Worn/tested by: Roger Burlinson
Duration: Worn during cold weather for over a year
Worn for: Training and challenges
Price: £11.99
Review by Roger Burlinson
They say it’s the smallest things in life that make the biggest difference or something like that. OK, so maybe nobody ever actually said it…… but they should have.
In terms of Sport Walking gear, gloves are not particularly big hitters, that’s reserved for shoes, your vest and waterproofs. But when winter really bites, all of a sudden, the type of gloves you use and their capability, suddenly becomes really important.
Most of the time, when it gets a bit cold, some thin running gloves are enough to take the chill off and to keep your hands operating well. The heat you generate from walking strongly means that you don’t need anything too thick or too warm, as otherwise they’ll overheat.
But I’ve been through loads of different pairs of gloves in deep winter, trying to find one that gives enough warmth but, at the same time doesn’t overheat and it’s been a bit of a struggle up to now to be honest. Usually, I’ll just have to put up with freezing fingers inside gloves until I’ve been going for half an hour or so and my overall body temperature is raised enough to reach my digits.
But all this changed last year when I bough a pair of Decathlon’s Kiprun Evolutiv gloves. This is a combination glove/mitt, that has a fairly standard style of soft running glove, including conductive fabric on the thumb and forefinger so you can operate your phone.
Integrated into the wrist cuff is an over mitt that rolls up into the cuff itself for when you just want gloves and then unfurls to give a mitten for your fingers, when it’s really cold. The inside of the mitten is silver, to reflect heat back from your fingers, adding to the warming effect.
Now this core design is nothing unique. Other brands like Nathan and Ronhill make similar style glove/mitts but if Decathlon is known for anything, it’s exceptional value for money and with the Evolutivs coming it at under £12 compared to other brands at well over £20 for something similar, the Evolutivs win hands down on price.
But price is no guarantee of performance, so how well do the hold up in battle? In my experience, extremely well!
Fit and function
At this point, I need to fess up. I probably bought the wrong size because my gloves do feel a teeny bit ‘generous’. But as anyone who’s ever bought a pair of gloves knows, it’s all about the finger length and when I tried them, I felt that the finger length was spot on, whereas some of the gloves I’ve bought previously have had fingers that were too short and then you get that fabric bridging between your fingers, rather like having partially webbed digits.
I simply tried the medium sized Evolutivs, liked the finger length and didn’t bother to try a size down, so now I feel that they are just a little bit roomy but this doesn’t affect their performance at all and it’s really just me being picky. So, my advice to you – try all the sizes!
The cloth is soft and comfortable on the hand and the conductive finger tips work well and feel robust enough to keep delivering. The wrist cuff comes quite high, so you can get a good overlap with your jacket but combining these with a sports watch isn’t a problem – the cuff gives way to the watch strap so you don’t have to fold it or roll it down.
In use
Despite my uncertainty over whether I’ve bought the right size, the Evolutivs have performed superbly and I’m not just making allowances for the fact that they’re cheap. I used these as my glove of choice in Hurtwood 50k in December 2024 and this was quite a test, with one of the named storms still flexing its muscles while the race was going on.
The Evolutivs gave me just enough warmth with the mitts over my fingers at the start to keep my hands comfortable but then, as I progressed further and my body temperature reached a decent level, I rolled the mitts back into the cuff and carried on with them as ordinary gloves. They did exactly what I needed them to do and then some.
OK, this was Hurtwood and not the Winter Spine Race and there’s no doubt that the more brutal the conditions the greater the insulating capabilities you need. For the Spine, I fully appreciate that these would probably not be enough but the vast majority of Sport Walkers or runners will never find themselves in Spine like conditions, whereas they will be out on the trail in the middle of winter on a bright cold day with temperatures hovering around zero.
We’re not talking about extreme capabilities here, we’re talking about gloves that have you covered for basic cold and, it must be said, when it’s raining the mitts add some extra protection to help reduce heat loss through your fingers, so all in all they are more than adequate for the majority of people.
What’s interesting, when you first set out on a walk and draw those mitts over your clad fingers is the immediate sense of increased warmth you get with all your fingers snugly encased in that silver lined cover. When it’s really bitterly cold, something like -5 celsius or lower, it’s true that this sense of warmth is short lived initially and your hands can and do feel cold until you get your body heat rising. These are, after all, not insulated gloves. But that initial sense of warmth does indicate the benefit having an over mitt – it shows that it does make a difference.
Summary
The Evolitiv gloves are a really versatile glove/mitt that will cater for a huge variety of situations and will keep your hands comfortable when temperatures are around zero and really warm when they’re around +5 – +10 degrees celsius. It’s best to think of these gloves as your go to everyday glove, rather than something to use when temperatures or conditions are more extreme.
I’ve used them in training and in the heat of battle in an ultra and they performed excellently in whatever situation I put them in. I love the flexibility of being able to have your hand in a mitt but within seconds to be able to release your fingers to do something dextrous like taking a photo or adjusting your vest and then to instantly be able to revert them back to being mitt clad.
I wouldn’t be without mine in the winter now and I can highly recommend them
Sport Walk Recommends grade: 9/10