Top 10 Best Mountain Bike Gloves On The Market 2023 Reviews

If you’re doing any kind of mountain biking, you need to protect your hands.

You’re going to need some protection in the case of an accident, and you’re going to need an assured grip. You’re also likely to need some protection against vibration. You may also need protection against the weather.

The truth is that choosing the Best Mountain Bike Gloves isn’t always straightforward, and will very much depend on the type of riding you do. We’ve therefore compiled a list of some of the best gloves available to help you narrow down that search.

So, let’s dive in and find the perfect pair for you…

Top 10 Best Mountain Bike Gloves To Buy In 2023 Reviews

1 Fox Racing Ranger Mountain Bike Gloves

These are a full-fingered, lightweight pair of gloves made from 50% Polyamide-Nylon, 40% Polyester, and 10% Polyvinyl-Chloride. The palms of the gloves are made of imitation leather, and the fingertips are coated with silicone. They have a well-functioning Velcro fastener at the wrist and come in a choice of five colors.

Lacks padding…

The silicone on the fingers affords a decent level of grip in most riding situations. However, the faux leather padding to the palms of the gloves is minimal. Additionally, there is zero padding or protection to the rear of the gloves or to the fingers. In the event of a light fall at lower speeds, then these gloves are adequate. Anything more extreme, and they will be found wanting.

What’s more, there’s no gel padding anywhere on these gloves. They offer no protection from either handlebar neuropathy or carpal tunnel syndrome. If you’re a rider looking for some kind of significant vibration dampening, then these gloves are definitely not for you.

Come rain, come shine…

As far as protection from the cold is concerned, these gloves are fine in all but the coldest months. They’re not waterproof but will keep your hands warm and dry in light showers.

The Fox Racing Ranger Mountain Bike Gloves are best suited for riding where high levels of protection, vibration suppression, and warmth are not required. These gloves make perfect sense if you’re riding light trails at less extreme speeds and in warmer weather.

Our rating: (4.2 / 5)

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2 Zookki Cycling Gloves Mountain Bike Gloves Half Finger Gloves

These are an inexpensive, short-fingered, lightweight gloves made from a mesh cloth and lycra-layered fabric. The palm of the gloves is a combination of cloth and plastic. There is gel padding on the base of the palms and in the ulnar nerve region. There’s terry cloth on the rear of the thumbs for wiping away sweat.

There’s some low-level protection on the palm of these gloves in the form of a surface layer of plastic. This would help to prevent low-level injuries, such as gravel rash, but little else. There’s no padding on the rear of the gloves.

The gel pads are nice and thick…

They’re well-positioned down the outside of the palms to help dampen down vibrations and prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Unfortunately, although there is some gel padding on the base of the palms, it’s not as extensive as we’d like. Better than nothing, but it should really be extended right across the gloves to better protect against handlebar palsy. On the plus side, though, they do grip nicely, even in the wet.

These are half-fingered gloves and thus offer very little in the way against warmth. Made of lycra, they’re meant to be breathable and keep your hands cool. And as far as this parameter is concerned its job well done.

One thing we like about these gloves is the two fabric loops that help to get them off easily.

Limited sizes…

One thing we really don’t like is the poor selection of sizes. The maximum size they offer is XL. What’s more, this is a quite small-sized XL. It’s not good enough, guys. We’re not all women, and we don’t all have hands the size of Donald Trump.

Must do better.

Our rating: (4.4 / 5)

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3 Inbike Cycling Gloves Men Mountain Bike 5mm Gel Pad Shock

These are a pair of short-fingered gloves made from a lycra and mesh fabric combination. They have gel-padding on the base and right side of the palms. They are breathable, have terry cloth fabric at the rear of thumbs and additionally, have an excellent quality velcro hook and loop fasteners at the wrists.

There’s no doubt it, these are a well-made pair of gloves with some good quality workmanship gone into their making. The gel pads on the palm of the gloves will afford a good level of protection in an accident. There’s no padding on the rear of the gloves, and obviously, since they’re short-fingered gloves, there’s a limit to how well they can be expected to prevent injuries in a crash.

Excellent shock-absorption…

We really like the depth and quality and placement of the gel padding. We give Inbike full marks for the amount of shock-absorption their gloves can give. It would be nice to see all the short-fingered gloves this well made. The thickness of the gel also makes the gloves quite grippy.

