Sombrio Prodigy Gloves - Review

Jul 7, 2015 at 2:41
by Richard Cunningham  
Pinkbike Product Picks

Sombrio Prodigy Gloves

Sombrio's Prodigy blends DH durability into a form-fitting trail rider's glove. The cuff less elastic wrist design is also contoured to further minimize the sense that you are wearing hand protection. The unpadded palm is crafted from synthetic "AX Suede," while the back is a Kevlar-reinforced nylon/spandex blend with mesh panels. The fingers are boxed and there are grippers at the tips of both braking fingers that sometimes can access touch-screen phones. The inside of the thumb and forefinger is reinforced, where you will also find a well-placed terry-cloth anti-snot pad. Prodigy gloves are offered in a number of sizes and Sombrio offers a fit-chart to make on-line ordering less risky. Colors are yellow/blue, or black/grey. MSRP is $40 USD / Sombrio / @SombrioCartel

Sombrio Prodigy Gloves
Sombrio Prodigy Gloves

Sombrio Prodigy Gloves

Pinkbike's Take:
bigquotesSombrio's Prodigy gloves may seem a bit pricey to some, but the fit alone may be worth the extra shillings. I rode two full days of DH in the French Alps without suffering much in the way of hand fatigue and found them to be equally comfortable for trail riding throughout the test period - which included stints in cold rain and barbeque-hot desert rides. I prefer unpadded gloves, but I find that their comfort and lightweight feel often come at a depressing lack of durability. Not so with the Prodigy gloves, which are showing few signs of the abuse I have dealt them. If you prefer to ride without hand protection, you might try Sombrio's Prodigy option. It provides a sensitive feel at the handlebar and it can save your hide, as I discovered, when plan A fails and plan B is a dance with Lady Dirt. - RC


Author Info:
RichardCunningham avatar

Member since Mar 23, 2011
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59 Comments
  • 89 13
 Sombrio proving that it takes two fingers to properly activate a set of Avid Brakes.
  • 14 42
flag Triber66 (Jul 7, 2015 at 16:26) (Below Threshold)
 Those aren't Avid brakes.
  • 13 4
 Sram is avid (and rockshox). Still, I feel like avid/sram brakes are very sensitive. They just need love more often than I care to give it so I us xt instead.
  • 16 2
 I use one finger and my lady Guide never complains.
  • 19 6
 Guides are probably one of the best brakes I've ridden.
  • 4 14
flag scott-townes (Jul 7, 2015 at 20:08) (Below Threshold)
 I've always used two fingers, and still do on the right hand because of how the brake lever is positioned due to the shifters. As my mother always said, two fingers is better than one.


(the bottom video is not of my mom, but of Nazis riding dinosaurs... sorry for the confusion)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2utrMwTyY
  • 4 1
 after riding X0 Trail brakes for 2 seasons cant complain the stopping power when needed is crazy strong so ... duno why people still hate on avid ( i used Codes Silver / code 5 / code R before te X0 trail and they all worked just fine ) and yeah i was using just 1 finger Smile
  • 8 1
 I run Guides RS and I would never change them for anything else, power is there, modulation is a-freaking-mazing, bleeding is easy and fast.
  • 8 0
 Well, my favorite brakes are...

