Date reviewed: September 2017 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: £89.99 | www.thekeycollection.co.uk
The Weise Outlast Strada WP gloves are a three-season glove made of full-grain nappa leather and nylon, with both Thinsulate and Outlast linings. I’ve used these gloves for about three years now, in all weathers and from the UK to Spain…
Fit and feel
It’s of course important to try any gloves on for yourself, but I’ve found these Stradas to be an excellent fit, the thumb and fingers being a good length for my hands, and the 40g Thinsulate lining not impairing my feeling of the bike’s controls.
Stretch panels on the backs of the fingers, and the soft upper construction mean these are very comfortable to wear, with none of the bulk often associated with winter-capable gloves.
Temperature
Outlast sounds like make-believe, but the technology, originally developed for NASA, really does feel cool when you’re hot, and warm when you’re cool. It uses microscopic wax balls that absorb heat, then release it when needed. In practice, this makes for a glove that tends to feel cool when you put it on, and while you’re not aware of a big difference when riding, I’ve certainly found them to give a very good level of performance when the cold strikes, thanks also to the heavier 120g Thinsulate lining on the top of the glove. In the depths of winter, you’ll want heated grips, and on hot days they will of course get rather warm, but unless you’re riding right through the year with no hand-guards, heated grips or bar-muffs, these should be fine.
Protection & fastening
While not a fully-armoured or CE-approved glove, the knuckle protection is firm but comfortable, and the wrist fastener keeps the glove securely on your hand, and is easy to use, as well as long enough to avoid the strap pulling out of its retainer when removing. The cuff has a drawstring to seal the bottom edge.
Wet weather use
The ‘Chamude’ panel on the palm is a synthetic material that helps prevent the slippery feeling that the leather palm could otherwise give in the wet – it works.
What’s most impressive here though is the cuff, which has an interior liner that goes under the end of your jacket’s sleeve, and an exterior that goes over the top, with a drawstring that’s easily pulled tight with your other hand.
It takes practice, but you’ll soon find it very easy to whip these gloves on and off – I find it best to roll the outer lining up before putting them on, then close my jacket’s sleeve over the inner section, before rolling the outer down and pulling the string.
It’s worth it, as these gloves are very waterproof, even after several years of use in extremely heavy downpours.
The addition of a rubbery visor-wiping blade on the thumb shows real thought from Weise – every glove should have one, so it really adds to the versatility of this kit.
Lining
The lining is soft and comfortable, and stayed put over several years. I tend to get quite hot hands, so find winter gloves linings can pull out all too easily. Sadly, these have started to, but only in one point on the left thumb. I know they do it, so can avoid it easily as they’re far from fully loose like most gloves seem to get.
It’s a problem for manufacturers, as to keep the gloves waterproof, the lining has to be just glued in a small area to the outer – if stitched, it’d leak. Weise has done a good job here, and bearing in mind my sweaty hands, use in hot climates when there’s been a downpour, and how many times they’ve been yanked off and tugged back on, I’m still very happy with them.
Conclusion
At ninety quid (often less if you shop around), the Weise Outlast Strada gloves are great. I’ve used them as my main winter gloves, and shoved in my rucksack on trips around Europe for those emergency rain situations. In hot conditions, they are a bit much, but they’re still very well designed and offer some truly useful features, with a quality construction, for a good price.
