The Dakine Thrillium gloves are designed to offer a no-glove feel, and get pretty damn close with their breezy fabric and clever seams. They fit perfectly and the leather palms feel great, but the Thrilliums can be tricky to put on, and get tatty fast.
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For your £35, you get a super thin line glove with a Pittards goats' leather palm, microfleece nose wipe on the thumb, and a moisture-wicking 4-way stretch shell. They also come with a two-year warranty, which is super handy (excuse the pun).
The usefully secure cuffs are slip-on, so there’s no Velcro here, but as they're necessarily really tight it’s a bit of a task to force the gloves on.
And that's not the only thing that makes the Thrillium tricky to put on. While it feels excellent on the bike, the goats' leather palm goes stiff and wrinkly after a wash and proves another obstacle.
Once they warm up a bit the leather softens and conforms nicely to your hand, however, so it doesn't affect comfort.
Once on, however, they do an excellent job of achieving that no-glove feel. The upper allows loads of air through, so much so that you feel a constant breeze over your hand. The leather palm offers an awesome bar feel and grip once it conforms to your hand, and it even works with phone screens – a big plus when they're so difficult to put back on.
They fit incredibly well. The ends of the pointer and middle fingers are rounded over so you don’t get that seam at the end, and there’s no excess or unnecessary tightness either. It's the perfect fit.
After a good few rides and just a handful of washes, the Thrillium gloves look a bit worse for wear. There’s no life-ending damage just yet, but it's disappointing all the same – the strain of dealing with the tight cuff probably won’t help lengthen their service life either, but the two-year warranty is there for when they do finally kick it.
While they're pricey and there’s a fair bit to grumble about, I ended up really liking the Dakine Thrillium gloves. They fit really well, they're cool in summer air and feel great on the bike. Just be prepared to make use of that two-year warranty.