Gore C5 Gore-Tex Thermo Gloves review

The Gore C5 Gore-Tex Thermo Gloves are designed to keep your hands warm in wetter winter conditions.

They pack in a Gore-Tex outer fabric for water protection and a fleece lining, with insulation between the two.

I’ve used them in some of the worst weather the UK has been able to muster this winter. While there may be slightly warmer winter gloves for the very coldest temperatures, the overall performance is excellent if you ride in all conditions.

Gore C5 Gore-Tex Thermo Gloves details and specifications

The Gore C5 Gore-Tex Thermo Gloves are designed for cycling in deep winter, with protection from both the wet and cold promised.

The outer fabric is Gore-Tex, with a waterproof membrane that’s said to be breathable.

Under this sits a layer of insulation that runs over the top of the palms and down the fingers. This is sandwiched by a brushed fleece fabric on the inside.

The palm is made of a polyurethane/polyester blend, which feels a little like faux leather. This should provide good grip on the handlebar in wet weather.

Gore says it has included foam padding at the palm, which feels uniform aside from the hypothenar region of the hand, which is a little thicker.

On the inside of the thumb and along the edge of the forefinger is a nose-wipe zone, for which Gore has specced an 'absorbent material’ (as opposed to commonly seen fleece-like fabrics).

On the outside of the little finger is a reflective material, and the cuffs are adjusted and fixed by a Velcro tab.

The cuffs extend about 1cm over the wrist joint, offering plenty of coverage. There’s more than enough space for jacket and jersey cuffs to fit inside.

Gore offers the gloves in seven sizes (XS-3XL), with the size guide suggesting I’d be best matched to an XL.

The C5 Gore-Tex Thermo gloves cost £74.99 / $90 / €74.95.

Gore C5 Gore-Tex Thermo Gloves performance

The Gore C5 Gore-Tex Thermo Gloves have been worthy companions through some of the worst weather the 2023/24 British winter has thrown at me.

The only slight shortcoming has been in sub-zero temperatures, when I might have preferred to use an alternative deep-winter glove, such as the very well-insulated Specialized Element 1.0.

I found the very coldest air could sneak through the seams of one or two of the fingers.

In wet weather, though, and for the vast majority of the time besides that, I’ve been happy to use the C5 gloves.

The water resistance is extremely good, standing up to full-on deluges, and the DWR (durable water repellent) treatment has remained impressive despite several washes with a standard, non-technical detergent.

Because your hands stay dry, they don’t get as cold as they might. In the dry, breathability was good, and although I overheated on one ride, my hands remained mercifully free of excess sweat build-up.

The construction doesn’t afford the greatest dexterity – on a couple of occasions, I accidentally selected the wrong Shimano Di2 shifter button, for example. However, the fingers aren’t so bulky that you can’t hold the bar in much the same way you would if you weren’t wearing the gloves.

That said, the feel of the handlebar in the palm is good and not over-cushioned.

The fingers work with touchscreen devices, but only just. I couldn’t use my iPhone screen much for the lack of dexterity, but I could operate my Garmin Edge 830 well enough with some simple presses.

That said, I’ve yet to encounter a thicker deep-winter glove that can do this well, and even thinner gloves – such as the Gore C3 Gore-Tex Infinium Stretch Mid Gloves – aren’t that convincing.

The fit is comfortable and the gloves didn’t cut down into the webs of my fingers, even with my weight pushing through them and clenched on the handlebar.

The cuff was thick enough to overlap thin jacket wrist cuffs, but a little too chunky for comfort when trying to get it to fit in the Castelli Alpha Doppio ROS’ double-cuff system. This is par for the course though – it’s probably a step too far to expect rival brands to design their products around each other.

I found the nose-wipe zone made my nose a little sore – too often, I found myself rubbing my nose against a seam join, rather than the zone itself, which is a little narrow.

Reflective tabs are always useful, although I tend to indicate by showing the back of my palm to the car behind, which hides the tab supplied on the little finger.

The Gore branding on the back of the hand is reflective too, but if you really want to boost visibility here, the hi-vis ‘Neon Yellow’ colourway will, naturally, be a better choice.

Gore C5 Gore-Tex Thermo Gloves bottom line

Overall, I’ve enjoyed using the C5 Gore-Tex Thermo Gloves and would happily invest in a hi-vis pair with my own money if I needed a set.

They’re protective, surprisingly warm and offer great dexterity.

That said, it’s important to note the fit won’t be suitable for everyone – in general, those with longer, slimmer fingers are probably going to get on with them best.