These are quite thick gloves, and so you might be able to wear them for periods through the spring and fall. If you do wear them in the summer, or start to get seriously hot on any of your rides, the gloves are breathable and also have terry cloth on the thumb-back to wipe away the sweat.

But, there’s a catch…

There’s a choice of two colors, which is woeful, and also no small sizes, equally woeful.

Despite these shortcomings, we still believe these are the best hot weather mountain bike gloves on our list.

Our rating: (4.4 / 5)

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4 Boodun Cycling Gloves

These are possibly the most comfortable of any of the gloves we’ve reviewed. These nice and soft short-fingered gloves are made from a 55% polyester and 45% Nylon combination. They have foam padding on the palms and terry cloth on the thumbs to wipe away your well-earned sweat.

Not unusually, there’s no padding on the gloves other than on the foam padded palms. Consequently, the level of protection will be adequate in most low to medium speed crashes but not much else.

Interesting design choice…

What is unusual with these gloves is choosing to use foam padding on the palms as opposed to the much more commonly used gel padding. The foam padding works really well on the outsides of the palm as there was plenty of coverage. Obviously great for keeping handlebar palsy at bay.

However, at the base of the palms, the design of the gloves doesn’t have enough foam padding to properly cover the area. We suspect if you are prone to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, these gloves may no give you the vibration suppression you need over long rides.

Overall a great choice…

A few positive to finish with is that BOODUN Cycling Gloves have two loops on the finger-end to make taking them off a breeze, they have a good selection of colors, and very importantly, they have a full range of sizes for everyone.

Well done, Boodun.

Our rating: (4.5 / 5)

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5 Firelion Cycling Gloves Bike Bicycle Gloves

FIRELION Cycling Gloves Bike Bicycle Gloves are a full-fingered glove and are well enough insulated to get you through most of the cold year’s rides. The good news is that they’re also breathable, so they’re suitable for hot weather too.

Ultimate protection…

The level of protection on the palms of these well-made gloves is excellent. Although there’s no additional protection on the rear of the gloves, the Firelion affords some of the best protection, in case of an accident, of any of the gloves we’ve reviewed.

As well as protection, the anti-slip covering on the gloves give excellent and assured grip in severe conditions, and even in the rain. But that’s not all, two of the fingers of the gloves have touch recognition material, so you can use you’re your mobile device without having to remove your gloves.

Now that’s cool…

What’s also cool is the level of gel padding on these FIRELION Cycling Gloves. It’s excellent. Even on the very longest and challenging of rides, you’re going to get a high level of vibration suppression with these.

There’s plenty to like about these gloves. However, we just wish they are made more than three colors available and made a small size. We’re never going to understand why manufacturers don’t include all the sizes in their range. It doesn’t make sense.

Our rating: (4.2 / 5)

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6 Htzploo Bike Gloves Bicycle Gloves Cycling Gloves

The HTZPLOO Bike Gloves are short-fingered gloves made from a combination of 55% Polyester and 45% Nylon. They have silicone padding and a silicone coating on the palm of the gloves.

Could do with more padding…

Any form of crash protection with these gloves is limited. It’s probably just about adequate on the palms, but on the sides or rear of the gloves, there’s no extra padding.

The gel padding is not particularly thick but does a good job of reducing road vibration. However, the level of gel padding on the base of the palms is not placed very well and feels lacking.

Pouring rain…

Better news is that the silicone coating on the face of the gloves works well in providing some quality anti-slip handling and riding. Better still is that this is still the case in wet conditions.

These gloves have got a lot of the things we like to see in mountain bike gloves, including; terry towel on the rear of the thumb, comfortable, breathable material, finger loops plenty, and good availability of colors and sizes.

These are better made than some of the other gloves, but you can expect to pay a premium for that.

Our rating: (4.7 / 5)

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7 Seibertron Dirtpaw Unisex Bmx Mx Atv Mtb Racing Mountain Bike Bicycle Gloves

Seibertron Dirtpaw gloves are undoubtedly the best winter mountain bike gloves we’ve reviewed. They are a full-fingered glove and are suitable for use in all but the coldest of months. They are also fine to use in the summer, even though they’re a full-fingered glove, as the material is breathable.

