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Warm Gloves

6K views 21 replies 19 participants last post by  twowheeladdict 
#1 ·
Looking for recommendations for some warm gloves. Not heated gloves, my drive time is too short to bother.

I live in Indiana, drive 8 minutes to work. I have handguards installed. The only part of my body that gets cold are the right three fingers of my right hand.

Temperatures so far have been down to 20F. My current gloves are fine down to about 30-32, but anything colder than that and it gets painful.

Recommendations?

Thank you!
 
#2 ·
The trouble with warm gloves that aren't heated is you make them warm by making them thicker with insulation. For less than the cost of another pair of gloves you could add grip heaters. Those you can't leave at home and you don't have to deal with plugs or wires once they're intalled. Turn them on while your bike is warming up and you'll have toasty hands.

My $.02
 
#3 ·
I bought Joe Rocket Nitrogen gloves. under $90. Cold weather purpose, mostly leather, good padding and look very crash worthy. More bulky than my regular riding gloves for sure, but still more than capable for comfort and dexterity while riding. And, yes, they are warm. Good for temps down to about 2 or 3 degrees C for a half hour ride before the cold starts to seep in.
 
#5 ·
I also have a short commute, and went with the Icon Patrol Waterproof glove. Warm enough down to 20 with handguards, I'd imagine. Built in visor wiper is a nice plus. Downside is that since it's warm, its not a thin glove. It will break in with a bit of use and seem less huge over time, though.


That said- more than 30 mins on the bike and I would want my heated glove liners...
 
#7 ·
Go to a sporting goods store and find a pair of snowmobile gauntlets.
I bought a pair at Dunhams Sporting Goods (don't think you have them in IN). They are a no-name or I would give you the brand. They are thick, waterproof and go halfway up my forearm and only cost around $39.
They are good all day for anything above 40*but they keep me warm enough on my 25 minute commute, so far down to 26*and that's without guards.
I showed up at work a couple of days with ice frozen on the knuckles. The only drawback is how bulky they are, it takes some feel out of the controls but you get used to it.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Because of the wind you are not going to get warmer hands with different gloves. You need heat and at those temps probably heated gloves. I've had heated grips and gloves. Heated grips are really nice but at temperatures approaching freezing or below heated gloves are the only solution that works well IMO.

Your hands get cold because your core gets cool and restricts warm blood flow to the extremities to keep the important organs up to temperature. Keep you core well warmed and the rest of you will stay warm too.
 
#15 ·
I agree about the core temp, it does make a huge difference in the extremities. But, he's only got an 8 minute ride. If he warms the gloves before he leaves, a good thick, windproof pair of gloves will hold that heat pretty well for 8 minutes.
Don't go out and put cold gloves on, put warm gloves on, it makes all the difference for short rides.
 
#10 ·
The shortcoming with heated grips, INHO, is that they don't warm the back of your hands, which is the part of my hands that gets the coldest. I received a pair of "Campfire" heated gloves from Herrington last Christmas and like them a lot. They might suit your needs.

Though they aren't motorcycle-specific, they fit well, they're good quality and are battery operated rather than hard wired. They do a very good job of keeping the entire hand warm for several hours - depending on the heat setting. And you won't have to unplug yourself from a wiring harness when you dismount - or forget to and suffer an exciting moment or two.

The battery pack is rectangular, about 1/2 inch thick and fits in a see-through pocket on the "gauntlet" part of each glove (about the same position as a wrist watch). There are four push button settings - 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% and they will keep your entire hand warm from between 4 and 16 hours (according to Herrington). I haven't run the batteries flat yet so I can't judge the accuracy of the claim. They aren't inexpensive but they're worth the price. Here's the link: http://www.herringtoncatalog.com/cs818.html

My two cents.
 
#13 ·
I love my heated gloves. I agree that dealing with the wires for short trip might be a pain. I like the suggestion of the battery operated ones. Gerbings makes some too I think. I love the wired pair of Gerbings I have and use them daily these days for my 40 minute commute along with a heated jacket liner. I arrive nice and toasty.
 
#14 ·
In the Airforce we were issued silk glove liners (for inside our flying gloves) to use when it was cold out, and I still have a pair. They're thin enough to go inside other gloves, and I add them when it gets COLD.... Along with my handguards (to block the wind) they work OK.
 
#16 ·
+1 on keeping your core temp warm. Everybody I know that has a good heated jacket liner says it is their favorite accessory. I have a Firstgear heated jacket liner and love it. Most of the time when it's cold I use the jacket liner along with Firstgear TPG gloves. These gloves have no insulation in the palms, but plenty of insulation on the backside and work great with heated grips. When I'm going a long distance and it's well below freezing, I use the heated gloves. I hate being cold.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I've tried a lot so far and for sub zero temps I have settled on driRider Alpine gloves.. they are exceptional. I saw minus 4 celcius on my trip computer without wind chill factors at 140km/h in high wind and rain on a 150km transport section home one night and was comfortable- except for the trickle down my neck... No heated grips or wind deflectors either.. For warmer cold weather they are a bit too good but for really cold they are worth bragging about.. and don't need batteries either
 

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#20 ·
For the really cold temps such as a rally ive gone on called the brass monkey where you can tent in one of the coldest parts of the country which a good chance of snow or - 8 plus frosts in the middle of winter i use thermal mittens inside my normal winter water proof glove and always take the mittens with me, the barkbusters i have on the versys does reduce the wind chill a lot, my other bike the ninja 1000 has heated grips but i think the barkbusters are just as effective as heated grips but both would be good.
 
#21 ·
After getting my Oxford heated grips I can't see going with out heat again. Either grips or heated gloves at least. I went on a 50 mile ride in 40 degree weather. I wore my unlined gloves the first part until my finger tips got cold (on 40-75%) then switched to the heavier winter gloves I HAD been wearing on a regular basis. WOW, after getting used to riding with the lighter gloves on, the winter weights felt like I was riding with a couple pillows wrapped around the grips, haha. I imagine the heavier gloves will work fine for anything under 40 degrees on 40+ mile rides with the grips but you really lose all the feel.
 
#22 ·
I have heated grips on three of my bikes. Love them and wouldn't be without them on a bike that goes on trips. Much easier than changing out gloves as the weather changes at elevation.

As far as gloves go, my tourmaster polar-tex gloves are my warmest gloves, but provide the least protection. They are very flexible though so you don't notice the loft of the insulation. My most protective winter gloves are waterproof (yeah right ;) ) leather snowmobile racing gloves I got from sportsmansguide.com for around $35. They start out pretty stiff though. You have to break them in like a baseball glove.
 
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