The Endura Exo waterproof glove is completely weatherproof and offers an effective defence against cold and wet conditions. The cuff, however, is extremely short.
We haven’t lacked rain in which to test the Exo, and it has stood up well in the almost constant downpour in which we’ve used it. Endura have deployed a membrane, or glove-within-a-glove, which has proved effective in keeping out the worst of the weather.
The downside with such designs can be a detachment of the inner glove from the outer. There have been no signs of that with the Exo glove, but these are early days in our acquaintance and a longer test will be required to assess its durability. We’ll keep you posted, but given our previous experience with Endura’s products, we’re not anticipating failure.
The softshell fabric used on the back of the glove kept out the wind and allowed a full range of movement in the fingers. The insulation was equally effective. Testing a glove’s nose wipe is among the more satisfying duties of the bike journalist, and the suede-like material deployed here did the job effectively (we’ll spare you further details).
We can’t claim surprise at the excellent performance of the palm, having previously experienced an almost identical construction in our test of Endura’s Windshield Glove. In the wet conditions in which we deployed the Exo, we noticed a darkening of the Pittards leather after prolonged contact with damp bar tape. That said, none of the moisture penetrated to the skin, a salute no doubt to the effectiveness of the internal membrane.
Our sole concern before testing concerned the shortness of the cuff and while this didn’t leave us with exposed wrists as we had feared, it did make pulling on the glove a bit of a performance. So short is the cuff, that it rolled over, inside itself, when we pulled on the glove. Putting matters straight was fine with only glove in place, but with both in situ, straightening the second was a bit of a faff. Additionally, a longer cuff would undoubtedly have extended the Exo’s insulating qualities to the wrist.
Conclusion
The Exo waterproof glove meets a varied and demanding remit summarised by Endura as “winter insulating waterproof”. The greatest challenge it faced during our test period was the continued rain, with which it dealt admirably, offering no greater evidence of its exposure to downpours than a slight darkening of the fabric in the palms and the nose wipe.
At £54.99, however, the Exo represents an investment large enough to command a complete offering and the short cuff we felt was a significant oversight on a glove of this value. While it didn’t leave us exposed, a longer cuff would have provided greater protection to one of the key extremities. Endura need look no further than the cuff on their Windshield Glove to turn the Exo from a good proudct to a great one.
Price: £54.99
Size: S, M, L, XL, XXL
Colour: black
Website: Endura