Wait, I thought this was an article about gloves, no?
  • 1 0
 Gloves are just socks for your hands. Scotttownes i don't want to know what you mom told you she likes. Using two fingers takes too much strength from the grip on your bars, unless you squeeze your brakes harder to compensate, effecting your ride. Use one finger.
  • 1 0
 ^ I have a strong as f*ck grip.
  • 1 0
 Your pointer alone is stronger than your ring and little finger combined in most cases.
  • 1 0
 Try telling that to my mom Wink
  • 3 0
 Dude, you have a bizarre sense of humor, but I appreciate a good laugh now and then Big Grin
  • 2 1
 laughing at your own mom is a good way to win friends. Come Scott, have my sister.
  • 11 0
 I'd like to get my hands on a pair of those.
  • 17 0
 well you are in LUCK...... there's a store about a half mile down thatta way, I'm sure you could find a couple pairs there.
  • 36 0
 sorry, you'll have to excuse my friend. he's a little slow. the store you want is down thatta way.
  • 3 0
 ^^ Brilliant! Big Grin
  • 1 0
 literally get your hands on it, ehhhh!
  • 5 0
 They are awesome with right and left hand specific shape
  • 5 0
 I hope these are different than the Sombrio gloves of old. Wife bought me a few pairs before they got bought out. Every pair was dead in under 4 rides....
  • 3 0
 Totally agree. I've had 3 or 4 pairs. None have lasted. The stitching is very poor quality.
  • 2 0
 Those clever looking silicon logo's on the finger-tips will peel off after a few rides. Observe the logo already starting to on the right hand glove trigger finger.
  • 2 0
 Agreed. Two pairs I had ripped on seams after 2 rides. At least they lasted longer than 661 gloves.....
  • 2 0
 Yep. I was hoping to hear a bit more about the durability. All the Sombrio gloves I've owned (5 pairs now...) have blown out between the fingers. I've been wearing the same pair of POC for the past three seasons and ride at least a couple times a week (when not waiting for a replacement swing arm as is the case currently). POC FTW.
  • 2 0
 TLD is only brand of gloves to last me a whole season. The airs are insanely comfortable too.
  • 1 0
 TLDs are the ones that have never let me down, I just bought Giros to try them and they are already torn at the wrist after 5 rides...
  • 1 0
 Had a pair of Sombrio's but they didn't last long, stitching came apart and the rubber fell off. 661's and Royal Racing gloves have lasted me years.
  • 4 0
 Thanks for the feedback on your previous Sombrio gloves. We've changed our manufacture for 2015, to help improve our quality/durability. The thread we are using is also Kevlar to help with durability. We'd love to hear what you think if you have the chance to give our new gloves a go!
  • 1 0
 I must have bad luck as my current TLD's (backup/dry pair numero uno) have had graphics peel (though the overall construction has been good) and haven't fit my hands as comfortably as my POC's.
  • 1 0
 Good to hear @SombrioCartel I've always been a fan of the brand so would have no issues giving them a shot in the future knowing that things have been changed. Is this the same on the shorts? I've also had issues with the minor detail (pocket) stitching in my highline shorts which, despite the fully unthreaded pocket that happened after one ride/wash, remain in rotation as one of my favorites.
  • 2 0
 @snl1200 Glad that you love your Highlines! Sorry to hear that you had some stitching come apart. Are they from this season? We stand behind our product quality and offer a 1-year warranty for manufactures defect up to 1 year from the purchase date, So if they are, you are welcome to submit a warranty claim with us to get a replacement pair. You can get in touch with our customer service team by phone or email at warranty@sombriocartel.com or 1.800.432.1335.
  • 1 0
 They are older (3ish years)). I was more wondering for future shorts purchases if some of those small details had been refined. Thanks for the response.
  • 2 0
 @snl1200 Absolutely! We've been very focused on refining the small details.
  • 6 0
 sexy gloves. Too bad money and I have such a rocky relationship.
  • 7 1
 Come on Richard, proper technique one finger on the brake.
  • 3 0
 Seriously, there's kids around here for crying out loud!
  • 1 0
 Yeah, so I just went to the their website to order a pair of these, my size (L) and color (black and grey) were out of stock. I emailed the company asking them to let me know when they would be back in stock, and they pretty much told me they wouldn't have any more of these for the rest of the year.
  • 1 0
 @badvibes777 As of this morning our inventory is showing good stock in both colours in the US shop. Sorry that you were given some wrong information. Here is a link below right to the gloves.

us-store.sombriocartel.com/collections/mens-freeride/products/91001m-prodigy-gloves

Just let us know if you if still have some trouble. If you do, just PM us your contact info and we can get in touch to help you get sorted out Smile
  • 1 0
 Great social media management team!
  • 1 0
 Just ordered. Thanks!
  • 2 0
 Enjoy your new gloves!
  • 3 0
 I've had a few pairs of Sombrio gloves with the AX Suede palms. the silicone grippers on the fingers will come off after a while for sure.
  • 1 0
 I had a pair of Sombrios from 2010. They were yellow but everyone had the rasta colour version. They were a good glove. I lost them. I then went on to buy two pairs of sombrio rukus, and the quality was so bad. I could not believe it. How did they do this!
  • 2 0
 do they work with ESI chunky grips in the wet, would love to find a minimalist palm padding glove that worked with wet silicone grips.
  • 1 0
 I just ordered a pair of those grips, what are they like? @steve9train
  • 5 1
 ESI Grips are awesome until they get wet and muddy, then they're scary.
  • 1 0
 Ah, thanks for the info, might not be the best grips during the winter months in the west coast of b.c. then. haha
  • 1 0
 i have a set of sugoi is think, for the rain, grippy plus some grippy padding and a size Large rather than XL, seem to work ok. I will start with my ONE gloves, then put the dry grippy gloves on half way through the ride. nothing like dry gloves on a wet ride Wink
  • 3 0
 the gloves look so/so. but thanks to RC, i now have a new and exciting repertoire of shadow puppets. thanks RC.
  • 1 0
 So, where and when can I buy these in the UK? as sombrio gloves have always been my glove of choice.
  • 1 0
 @wythall1 be sure to check the dealer locator on our www.sombriocartel.com as it will be updated with now shops over the next few months, but in the meantime, our online partners like Backcountry.com ship to the UK Smile

www.backcountry.com/sombrio-prodigy-bike-glove-mens?ti=U2VhcmNoIFJlc3VsdHM6cHJvZGlneToxOjQ6cHJvZGlneQ&skid=SOM002R-BLA-S
  • 1 0
 Cool! thanks for the reply! Smile
  • 2 0
 Can someone ID the grips in the first pic for me?
  • 1 0
 Stock commencal
  • 1 0
 My 4 yr old pair was made in Pakistan and they are great gloves. I'd like to know where these new ones are made.
  • 2 0
 It's a glove, it protects your hands, review done!
  • 1 0
 Magic trick .. Dammm wrong hand ))))







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