Simply the best in terms of protection…

These gloves also offer the best protection, in the event of a crash, of any gloves we’ve reviewed. The palms of the gloves are double layered with plastic layering on the fingers. The rear of the gloves have direct injection rubber protection to all of the hand and finger knuckles. Additionally, they cover well past the wrist, another vulnerable area in the event of a crash.

These are the gloves for you if you fancy throwing yourself off your bike at speed.

Somewhat surprisingly, there’s no gel or foam padding on the palm of the gloves. They are double-layered, but this will offer you no real help with keeping down any road or trail vibration.

Need to make a call?

The gloves have touch recognition on the index finger so you can use your phone without having to take them off. We’re sure you’ll agree, always a cool feature.

The Seibertron Dirtpaw is a reasonably well-made glove though the Velcro fastening at the wrist could have been wider and better quality. Its size makes it fiddly to use, and after several uses, it doesn’t hold as assuredly as we’d like.

The choice of three colors could also be better, and finally, the sizing they’ve adopted is a little confusing. They have their own sizing for youth and adults, and you’ll need to check very carefully to make sure you get the correct size. The adult sizes are quite large compared to standard sizing.

Our rating: (4.5 / 5)

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8 Giro Dnd Gloves

The Giro DND Gloves are full-fingered and will be suitable for all but the colder winter months. These gloves have some well-integrated protection on the rear of the gloves at the knuckles and fingers. What’s more, the front of the gloves have a thick suede padding covering most of the palms and some thinner suede covering all of the fingers and thumbs.

In the event of an accident, the Giro DND Glovers are likely to do a good job of protecting your hands.

Lacking in any real protection?

Sadly, when it comes to protecting your hands from road vibrations, the gloves do very little to help you. There are no dedicated foam or gel pads on the palms. If you have any kind of hand issues with either Handlebar Palsy or CTS, these are not for you.

Giro does have exactly the same glove but with gel pads on the palms. We advise you to go with these even if you don’t have any hand-related issues.

Prevention has to be better than cure. Surely?

The gel-padded version also gives you higher levels of grip. And there’s no doubt that these are well-stiched and well-made gloves. We can’t fault them on their overall quality. We also can’t fault them on the feel and comfort. They’re breathable, they stretch, and they’re super comfortable to wear.

Other things we like include finger recognition on two of the fingers and a thumb, the excellent choice of colors, and the full choice of sizes.

Our rating: (4.3 / 5)

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9 Gearonic Cycling Shockproof Foam Padded Sports Short Gloves

These are fingerless fair-weather gloves that are both breathable and comfortable to wear.

They’re made from a synthetic leather kind fo material on the palm and part of the rear. In the event of an accident, the addition of the foam padding at the palm should give a reasonable amount of hand protection. Being short-fingered gloves, your fingers and wrists are going to have to say a prayer and hope for the best.

Road vibration suppression is OK but nothing to get excited about. The lunar nerve is adequately covered, but the base of the palms could do with better placement of the two foam pads.

Multi-use…

These gloves tout themselves as a multi-purpose glove that can be used at the gym as well as for cycling. GEARONIC also says they can be used for road cycling. This tells us a lot about the design. To us, they do look more suitable for riding with drop bars.

The quality of the gloves would make them for use on some light trail riding in the warmer months. Unfortunately, we think they’ll struggle to give adequate protection on longer and more challenging rides. We also don’t think they’re a glove to have any sort of longevity. The foam pads, in particular, feel like they’ll wear quite quickly.

On a positive note…

They’re not expensive, they give reasonable levels of grip, and they come in a long-fingered versions. The range of sizes is also good. Unfortunately, the choice of colors is poor. Red, gray, or blue. Talk about unimaginative!

Our rating: (4.5 / 5)

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10 Fox Women’s Ripley Gloves

These are full-fingered, lightweight gloves. They’re made from a 50% Polyamide-Nylon, 40% Polyester, and a 10% Polyvinyl-Chloride mix. The palms are made from imitation leather, and the fingers have a silicone coating.

You might think these sound a lot like the Fox Racing Ranger Mountain Bike Gloves we reviewed earlier. And you’d be right. They are. In fact, they’re almost identical.

Not really meant for extreme riding…

These gloves have thin faux leather padding on their palms, and that is pretty much that as far as any special hand or finger protection is concerned. The gloves are fine for light trail riding but are unlikely to provide a high level of protection to your hands or fingers in an accident.

