Product Review: Women's Xena Mountain Bike Glove

I've tried an awful lot of good bike gloves over the years. They do their job, but I've never had glove-stoke. Then I tried the Xena.

The main reason that these gloves rock my world is the fit. Women's specific design often times seems to be an overused industry buzz word. The Xena is the exception to this rule, fitting my hand like, well it fits like a glove! The cut of the glove addresses the smaller, thinner female hand.  No fat fingers or wide palms with these guys. That means no palm chaffing on all-day rides.

I'm also generally not a fan of gel padding on gloves because they make gloves bulky and squishy. Giro's Xena has the right amount of padding in just the right spot, utilizing two small pads under the meat of the pinky side of your palm.  Because I like wider bars but have narrow feminine shoulders, this pad placement puts my wrists in a neutral bend when gripping the bars.

The one issue that I have run into with these gloves lies with the velcro cuffs. They don't rub my wrists raw, but the velcro leaves something to be desired.  Don't get me wrong, it still fastens the glove closed and makes a cool ripping sound like your elementary school shoes during story time, but it has a tendency to work itself open, requiring readjustment.

The Xena is double-stitched for durability. It's padded on the third knuckle to protect my hands during crashes. Rubber bumpers on the outter side absorb the impact of tree clipping and protect the fabric from briars. The articulated second knuckle keeps the glove form-fitting both on and off the handlebars.

Giro Xena gloves are on sale now at SBC. I like them so much that I bought 2 pairs.