Sealskinz Dragon Eye Waterproof MTB Glove Review.
Admittedly, I had to buy these because the velcro strap just ripped away from almost 2 year old all-weather Sealskinz gloves. I was about to go off on a guided MTB ride in the Tweed Valley during a rather inclement local weather cycle, so they were a bit of a distress purchase. And nope, they weren’t free, I bought them with our own money.
The other week I put up a fairly ordinary social media post that resulted in a few questions. So I thought I’d write a few words on these gloves. When you’re a Mountain Bike Guide or indeed any instructor that spends a lot of time standing watching others, your well-being can be a tightrope. When cold weather gear is to thick or heavily layered you’ll cook, then cool down in your own sweat when standing still. Too thin and you’ll cool down too quick and perhaps struggle to warm back up. Guiding can be different, as you can perhaps set a pace and make provisions for this sort of thing.
Lest start off by saying this is a good looking glove (that matches our kit 🙂
Anyway, these gloves were £45. Expensive by normal glove standards, But actually when you’re out there, good gear will pay for itself many times over. But they have to be good! I’ve been out in these in bad weather for 4 days in the rain so can’t speak to longevity, but I can speak to their function. Firstly I’ll say that they fit me well. They are a wee bit on the tight side getting past the cuff as I’ve found many Sealskinz gloves to be. Once on though, they are very comfy. With my hand open I just get that little trampoline in the centre of my palm and the glove wants to pull my hand closed.
I like my gloves like this as when you clench your fist, you don’t want a load of bunched material getting in the way of your hand against the grip. It’s also worth noting that there’s no padding on the palm, which seems to be the case with most gloves these days. Again, this doesn’t bother me as I’m more about the right grips than padding on gloves.
The Palm on the Dragon Eye is very taught and doesn’t bunch up.
The velcro strap has a strange idiosyncrasy that I can’t see past though. Theres a 2″ patch of velcro on the glove and a 2″ strap to cover it, but it doesn’t quite work as well as it should. When the cuff is pulled tight and the strap pulled over, it only grips on less than half of the velcro. This leaves the other half redundant. (see image below) The strap just feels like it’s ready to come loose on it’s own (it hasn’t) but I’ve caught it a few times and it’s came away very easily. (such as pulling my jacket sleeve back to look at my watch) It’s a shame as there’s some seriously heavy stitching on the heavy-duty strap itself over an area that if moved along a bit could have solved this issue. I’m unsure how this small patch of velcro will hold up over time? In short, I think this strap needs to be longer.
The strap on the Dragon Eye only closes half way with a very small strap area.
The above is a glitch really as every other feature on this glove cures every other problem I’ve had with waterproof gloves. The fingers are gusseted to a point at the ends, they feel very thin and have anti-slip silicone patches on the braking fingers. Because of this, they are quite malleable and as a result are great for tinkering and the like out on the trail. At £45 though I’d liked to have seen some touch screen compatibility, though I’m admittedly unsure how this would effect the waterproof nature of the product.
They are pretty light for a warm glove too. Just 100g a pair on my scales. You can feel the liner moving a little if you try, but when you wear the glove it feels very stable. Breathability though is quite low and you’ll sweat a bit, but after 3 days in the rain, I definitely did not have wet hands. Best of all, when you pull your hand out, the liner doesn’t come with it despite sweaty hands. Theres some nice rubberised detail going on on the gloves too and the colours we chose are quite neutral.
The Dragon Eye’s fingers are tapered, so you can get fiddly jobs done.
I thought these were expensive… But perhaps thats a bit harsh as they don’t look like you’d think a waterproof glove would look. They are thin, good looking and don’t have that “Ski glove” presentation that this type of product has suffered from for years. So yeah, bearing in mind that I actually like them very much despite my niggles. They are probably right on the money at £45.
If you see us out and about with these gloves on, feel free to ask us about them. You can also have a look at the Sealskinz Dragon Eye MTB Glove range on the Sealskinz website HERE
