Fox Ranger Fire Winter Gloves are that rare beast of a close-fitting winter glove with no annoying padding on the palms. A thin brushed-fleece lining and tightly-woven exterior add warmth, and the palm uses a water-resistant faux suede that doesn’t wet-out when saturated. An extended cuff keeps wrists cosy, with a pull tab to help put gloves on, as this makes them really tight to wriggle on. There’s a nose wipe fleece on the thumb and touchscreen compatible fingertips, but the latter is ineffective on iPhone screens. Ditto the silicone finger grippers in generating extra adhesion on wet brake levers. However, the Ranger is well articulated to hand shape and finger lengths, and snug with an unobtrusive palm feel and solid grip connection. There is slightly more bulk on the bar than 100%’s Brisker – mbr’s top winter glove. This is due to the fleece-backed lining ‘rocking’ almost imperceptibly on its fibres, but I’m very fussy about grip feel and could live with it, plus this diminished after a couple of ride/wash cycles as the fabric wore in. The weatherproof outer fabric has a semi-neoprene feel and fends off freezing wind and wet effectively, and the extra fleece inside makes these slightly toastier and better insulated than 100%’s glove. (They’re also way more flexible and dextrous than the warmer, waterproof Brisker that’s too bulky for me, so make a good halfway-house option).

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Overall, I still marginally prefer the 100% Brisker to the Fox Ranger Fire Winter Gloves for its superior bar feel and even more invisible fit, but I’m perfectly happy in these too. And, if Fox’s fleece lining was everywhere except the reverse of the palm, the Ranger Fires might be even better. A good winter glove then, and one of only two that I’ll actually wear in the winter months.