you should sweat when you cycle, so rides at that pace. She wears them so I assume they work?

ETA: I wear the mitts too, but they're not very well padded and run quite small in the sizing.

[Regulator]

Caveat - I haven't used these, but they would seem to meet the brief

https://provizsports.com/products/reflect360-cycling-mitts-reflective?country=GB

And for winter

https://road.cc/content/review/proviz-reflect360-waterproof-cycling-gloves-299707#:~:text=Good%20scores%20are%20more%20common,even%20come%20with%20some%20padding.

I've used the Proviz gloves (not the mitts).  They're very good at keeping your hands warm and dry - and are very visible - but they're not particularly padded.  Sufficient for me but I don't have arthritis in my hands.

[ravenbait]

I can send you some self-adhesive 1" hi-viz/reflective tape if you pm me a postal addy.
I'm not sure how good the adhesive on it is as I've never applied it to  anything.
Somewhere I have a length of the white stripe which is normally fitted to the side of an AA van, I suspect the adhesive on that will be robust, but I cannot remember where I've put it.

Thanks, Jurek, but I think I have some 3M Scotchlite somewhere. It seems such an obvious thing, to have reflective stripes across the whole back of a mitt, that I can't believe Rapha are the only ones to have thought of it. I've done a lot of googling, and while I can find ones with reflective highlights, such as the Gore gloves, or Garbieri (I wish they had more padding in their goatskin mitts), I can't find any other than gimmicky cheap things that have a decent swatch of reflective across them. It's almost as if no one expects cyclists to ride in the dark except in winter (other than Proviz).

Sam

[ravenbait]

I've used the Proviz gloves (not the mitts).  They're very good at keeping your hands warm and dry - and are very visible - but they're not particularly padded.  Sufficient for me but I don't have arthritis in my hands.

My issue with the Proviz is that their entire raison d'être is the reflectiveness. I'm more interested in mitts that have some fancy anatomical padding aimed at relieving nerve compression, but ALSO have the benefit of a reflective strip Thus far, the Rapha ones seem to be the only mitts to claim this, which is disappointing.

Sam

[Regulator]

I've used the Proviz gloves (not the mitts).  They're very good at keeping your hands warm and dry - and are very visible - but they're not particularly padded.  Sufficient for me but I don't have arthritis in my hands.

My issue with the Proviz is that their entire raison d'être is the reflectiveness. I'm more interested in mitts that have some fancy anatomical padding aimed at relieving nerve compression, but ALSO have the benefit of a reflective strip Thus far, the Rapha ones seem to be the only mitts to claim this, which is disappointing.

Sam

Altura Progel do a mitt with a reflective strip across the back of the hand.  Are they suitable padding wise?

[quixoticgeek]

When you say mitts...

https://www.buffalosystems.co.uk/products/hi-vis-mitt/

I have a pair of these for winter riding when it's really really cold. And they are great.

I also have a pair of reflective gloves I got from intersport France -
https://www.intersport.fr/noir-gants_de_velo_homme_hiver_pro_20-nakamura-p-S-6312~AKU

They are great in terms of reflection. But the silver reflective material is makes the gloves quite cold. I was really disappointed with how they performed below about 5°C.

I have some altura night vision gloves as well. Also with reflective details and in yellow. They work better than the French ones. Until it gets cold enough for the buffalo mitts.

J

[LittleWheelsandBig]

In the UK, track mitts = fingerless cycling gloves

[ravenbait]

Altura Progel do a mitt with a reflective strip across the back of the hand.  Are they suitable padding wise?

Looks like it's not the strip that's reflective, but the little pips that run parallel to it.

Sam

[quixoticgeek]

In the UK, track mitts = fingerless cycling gloves

Yes. But the only use of the word track in this thread is yours. So assuming mitts equals mittens, and linking to a product that calls itself mitts in a thread about mitts seems reasonable.

Also it's autumn approaching winter. Surely fingerless cycling gloves are something for summer use.

J

[rafletcher]

In the UK, track mitts = fingerless cycling gloves

Yes. But the only use of the word track in this thread is yours. So assuming mitts equals mittens, and linking to a product that calls itself mitts in a thread about mitts seems reasonable.

Also it's autumn approaching winter. Surely fingerless cycling gloves are something for summer use.

J

Mitts are fingerless, mittens are, well, mittens.

[Regulator]

Altura Progel do a mitt with a reflective strip across the back of the hand.  Are they suitable padding wise?

Looks like it's not the strip that's reflective, but the little pips that run parallel to it.

Sam

Yep.  I think the reflectives could be described as 'discreet'.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Some of the links above in the thread are to fingerless gloves.

[ravenbait]

For the sake of clarification, I was seeking fingerless or half-finger gloves, aka track mitts. I run hot, and already have a plethora of full fingered gloves. Not to mention that it seems far easier to obtain full fingered gloves bearing a decent amount of reflective detailing. And, at this time of year summer wear is frequently discounted and I was hoping to nab a bargain.

I did not at any point ask about cold weather gloves.

Sam

[quixoticgeek]

For the sake of clarification, I was seeking fingerless or half-finger gloves, aka track mitts. I run hot, and already have a plethora of full fingered gloves. Not to mention that it seems far easier to obtain full fingered gloves bearing a decent amount of reflective detailing. And, at this time of year summer wear is frequently discounted and I was hoping to nab a bargain.

I did not at any point ask about cold weather gloves.

Sam

This makes a whole lot more sense. Otherwise asking about mitts as the cold season begins makes me think cold weather stuff. My summer cycling gloves, which are fingerless are the only ones in my collection that are not high visibility yellow.

J

[andyoxon]

I bought some PlanetX mitts several years ago - wrapped a couple of rounds of the inexpensive retro reflective (hexagonal cell) tape around the velcro tab, giving about 2.5cm2 of visible surface.  Tape still in place.  Quality of the mitts is great. 

[De Sisti]

I was looking at the Rapha Brevet mitts, because they are the only ones I've ever seen with a reflective strip across the knuckles, and I like that idea for signalling at night.

Sam

For a couple of quid you could buy these and strap them around your wrists.

[ravenbait]

In winter, I do wear reflective around my wrist if I woke up that morning feeling too murderous to wear one of my highly reflective but rather soft gloves.



However, I don't like the feel of snap bands or other plasticy things against my skin because I have complex synaesthesia, and the sensation translates as something else.

Really, my question was just: is there a company other than Rapha that sells decent mitts with reflective strips across the back. I'm coming to the conclusion the answer is no, and the industry is really missing a trick.

Thanks for all your help!

Sam