Gloves are a competitive market. There are a lot of brands all successfully making good riding gloves, so it’s good to stand out and do something different. These ‘Photog’ gloves landed on my desk and caught my attention immediately – whatever you think of the idea, it’s definitely different.

I’m no photographer, but I can imagine that gloves and cameras don’t go well together. Big chunky fingers and little fiddly dials aren’t best mates. These gloves with their first finger and thumb exiting options (“convertible fingers”) look like the business then. Come to think of it, that’s not just good for cameras: touchscreen phones can be a pain with gloves on, unless, like me, you’ve learnt to type your password in with your nose. They come at a price though…

£49.99; www.surf-sales.com

They’ve also sent some more normal gloves, the Rake. The packaging says it’s “built to last”, and it certainly seems that way. These Rakes feature a very soft palm with the usual rubber on the braking and shifting fingers, and a velcro closing system. The designs look good, my only gripe being that they’re white – and we all know what happens to white gloves.

£18.75; www.surf-sales.com

Will they stand the test of time? We’ll get these out and see. In the meantime, a friend of mine has been riding with these recently, and the feedback is as follows. “The stitching is so far flawless (which is more than I can say for every other pair of gloves I’ve used). They’re nice and grippy despite the weather conditions, and somehow still I can feel all the well-worn grooves on the grips below. I wasn’t a fan of the looks, but with this level of performance and comfort, I’ll certainly reach for them as my glove of choice.”

He also added: “They are yet to smell too, which is a nice bonus, and better than my previous pairs of gloves.”

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