Debating on cold weather gloves

[Novelldude]

Would really like to go the electric route, but don't know that I can swing the extra bucks just this minute. So I'm faced with three choices as far as I can tell.

1. http://www.motorcyclecloseouts.com/s...eskimo+gloves#
Looks like really nice setup with kevlar and gel in the palms. Can't find any decent reviews on this pair. 89 dollars.

2. http://www.newenough.com/gloves/insu...le_gloves.html
Bit rich for a pair of non-electric gloves, and judging from the reviews I've found you either love 'em or hate 'em. Other than a couple of really insignificant details in the pics, I can't really see a difference between these and the fieldsheer one's. 98 dollars.

3. http://www.powersports4less.com/deta...H%208765000504 has them local where I can try them on or http://www.tonker.com/store/Tour_Mas...er_Gloves.html has them for a better price. Either way, I would have to wait for some more hobby fund money and drop the 120-130 on the electric tour masters. Which would also set me up for getting some more electric stuff from them down the road without having to replace the gloves if I go this route.

Anyone have an opinion or other thoughts based on the options there? Low 40 degree rides in the morning are getting to be downright unpleasant in the mesh gloves I have right now. Granted Kansas City doesn't get as cold as Canada, but we have wind with humidity even in the winter. It's not hard at all to have 30 degree temps with wind chills in the teens. Sooner would be better than later, but I don't want to get something that is merely decent when the best is only another 20% more. That said, I'm not sure what "best" is. Either way, it's going to be a long time before I consider dropping $100 bucks on gloves again.

Thanks,
ND

[kevin2502000]

Get snowmobile gloves, made for sub-zero weather and very reasonable. Dennis kirk

[md86]

Yes , but many so-called winter bike gloves (and just GUESSING , but snowmobile , too ...) ain't got armor , and that cotton/Thinsulate don't look like it'd hold up too well sliding down the road .....
I've seen a couple cold gloves armored like REAL gloves are . Love to get me some of them , too .
Oh , and my old Firstgear carbon race gloves worked fairly well in the cold (down to about 40) for around an hour or so . THICK leather .

[Novelldude]

Ya, that I'm gonna have to agree with the snowmobile mitts not having armor on them. I still want the protection and the three I listed seem to have that. Haven't found the snowmobile class stuff to be built for a asphalt slide. Hopefully not needed and all that but...

Thanks,
ND

[giftedwon]

check this

http://fatbikez.com/cortech-scarab-cold-weather-motorcycle-gloves.html

use coupon code katriders

[Novelldude]

That's downright neighborly of ya Giftenwon.

I'll have to try to find some tomorrow (or sometime this week) to try on. In the meantime, I'll say there's now 4 options out there.

Thanks much,
ND

[The CyberPoet]

I have a pair of the Tour Master's that I've had for about four or five years now. They are bulky and my palms tend to sweat in them at anything over about 55 degrees. No armor other than the synthetic-leather itself and the rubber, but the visor-wipe on the glove is a very nice touch. I've got some European gloves that are about half as thin but just as warm, using newer/different insulation materials -- personally I'd recommend looking at the British and general European offerings instead of the American ones, because they tend to ride cold-weather far more often than we do, and it shows in their engineering prowess with winter gloves. My guess is Tokalash could find you a set of great winter gloves for you use for $60 - $70 including shipping if you asked nicely.

The critical stuff in picking cold-weather gloves, IMHO:
(A) Must have a good wrist closure. This prevents cold drafts from getting to your hands.
(B) Must have a method for closing the gauntlet above the wrist closure, so it can be wrapped down to the sleeve of your jacket -- no gauntlet, or no way of strapping the gauntlet tight and you might as well be wearing summer gloves.
(C) Outer material must be waterproof. Morning/evening rides when condensation is forming is a killer if the gloves suck up moisture in their surface (water content makes heat escape at something like 17x times faster than dry air).
(D) Huge bonus points to any gloves you can turn inside-out to dry. Not feasible with my tour masters, at least in terms of the fingers.

You might also want to consider investing in a cheap pair of hand guards to bolt onto the handlebar tubes to shield your hands -- $20 - $30 invested there often goes far further than an extra $20-$30 invested in "better" glove.

Finally: consider over-gloves or handlebar mitts if you're going to ride below about 45 degrees. The mitts surround the entire controls and your gloved hands to provide a secondary barrier -- very common fare in Germany during winter riding. I've seen them in the USA as well, and there's a thread around KR from last year with some info on them.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

______________________
CyberPoet's KR Specials
Suzuki Stratosphere - 6 Cylinders, the new Katana?
The Best Motorcycle Metal Billet Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.

[squiggy]

You might also want to consider investing in a cheap pair of hand guards to bolt onto the handlebar tubes to shield your hands -- $20 - $30 invested there often goes far further than an extra $20-$30 invested in "better" glove.

I modified the Vstrom hand guards with my Hot Grips last year.

The right side (brake) was easy since both bikes have essentially the same brake master cylinder. The clutch side required some hacking away of the plastic since the Vstrom has a hydraulic clutch and the Kat has cable clutch.

Either the pivot bolts for the handle or the mounting bolts for the clutch and master cylinder needed to be changed and cut down so that the hand guards can bolt to them. Also the way it mounts to the handle bar tube is a little bit different. I don't remember specifically what it was.

These pics don't specifically show the installation but shows the idea of the guards.

[DuncanS]

I just put bar end muffs on last weekend. I find winter gloves very uncomfortable and awkward, plus the tips of my fingers always get cold no matter what gloves I wear, even with liners. And waterproof gloves smell terrible after a few uses (or is that just me...?) With muffs on the bars I can just wear mesh gloves and still be warm.

Muffs are brilliant, probably the best money I have ever spent on a bike. I rode about 220 miles on Monday morning starting at 4:30 am, temperature well under 10 degrees C, and I was not at all cold, fingers were actually quite warm.

As an added advantage, the muffs are waterproof. So when I rode home on Tuesday night in the lashing rain I had warm, DRY hands, even after a four hour ride at 70mph.

Cost was just £20, two minutes to fit and easy to remove any time. You see them on a lot of bikes here in the UK.

Duncan

[Wheel]

Wow! Duncan you rule. I think the handlebar muffs are the solution I've been looking for. Today, my mission is to find a good set of muffs and order them. Not the most sexy option, but I have a "good" set of a-star gore-tex winter gloves and liners for them. With the liners in, they are so clunky I can hardly operate the controls, yet my fingers still get cold.

Muffs, I'm so excited!

[Wheel]

Just ordered a set of Oxford Deluxe handlebar muffs, and a set of Oxford Heaterz heated grips. about $130 in total, shipped... about the same or even less than some heated gloves and I think the end result will far and away outperform any other options.

Should be good for temps well into the zero range

Got the muffs in the mail today, made a new thread with pics:

http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=89795

[Dynamic]

I try some on and I already have the regular cortech gloves, but I need some winter gloves. Have you try these glove in the rain yet? water-repellent or waterproof I ride in the rain about every other day and need gloves that won't suck during freezing rain any feed back would be nice from anyone thanks.

check this

http://fatbikez.com/cortech-scarab-cold-weather-motorcycle-gloves.html

use coupon code katriders