Short-finger gloves reveal their quality in the details most brands skip—the palm padding that actually lands where your hands meet the bars, the closure system that stays put without cutting circulation, the back panel that breathes instead of becoming a sweat trap. Castelli's Premio Glove approaches these fundamentals with the same obsessive fit focus they apply to their race-day apparel, treating gloves as contact points worthy of serious engineering rather than afterthoughts thrown in to complete a kit.

The palm construction uses strategically placed gel padding to dampen road vibration at the pressure points where your weight transfers through the handlebar. Castelli positions this padding based on hand mapping that accounts for different grip positions—riding the hoods versus the drops versus the tops all load different areas of your palm, and the Premio's padding layout tries to cover all three without creating bulk that interferes with bar feel. The synthetic leather palm material maintains grip when wet while resisting the premature wear that plagues cheaper gloves at the thumb and index finger contact zones.

The back panel uses a mesh construction that prioritizes ventilation over structure, which matters more than you'd think on summer rides where gloves can become uncomfortable heat traps. The hook-and-loop closure wraps the wrist without the pressure points common in elastic-only designs, and the pull tab on each finger gives you an actual grip point for removal when your hands are slick with sweat or rain. It's the kind of thoughtful detail that separates gloves you tolerate from gloves you reach for automatically.... Read More