As a listener to musics both loud and chaotic, I particularly enjoy the names 45NRTH gives to its products. They’re like a Norwegian black metal label, except they make winter-time cycling stuff instead of doing church burnings, thankfully. The Sturmfist 4 sounds like a super group of pagan headbangers that maybe also play smooth jazz at Sunday brunches.
What it actually is, is a damn useful winter riding glove. As you may know, I have long struggled with the right handware for cold weather pedaling, and the Sturmfist 4 turns out to be the solution for many of my problems.
First, the shape. Index and middle finger (aka, the bird) are free, which makes it much easier to do the fine motor functions, like gear changing and nose picking. Then, the ring and pinkie finger are in a mini-mitten. What would you call that? A partial lobster? The effect is that you get the dexterity of a glove and the warmth of a mitten.
It’s a gauntlet style, with a large cuff you can tuck your jacket into. The palm is goat leather, and it features a merino blend insulation and a suede snot wipe. It comes with a pair of merino liners too, so you can start with the big glove and go to the liner later if it warms up. Or I often ditch the liner later, and ride (or ski) in just the outer glove. The point is, it’s versatile.
What’s not to like?
You might blanch at the $140 retail price, but like everything I recommend to people, this is a long-term investment. Think of a decade of hand warmth, maybe more. Suddenly you’re talking about value, not expense. Anway, if you’ve got that sort of thing in your budget, and you appreciate a super warm, versatile glove like this, I recommend them highly.