At first glance, the Sealskinz "Dragon Eye" looks more like a product for the transitional period, as the insulation is rather thin. The look is also more reminiscent of a gravity product: Bright colors and reinforcements for protection on the backhand make it stand out. But the visual impression is deceptive - more on this later.

Outer and inner values

You can tell that Sealskinz has a lot of experience with gloves from the first contact. The workmanship is very high quality and the glove has small, effective details. As you would expect from this manufacturer, this glove is also windproof and waterproof.

A Velcro fastener is used instead of an elasticated cuff. As the "Dragon Eye" is cut short, this does not get in the way when the jacket sleeves are pulled over it. The robust outer material has cut-outs at the knuckles. These prevent an unpleasant pull when making a fist. Silicone strips are applied to the index and middle fingers. Although these provide a little more grip on the brake levers, they are not touchscreen-compatible.

One of the most important elements of a winter glove is a padded thumb area. If your nose drips in the cold season, it is more pleasant to wipe it dry with fluffy rather than abrasive fabric. Another plus is the thin palm. Without thick insulation or padding, it provides optimum grip control. Thanks to an inner lining, the hands are still effectively protected from the cold. In addition to this version, the glove is also available in two other color combinations.

A small note: The tested model "Dragon Eye MTB" should not be confused with the visually almost identical "Dragon Eye Trail". This is neither waterproof nor windproof.

On the handlebars

The tested size L (size 10) is a normal fit, snug but not tight. Nothing pinches or chafes. As mentioned at the beginning, the rather thin winter glove gives the impression that it could also fit on wet days in the transition period. However, at temperatures above five degrees it was too warm, and it was already squeezing sweat out of the pores. Although the breathability of the "Dragon Eye MTB" is quite good, the feeling of heat remained. The consequence of this was that the gloves were only worn in temperatures around freezing point and colder.
Cold is always an individual sensation. In our case, the Dragon Eye worked up to minus seven degrees, after which we switched to more heavily insulated gloves.

It was not possible to conclusively assess how waterproof the glove really is during the test period. The weather was simply not bad enough. It survived a few rides in light rain perfectly, as well as numerous rides in snowfall. Whether it can withstand constant rain remains to be seen. But if you reach into the snow a few times, the upper material of the palms soaks up very quickly. Although no noticeable moisture penetrates through to the skin, the very thin insulation meant that fingers got cold quite quickly.

Conclusion

The Sealskinz "Dragon Eye MTB" is an ideal winter glove for days from plus three to minus seven degrees, for all those who like slightly thinner products and are fed up with dull, black winter products. The three months of continuous use with numerous washes in the machine hardly wore off the Sealskinz gloves. As a result, they also impressed in terms of durability.