Advice on gloves needed

[walnuts]

(Technically this should probably be in the gloves section, but I thought I'd try here since it's more likely to get some reads)

Bit of a newb question...

Ok, so I've only been riding since May, and when I started I rashly bought some cheap (£20) Buffalo winter gloves. These gave me sweaty hands, no feeling of the controls, and whenever I took them off the frikkin lining would turn inside out.

So within a week I bought some summer gloves from Hein Gericke, these are probably the most the summery of summer gloves, they have bugger all protection and are massively ventilated. This was great back in July, but this morning it was 8 degrees and my hands were a light shade of blue when I got to work.

So, question is, is it too early to be buying decent full-on winter gloves, should I instead be buying something in-between? Perhaps with some thin inner gloves in my pocket for when necessary? Or is everyone starting to switch full-winter mode now?

Cheers,
marc

[thor]

It's never too early to wear winter gloves. Cold hands aren't fun. Get some decent gloves before you have an accident caused by your coldness! There's always heated grips and muffs to think about too.

[Kate]

I've been using my winter gloves for a week or so now. I've got a pair of Racer winter gloves which I've found excellent. They are fully gore-tex so they don't leak and are nice and warm. They aren't massively padded either so you still get a good feel for whats going on.

[Sir Trev]

I have some very good Buffalo winter gloves but they were somewhere nearer fifty quid if I remember.

One thing to remember - if you put the gloves on in the shop and you can just tug them off by the finger tips then the friction between your glove and the tarmac should you come off may also remove the glove as you slide along the road. Always try to buy gloves with a wrist strap that prevents this and do it up every time (not so tight that it cuts off your circulation of course). Gloves should fit well but not be too snug as the trapped air layer helps keep your hands warm

Thor is quite right about cold hands - you don't want them as they will be very slow to react in a hurry. It's better all round to have two or three pairs of gloves and some thermal silk inner gloves to be able to react to the weather. A spare pair fit under the seat and stop that nice ride out turning sour on you if you stay out longer than you thought and your hands get really cold!

Or just add heated grips and muffs (if you like that sort of thing) and you can wear your summer gloves all year!!!

[northwind]

HG 2-finger Pathans are superb winter gloves... They don't look protective but they always test surprisingly well, and they're fairly cheap. I've been wearing mine on and off for a week or so- still wearing my HG rooskin summer gloves the rest of the time with the heated grips on.

I can't remember what make my other pair is, Richa I think- I'll find out, they were cheap, incredibly warm, and fell apart after about 10 hours. When I phoned them up, they didn't even ask for the gloves back, just sent me a cheque, so I obviously wan't the only one.

[Demonz]

I have decided to stick with Goretex only now - my last winter waterproofs sweated on the inside and I ended up with stinky fingures - after washing a couple of times they fell to bits. Nothing worse than cold hands - apart from cold wet hands that stink! Get some decent Goretex gloves for the winter.

[Mr Toad]

I rely on heated grips, and a very thin pair of liners under my summer gloves
Kept me going last winter :D

[dirtydog]

another vote for HG 2 finger Pathans good gloves and pretty cheap at about £30

[Mitch]

I started wearing my winter gloves last week, nothing worse than cold fingers. I treated myself to a pair of Alpine Stars Jet Road gortex gloves last year. They are quite thick, but very warm.

Cheers
Mitch

[El Saxo]

I've just treated myself to some 'Master IV' (according to the receipt) gore-tex gloves from Hein Gericke. They were £70 but they are amazing, I'm really impressed so far. The only other pair I found that I was just as impressed with were in the Dainese store in Manchester and were almost twice the price!!

[rich_r]

I've got some Frank Thomas Aquaroo gloves, which i've been wearing to do my DAS on this week, got soaked at one point. They are supposed to be waterproof, the the palms are leather, but kinda got a little moist in heavy rain! Warm as hell tho, £40 from Infinity Motorcycles.

[GregK2]

another vote for HG 2 finger Pathans good gloves and pretty cheap at about £30

And another vote for the Pathans from me.


I made the mistake of going out in my summer trousers last week and nearly froze. Winter trousers out now and lining ready to go in.

