Descente Wombat gloves review

Descente is a name familiar to anyone who was a cycling fan in the 80's. Many of the top teams of the era including the powerhouse Panasonic team and the American upstart 7-Eleven team rode in Descente. In the 90's Descente pretty much disappeared from the American market proving just how volatile the bike business can be. Well Descente is back and if the Wombat glove is any indicator they're as good as they were back in the 80's.

The Wombat is a pretty heavy glove for the dark days of Winter. I've ridden mine on several rides where temps never went above 40 degrees and they kept my mitts warm. One unique feature of the Wombat is a rubberized wind cover that can be pulled over the 4 main fingers to make them into faux mittens. The weather hasn't quite been cold enough for me to justify using them but I imagine they might add a few degrees of warmth. When not needed the cover tucks into a slot on the back of the glove.

The palms are well textured with plenty of grip. While thick enough to keep you warm I never had any dexterity issues like I've had with thick gloves. I was able to shift gears, rummage around in my jersey pockets, adjust my glasses, etc. The fit on these gloves was also nice. I have pretty big claws and usually have a hard time finding large enough gloves. The tips of my fingers had plenty of room. The cuff on the gloves is elastic which I find makes them easier to take on and off than gloves with velcro cuffs. This was handy when going up steep climbs where the gloves proved to be a little too toasty. The only thing I found lacking on these gloves was a terry cloth snot patch. The material on the back of these gloves is pretty coarse - not somthing you want to wipe your nose on.