Additionally, there’s no gel or foam padding on these gloves. Consequently, if you need a glove to significantly reduce road or trail vibrations, you should give these a miss.

Warm and dry…

The Fox Women’s Ripley Gloves will keep your hands warm and dry through most of the year. Even better, the silicone coating on the fingers will also ensure you keep a good grip in wet and greasy conditions. And these are not a bad choice for some light riding outside of the winter months.

Finally, having been marketed as a women’s glove, it’s disappointing to see they only come in four colors and two sizes. The four colors are combinations of black, lilac, and pink. All very predictable and frankly not good enough.

Our rating: (3.9 / 5)

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Best Mountain Bike Glove Buyers Guide

As mountain bikers, we have some very particular requirements when it comes to choosing gloves. Once we’ve sorted out our budget, generally, the three most important things we commonly look for are; protection, protection, and protection.

We want protection against accidents, protection against Handlebar Numbness and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and protection against the elements.

So, let’s take a closer look at each of these in turn…

Protection Against Accidents

As mountain-bikers, we like nothing more than to randomly throw ourselves off our bikes. Unfortunately, our hands, and for that matter, the rest of our bodies, are not so keen on this idea.

Seriously, if you’re riding a mountain bike, you’re going to fall off, it goes with the territory. If you’re an inexperienced rider, then one of the first things you need to do is learn how to fall. You need to know how to tuck in your hands and shoulders and relax when the occasion demands. You need to practice falling on soft ground. Get an experienced rider to show and help you.

In any event, when you do fall, under no circumstances stretch out a hand to break that fall. Trust us when we tell you this is the quickest way to a broken wrist, broken fingers, or a serious hand injury.

Let’s get back to the gloves now…

The first call of protection against accidents is to make sure you don’t come off in the first place. If you’re riding in more extreme circumstances, then part of this protection is to have a good level of grip. Having gloves with anti-slip protection that work well in wet conditions will be imperative.

We think the best for their grip and anti-slip properties are the…

HTZPLOO Bike Gloves

If you’re just riding some light, easy trails in the summer, then short-fingered gloves should offer perfectly adequate protection. However, for more challenging rides, where hand protection is likely to be more important, then a long-fingered glove is a better choice. Not only do these offer better protection for the fingers, but they generally cover the wrist more fully too.

Thick gel padding or double skinned gloves will give good protection on the palms. Reinforcement on the fingers is also a good idea. On the rear of the gloves, the best mountain bike gloves will have special protection on the knuckles of the hands and fingers.

If you intend to do more extreme mountain bike riding, we’d recommend the Seibertron Dirtpaw gloves.

Protection Against Vibration

Vibration is our enemy. The good news is, modern-day mountain bikes have excellent suspension, and this will take a lot of the strain off our hands. Thank you, technology. However, Handlebar Palsy and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are still common and need to be protected against.

The best mountain bike gloves should have high levels of padding running from the little and ring fingers down to the palm to protect the ulnar nerve. Failure to do this can result in Handlebar Palsy. Additionally, good gloves should have thick padding on the base of the gloves to protect against Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Even if you have no symptoms of either, we’d still strongly advise using gloves that have high levels of protection in both of these areas. We think the gloves with the highest level of road and trail vibration dampening and the best mountain bike gloves for numbness are the…

FIRELION Cycling Gloves

Protection Against the Elements

The truth is, none of the gloves we’ve reviewed are suitable in the very coldest of conditions. However, all of the full-fingered gloves we’ve reviewed are suitable for the majority of conditions.

In the summer months, a short-fingered glove would make more sense. Though obviously switching to shorter gloves will compromise the level of protection in the case of an accident.

All the gloves we’ve reviewed will keep your hands dry for a limited time, but none are waterproof. There’s a playoff in the fact that they predominantly use a breathable material to keep your hands comfortable. This, unfortunately, means they won’t also keep the water out for long periods.

Making the call on long or short-fingered gloves will be very much down to the climate, time of year, and kind of riding you’re likely to be doing. And the reality is that most of us have a few pairs of different gloves for different riding conditions.

Need Some Accessories?

If you’re looking for more than just a new set of Mountain Bike Gloves, then take a look at our reviews of the Best Mountain Bike Saddles, the Best Bike Helmets, the Best Truck Mount Bike Rack, the Best Bike Cup Holders, and the Best Bike Locks currently available.