Five WFX1 WP review | Waterproof winter gloves tested

Date reviewed: October 2025 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: £130 (RRP) | bikerheadz.co.uk

The Five WFX1 WP gloves on review here are a great fit with very good feel for winter wear. The French brand only makes gloves – nothing else – and has a reputation for making high quality gloves, which have done well in our reviews so far. I’ve worn the Five WFX1s during early 2025’s winter and spring, and for the last couple of months of autumn on a Zontes ZT350-T, BMW R1250GS and Honda VFR800 to find out if they’re any good…

Pros & Cons

Construction, fit and feel

The Five WFX1 WP gloves have a goat leather palm with a textile and goat leather upper. The tops of the first two fingers are leather, with the other two being a ripstop material and the rest of the glove a polyester/polyamide mix.

The main accordion stretch panel on the gloves is on the top behind the thumb, with a smaller one over the front thumb joint and another on the back of the wrist, to add stretch to the wrist restraint. I’d expect to see stretch areas on the fingers, yet these gloves fit and move freely, never feeling cumbersome when holding the bars, using the levers or twisting the throttle.

While obviously not as good as a pair of summer gloves, the WFX1’s offer decent feel of the controls with pretty accurate finger length, only the tip of the thumb having a little spare for me.

I did unfortunately have an issue with the construction of the Five WFX1 WP gloves in that the soft tag attached to the right glove’s wrist strap tore, and a stitch opened up on the thumb, but these were both covered by the two-year warranty.

Protection and certification

The Five WFX1 WP gloves meet Level 1 certification for abrasion resistance, burst and seam strength, as well as having certified knuckle protection (Level 2 is the highest, though not many gloves achieve this).

The upper palm is reinforced, and a palm slider covers the hypothenar. This panel is often called a scaphoid protector, and while this one is softer and grippier than some others, it still slides a lot more freely on tarmac than the leather. This reduction in friction can reduce the chances of your hand grabbing in a crash, which can cause the wrist to extend over the hand and break the scaphoid bone.

There’s no added protection on the outside edges of the little finger, but while lined winter gloves do tend to pull off a bit easier than summer gloves, the wrist restraint works well.

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Warm and cold weather use

The Five WFX1s have Primaloft Silver in the top of the gloves, with the more compressible and higher-performing Primaloft Gold in the palms, allowing it to be thinner here. This makes for comfortable and not too bulky gloves in lower temperatures, but they will struggle in deep winter.

I found that at 10°C my hands started to feel cold after about an hour. Another ride at 7°C saw my hands feeling cold after 20 minutes, but after an hour or so I was still able to ride comfortably with full feeling in my fingers. For shorter commutes through winter these should be fine.

As the temperature climbs beyond about 15°C I tend to switch to something with less lining as I hate getting sweaty hands.

Wet weather use

I’ve had no leaks with the Five WFX 1 WPs, the brand’s own ‘5_Drytech’ lining performing well.

When riding in the rain I prefer gloves that have a minimal amount of leather on the upper, as this can soak up water over long rides, making the gloves more difficult to get dry overnight. I haven’t had any issues with the WFX1s getting badly soaked thanks to the fairly small amount of leather on the top, though they can still take a few hours to dry off thoroughly after a really wet ride.

Thanks to the cuff being fairly compact, I’m able to tuck these Fives under the sleeves of my jacket – as long as that’s cinched up tight, it’s the very best way to stay dry on a bike.

The gloves can be worn over your jacket’s sleeves if you prefer, and the lining around the inside of the cuffs isn’t as absorbent as some, but you will still get wet hands pretty quickly wearing any gloves this way.

The left glove has a soft fabric visor wipe panel sewn into the inside face from the top of the forefinger to the thumb, which I’ve found very effective when swiping rain and filth from the visor.

Fastening

The Five WFX1 WP gloves have a wrist and cuff restraint that allow you to cinch the gloves up well. I do wish there was a little more Velcro fastening for the cuff strap, as when pulled tight around my wrists the flap’s loops can extend past the hooks. It’s no disaster as the gloves tuck under most of my jacket’s sleeves even if not cinched completely, but I would like a little extra there.

A zip on the cuff allows it to open wider to go over bulkier sleeves, but I’ve never had cause to open it, and it only gains 40mm along the edge. As with any gloves, try them on with your own kit to make sure they’re compatible with the way you want to use them.

Lining

Inside the Five WFX1 WP gloves is a lovely, soft furry lining that’s very comfortable. It doesn’t grab too badly if your hands are wet, and I’ve not had any problems with it pulling out when taking the gloves off, but I would always recommend holding the fingers firmly before taking off any gloves

Touchscreen compatibility

The left and right forefingers of the Five WFX1s have a touch-screen compatible pad that works well. Winter gloves can be a bit fiddly with touchscreens, but these are surprisingly accurate and worked well when adjusting my route on the Chigee AIO-6.

Three alternatives to the Five WFX1 WP gloves

Sadly there is no one glove to suit all seasons, so you’ll need at least two – maybe three – different pairs if you ride through the year. Here are some others you might be considering…

• Richa Arctic, £99.99 | These winter gloves proved to be a game-changer for our all-year-round commuter reviewer, beating even the heated gloves he’s used in the past, as well as heated grips and bar-muffs. Read the full review of the Richa Arctic gloves here.

• Held Inuit heated gloves, £229.99 | These heated gloves warm the palms of the hand – rather than the top of the back, where heat tends to get pulled away by the wind – and the tops of the fingers, with control allowing you to select what areas to warm. Read the full review of the Held Inuit gloves here.

• Alpinestars Range 2 in One, £179.99 | Despite some sizing issues, these have proven to be excellent gloves for all but hot weather and deep winter. As waterproof summer gloves go they’re very good, though keep in mind that the removable fleece liners do affect the sizing. And they’re too easy to lose! Read the full review of the Alpinestars Range 2 in One gloves here.

These are just three of many alternatives – you can find all the Helmets we’ve tested here (link to the relevant section of reviews) and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership.

Five WFX1 WP gloves review: Verdict

The Five WFX1 WPs are a decent pair of late autumn / early winter gloves that will cover much of the off-season weather that many riders will be tackling. They could be great for shorter commutes into deep winter, but for anything longer when things get really cold, I’d suggest heated gloves would be the better option.

Combined with handguards on the bike and heated grips you’ll be able to tackle much colder weather of course, but depending what and when you’re riding, the Five WFX1 WP gloves are well worth a look.

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