Halvarssons Oleby gloves in black

The Oleby is a classic summer-waterproof glove. And it’s a typical Halvarssons summer-waterproof glove. It’s not flash. There’s nothing trick about it. It’s probably not class-leading in any single respect. But it has all you need. It will keep your hands dry. It will keep your hands protected. And they will be comfortable to ride in. And at under a hundred pounds they are great value.

If you’re looking for a glove to impress your riding buddies, then this isn’t it. There’s not a lot to write home about when it comes to the Oleby; rather it’s the kind of glove you’ll buy and forget about. But for most people; for those who ride mostly on weekends here in the UK; and for those who have a short daily commute into work, the Oleby will be more than up to the job.

Like all the best designed gloves, the Oleby has a textile back and a leather palm. The textile back will resist wetting out better than leather, whilst the leather palm will give better grip and feel on the controls. The membrane is Halvarssons’ longstanding Dryway membrane that always does what it’s meant to do.

For comfort, you get stretch in the textile material, elasticated slits in the fingers, and an open-back construction. To the same end, the fingers are pre curved.

For protection, there’s a hard protector backed with foam on the main knuckle, with smaller pads at the wrist and on the fingers and thumb. You also get a rubber bumper on the palm to absorb an impact if you put your hands out when falling. The palm also conceals a layer of Hi-Art for added abrasion resistance.

Other features include Skinfit technology at the fingertips. This provides better feel on the bars, and helps to prevent the liner being pulled out. On the palm, panels of suede leather serve, again, to improve grip, especially in wet weather. There’s also a bit of hi-viz detailing on the back of the hand. But one piece of detail that we really like is the NUDUD touchscreen sensitive finger on the right-hand index finger. This really is the best and most reliable system on the market for using phones and satnavs.

A summer-waterproof glove will, for many riders, be the only glove they need. You wouldn’t wear it in the midst of winter, and you might want something more breathable when the temperature creeps up towards the thirties, but for the rest of the time the Oleby will be just the kind of glove you want. It’s incredibly boring to repeat it, we know, but with Halvarssons you get high-end functionality at distinctly mid-market prices. And this is demonstrated by its sub-£100 buying price. You simply won’t find a glove this good for this price, wherever you look.

The Oleby is a very good and competent glove that nobody will find fault with. It’s perhaps not a great glove, but then again neither is the price!