Giro Vulc Lightweight Gloves review: Would anyone pay $350 for gloves?

The only times I've ever turned back before the end of a ride, it's been weather related. At times when riding partners seem fine, my fingers turn white and painful. In short, I do not handle cold weather well at all and my hands are one of the most difficult parts of my body to keep warm. Given that I'm not alone in this struggle, I've taken responsibility for the best winter cycling gloves and worked hard to find the right products for every situation. 

Over the years I've found a lot of solutions for a lot of situations but the truth is I've never found the perfect option for my own needs. I want to be able to ride long distances in temperatures right around freezing and I have to expect that it's going to rain. I also know that if I find a product that can handle my needs it's going to be perfect for a huge range of less extreme use cases. So with that background in mind, are the Giro Vulc Lightweight gloves the solution?

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The answer to that question is a little bit complicated. After testing countless gloves, these are the best I've ever tested. Whatever your glove related cycling needs might be, it's worth checking out the details of the Giro Vulc Lightweight gloves. There are some quirks, and they aren't perfect, but there are a lot of good things for a lot of people. If you've had enough of cold hands and bulky gloves, keep reading and see if these might be the right choice for you. 

Design and aesthetics

There are two parts to the Giro Vulc Lightweight glove system. The two parts are not sold together but if you want to have a complete system that makes sense to use, you will need them both. It's an odd arrangement but it's happening  because Giro doesn't make the electronics of this battery powered glove. Instead of designing a new heat system, Giro turned to a Swedish brand called InuHeat. 

What InuHeat offers is an ecosystem available to any brand. It's an off-the-shelf solution for the heating elements, battery packs, and control systems required to build heated gloves and socks. In this case, like any Inuheat system, those pieces start with the battery pack which is also the control system.

The Vulc Lightweight features a pocket on the top of the forearm where the InuHeat battery sits. The upper section is mesh, allowing visibility of the status light through it, while the lower section is opaque. There's just enough room to separate the two pieces and slide a 3000 mAh battery in. 

Once in place the battery connects to the glove via a pair of magnets. and a series of laminated heating wires spread to the rest of the glove. The heating wires snake from the battery around the outer edge of the back of the hand then down the pinky finger first. Each finger after that has a wire heading down to the tip, back up, and over the knuckle before diving down to the tip of the next finger.

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In addition to powering the system for between ~1:50 and 7:35, depending on power, the batteries also handle control of the system. There is an InuHeat app you can use or you can long press the button on the powerpack to turn on the system. If you choose to use the app you'll have power levels between 1 and 10 plus a 5-minute power boost. As you change power there's a corresponding display of the exact time left. If you use the buttons instead you won't get the time display but there's a status light as well as vibration (as long as you have it turned on in the app) that lets you know which of the three power levels you are selecting. All the InuHeat electronics are waterproof and the gloves are washable.

With the electronics handled by InuHeat that leaves Giro to design the actual gloves and Giro is offering three versions. The version I've spent time with is the Vulc Lightweight which is a shell only designed to cover "temperatures up to 50º F / 10º C and down to well under 32ºF / 0ºC." If you have different temperature needs there is also a middleweight version available with insulation or a liner only option. If you choose the Lightweight option, the palm uses a synthetic suede called AX Suede with conductive stitching on the thumb and first finger and no additional padding. The material of choice for the back of the hand and gauntlet is a two layer windproof membrane with a low pile fleece backing. Similar to Gore Infinium or Polartec Windbloc, this material is so highly water resistant that it becomes difficult to understand the distinction between windblocking and waterproof. This is even more true in a glove.  

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Performance

I don't know that I've ever talked to anyone who absolutely loves bulky gloves on a bike. It's a necessary evil in certain scenarios but if you ask people, myself included, about their favourite pair of gloves it will almost always be something low bulk. Anyone who rides in the rain will also tell you that there's no such thing as waterproof gloves. It doesn't matter what a company claims, any pair of gloves with insulation will eventually saturate that insulation. The answer in both cases is a shell glove but there's a bottom limit to the temperatures a shell glove can handle. 

That's where this glove comes in; Giro has solved this dilemma. The Giro Vulc Lightweight is a shell only glove that can handle the coldest temperatures I'm willing to ride in. What that means is that while testing I headed out with the temperature right at freezing. The ground hadn't yet frozen but at 32ºF / 0ºC I was able to ride with only these gloves for just under two hours. Coincidentally that's the limit of the available battery power with the gloves at max power but my hands were totally comfortable. To me, that's a huge success. It's also not how I would actually suggest using these or the reason I'm in love with them. 