[DarrenSV650S]

How easily and cheaply are heated grips installed?

[dirtydog]

I've got some Frank Thomas Aquaroo gloves, which i've been wearing to do my DAS on this week, got soaked at one point. They are supposed to be waterproof, the the palms are leather, but kinda got a little moist in heavy rain! Warm as hell tho, £40 from Infinity Motorcycles.

I had a pair of aquaroos and i thought they were a load of rubbish

[Toypop]

Yeah I mentioned those aquaroos in another thread on some site or other and got slagged off for it!

Ok I have serious doubts about the quality and whether they would be waterproof (I don't ride in the wet these days) but yes they are flipping warm! Something to do with that Alufoil lining.

You can't use them when the temperature goes over 10c as your hands cook. Fine riding to work this morning when it was 6c but horrible going home tonight when it was 18c or whatever!

They kept my hands warm when it was 2 or 3c in the winter. Did a number of rides and managed to do around 50 to 60 miles before it was too uncomfortable. Would use heated grips if I was doing that distance or further regularly in the winter but I was impressed with the warmth.

[Kylie]

Another vote for Racer, fantastic gloves, stupid that Ride magazine never reviews them.
I have some waterproof kangaroo leather gloves from them, they were expensive (close to £100) but they have been great. I also have some Racer summer gloves but I've rarely used them this year, the waterproof ones are super comfy, only too hot on really warm days, fine for the winter too.

And in case anyone was as slow as me to work this out, gloves are only waterproof if you wear them inside your sleeves! :)

[northwind]

Darren SV650S, if you don't bother to put them on the ignition switch, it's dead easy to fit heated grips, and everything you need comes in the box. I reckon just about anyone could do it. But, it's a really good idea to attach them into the ignition so that when the bike's off, so are the gloves- all too easy to leave them on, as well as being a hassle. That's a wee bit harder, you need a relay and you need to locate and tap into a switched live somewhere on the bike. Still not hard, exactly, but not plug and play.

I had a pair of the old Aquaroo gloves, they were diabolical... Very bulky, very stiff, not very warm, cumbersome to put on, and not all that waterproof either, then they fell to bits. They didn't test well for satefty either. Most expensive gloves I've ever owned, and also the worst, bar the faulty ones.

But, that was an old design, I doubt the new ones are even similiar. Not saying they're any good, mind ;)

[rich_r]

As I said above, the Aquaroo's dont seem that waterproof, but are lovely and warm. I wont be riding in the rain anyway.

But HG ones seem to get a good review, so prob best with them in the future!

[thor]

How easily and cheaply are heated grips installed?

Couple of hours work tops. If you have a pointy there is a spare switched slot on the fuse box that makes it easy to switch the grips.

I think there is a how to on the main site? Fitting grips is also a chane to fit a R6 throttle tube. Helps offset the slightly larger radius of the heated grips.

[I'm_a_Newbie]

Hi.

I bought some IXS North Gloves from J & S Accessories £39.99. These are Gore-Tex so should be waterproof. They have a leather palm, fairly thick insulation but are easy to move in. They have long cuffs and a brilliant feature of a rubber visor wiper on the back of the left thumb.

Kind regards
Tim

[rob13]

just a question for HG Pathan owners, do you have the textile or the leather ones? Theyre both the same price i think (£39.99) but im wondering if one is warmer/more waterproof than the other.....

[walnuts]

Thanks for all the tips guys and girls...

On my way home from work last night I swung by Hein Gericke and bought a pair of leather Pathans (£40) (the textile ones are £35 Rob).

I put them on for the ride in this morning, seemed pretty comfy and certainly nice and warm. However, after just a couple of miles or so, my thumb hurt and cramp was starting to form in my right hand. I also found that I kept fumbling slightly when going for the brake/clutch.

Anyone else have these kind of problems at first?
I think it's possible that I'm expecting too much from a thick winter glove, but right now I'm seriously thinking about getting my money back and trying something else.

[Bullwinkle]

I have both - the leather ones need a little time to 'break' in as they do have leather but you will notice they will form better once used more. They feel a little more 'protected' than the textile ones which is good...:)

I love the Pathan 2's - warmest gloves I've ever had and highly recommend them.