REASONS TO BUY
Fit is true to size
Sturdy and durable feel
REASONS TO AVOID
Interior fabric irritates skin
Uncomfortable
Palm bunches up when grabbing handlebars
Pearl Izumi Summit - Women's Review
Decent glove with mediocre bar feel and interior fabric that irritates the hand
Credit: Pearl Izumi
Our Verdict
The Pearl Izumi Women's Summit glove are uncomfortable but serviceable. The design is quite intricate with many complexities throughout the gloves including multiple fabrics and reinforcements. The Women's Summits are sturdy and durable with mediocre feel on the trail. The excessive amount of seams are irritating on the inside of the glove and result in excoriations on the hand. The synthetic leather palm tends to bunch up while gripping the handlebar. This is detrimental to quality and comfort of your ride. It should be noted that while these gloves fit true to size, the pinky finger is exceptionally long resulting in excess fabric that flops around. When using a touchscreen cell phone or cycling computer, the index finger is effective but the thumb works intermittently. At $35 MSRP, it is difficult to call these gloves a good value.
Our Analysis
Pearl Izumi continues to make the Summit glove in both men's and women's versions, although they are no longer available in the color we tested.
Performance Comparison
Pearl Izumi Summit glove offers hearty construction with excessive pinky fabric.
Credit: JT Teerlink
Fit
The Women's Summit glove offers an interesting fit. The pinky and thumb have an exceptional amount of excess space and material. The index, middle, and ring fingers fit slightly better. The fabric joints on the knuckles do not line up with our tester's knuckles very well. The palm fits well enough but is prone to bunching. Putting the gloves on and taking them off is an easy task. The wrist feels secure without being too tight.
Comfort
The seams on the inside of the glove are abrasive. Most notably on the knuckle of the pinky finger. Having a glove that scrapes up your hand is far from ideal. The synthetic leather fabric on the palm of the hand is soft but the bunching material can be uncomfortable. The fabric on the top of the hand nearest to the wrist and knuckle is stretchy and soft.
Features
Adding joints in the fabric to the pinky and ring fingers of the Women's Summit glove was a nice thought. That said, they do not exactly line up where they should. Silicone peace fingertips adds to the functional dexterity. Pearl Izumi outfitted this glove with subtle pull-on-tab with a silicone grip. The wrist velcro closure tab adds an extra step to sliding the glove on. More importantly, it increases the likelihood of the velcro unraveling. That said, it does make for a more secure wrist fit. Touchscreen compatibility works well with the index finger, however, it is closer to 60% with the thumb.
Protection
The Women's Summit glove doesn't offer anything in the way of armor or an exoskeleton. That said, the slightly thicker fabric on the knuckles adds an increased sense of protection against branches and brush. Overall, the hearty construction gives this glove a substantial feel. The synthetic leather on the fingertips add a small layer of protection from the wind
Durability
Reinforcements to the outer palm, index finger, and fingertips ensure there is plenty of material at the wear points. The substantial palm provides the sense that these gloves are built to last. The velcro patch at the wrist feels like it is sewn more substantially than the Fox Women's Ripley glove.
Best Applications
We found the Pearl Izumi Women's Summit glove to be a decent glove for day to day trail riding. These would not be our first choice for aggressive terrain where a crash may be more likely.
Value
At $35 MSRP, the Women's Summit gloves are among the more expensive in our test. We don't feel the mediocre performance justifies the price tag.
Conclusion
The Pearl Izumi Women's Summit Glove offers a less than ideal fit and a lack of comfort. On the plus side, these gloves are durable and do their job well enough. The poor value makes it even more difficult to recommend these.
Other Versions and Accessories
These gloves are available in four colors and the sizes range from Small-Extra Large.
—
Jeremy Benson
You Might Also Like