If I wasn't testing both the available battery life and the ability to handle cold, I would have done things a little differently. On a dry-ish (not raining but lots of water on the ground) day like my test day I would have started by adding a pair of Smartwool glove liners. Although it's possible to turn the power all the way up and make it work, 2-hours isn't that long for me to ride. Instead of relying only on battery power I would rather add Smartwool liners and turn the battery down to extend the heat. If that wasn't enough, or if it was wet, I would also add either the Sportful Lobster gloves or the Assos RSR Thermo rain shell gloves. More than the specifics though, the point I want to make is the flexibility that Giro has allowed with these gloves. 

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By choosing to make a low bulk, mostly waterproof (but not totally) glove, Giro has made the Vulc Lightweight useable across a huge range of conditions. There are some situations where the shell alone is going to be fine even with the heat turned off. It's low bulk and comfortable so not a big deal to wear in that situation. As the temperature drops, turn up the power and/or add a bit of light insulation on the inside. If it starts raining add a rain specific shell. 

That means the Vulc Lightweight drastically simplifies my glove needs. Instead of a box full of gloves that I need to pick from, I expect to use the Pearl Izumi Summit WRX NeoShell Gloves for warmer days and the Giro Vulc Lightweight can cover every other situation I ride in using combinations of liners or shells depending on my needs. I'm actually more excited to use these with just a little battery help when it warms up a bit. 

Of course part of that calculation is that Giro, and InuHeat, have nailed the details. I've talked a lot about the genius of choosing a windblocking shell arrangement but there's more to rave about. AX Suede on the hands keeps you feeling connected to the bars without any need for silicone grip and the conductive stitching lets you use your phone when needed. The long gauntlet means the battery is far from the bend in your wrist and the haptic feedback of the control system frees you from needing to visually check the mode. The InuHeat battery life details are perfectly accurate and, when it's time to charge the batteries, they both magnetically attach to a small charger and charge via USB-C in only a couple of hours. 

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Value

I don’t normally include a value section on reviews other than bikes. In most situations the price of a pair of gloves only varies by a little and performance is the important metric. Given that these are the most expensive gloves I’ve ever reviewed, I decided to include value this time. 

Heated gloves are always on the pricey side of things. The electronics are more expensive so they cost more. Despite that, the Giro Vulc is even more expensive than other premium options. The last premium heated gloves I reviewed, the Eddie Bauer Guide Pro Smart Heated Lite Gloves carry an MSRP price of close to $100 less than the Giro Vulc. Actually, as I write this they are $173 cheaper and some could argue they are better. 

The Eddie Bauer heated gloves use electronics from Clim8 that have a sophisticated app with AI smarts. The gloves know when you put your hand in and automatically adjust the heat based on exertion to extend the battery. The InuHeat magnetic connection is better but the smarts that Clim8 has are vastly superior and extra batteries cost $60 not $200. 

What saves the Giro Vulc Lightweight from getting tossed into my pile of cool but impractical gloves really comes down to Giro. Giro is a cycling company and the brand understands how to make gloves for cyclists. Clim8 is cheaper and more sophisticated but it connects to the batteries with a standard DC connector. You can't immerse, or even wash, the Eddie Bauer gloves. On top of that, Eddie Bauer is an outdoor company and those gloves are bulky ski gloves designed for dry and snowy situations. The Giro Vulc Lightweight gloves are a far better choice for riding a bike. Unfortunately that comes with a tax. 

Verdict

When I say these are the best gloves I've ever tested, that's not clickbait. The Giro Vulc Lightweight is a master class in how to use a combination of technology and traditional glove design to create an almost perfect pair of cycling gloves. My only useability complaint is really just a small grumble. 

I mean really small. The InuHeat app wants you to leave the gloves connected but turned off and that will drain the battery. That's only a problem because when you power them down completely you'll then need to hit an extra button to connect them next time. Of course, if that extra button click is a bridge too far, the haptic feedback is a workaround that makes the app only a secondary control system. 

That leaves only the price as an issue. Unfortunately it has to factor into the equation because it’s a lot of money. If you can afford it though, these use a brilliant design that allows them to replace a wide range of glove categories with a single superior product. 

What really happened here is Giro has called your bluff. Remember the last time your hands were so cold it was painful? Your legs were willing but your hands sent you home. At the time, you proclaimed you'd pay anything for comfortable hands. How true is that? Are you willing to pay $360 plus a liner to extend the battery life and a rain shell to deal with rainy rides?

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