Specialized Deflect Gloves - Report

As luck would have it, after purchasing my 'Winter' Gloves - the weather started to get warm again.  I was, however, able to ride with the gloves during some pretty cool 45 degree weather on the road, and I also was able to put them through a muddy ride in 70 degree weather.

The gloves fit me very well, are comfortable, and look great. They have a little snap on the gloves that allow you to button them together to keep them in a pair.  This is a feature I will never use, but some may be more organized than me. They are sort of difficult to put on, since they have a stretchy cuff without a Velcro closure. There was a worry that the padding on the palm was not going to be substantial enough to keep my hands from going numb on sustained rooty and rocky terrain.  Unfortunately I was right: these gloves do not protect from vibrations as well as my Pearl Izumi gel gloves.  They do not seem to relieve the pressure on the ulnar nerve in the palm/wrist area as well.  I found my hands going numb for the first time since I put the Ergon grips on the bike, causing me to have to shake my hands, or change position a few times while going through particularly rough, rooty, or technical sections. 

That being said - they kept my hands warm during the day that the weather dropped below 45.  I would highly recommend not wearing these gloves above 70.  My hands felt sweaty and downright hot when I wore them over the weekend that I thought was going to be cool, and I didn't have any other gloves. So - I probably spent 35 bucks on gloves that I will wear only once this season, if it doesn't get cold again.

Would I recommend these gloves? Not to someone who has issues their hands going numb due to vibration.  Sure, some of the issue may be with me gripping the bar too tightly when hitting technical sections - but - numbness really isn't an issue with the Pearl gels.  If you don't get numb hands, live somewhere where its cool more than one weekend a year, and need a pair of sporty looking gloves that are well made - buy these.