Winter Cycling - gore mistral II gloves a _let down_

Hi,

I recently bought a pair of Gore Mistral II gloves that promised to be weather-proof and have excellent wind-blocking properties. Once I received them, I discovered that they were very thin (to save weight... naturally :rolleyes: ), but since Gore is supposedly the warmest fabric available, I didn't think twice about it. However, I later discovered that simply walking around in temperatures only a few degrees below freezing with light winds made my hands a bit cold. They seem to block the wind alright, but the Windstopper N2S fabric itself gets cold. However, if I stick my hand out the car window (roads are too snowy for bicycling), it almost seems as if they are better able to fight off the cold than while walking.

I also bought a Gore Phantom Plus II jacket, which seems to have much better thermal properties. It's possible the Mistral gloves require a liner glove to achieve their full potential, but it doesn't seem like I should have to shell out even more money given the already high price of the gloves. Maybe I'm just sensitive to the cold...


Do any of you have a pair of these gloves? If so, what has been your experience?
I appreciate any input.

I've sent a couple emails to Nashbar customer service and the representative eventually suggested I try a pair of liner gloves. Is this just a ploy to get me to spend more money or might it actually help?

Anyone willing to help out a fellow bicyclist? Any suggestions on a pair of cold-weather (sub-freezing) gloves? Weight is not a factor. I was thinking Campmor might be a good place to look.

Thanks

How cold is cold? Where do you live?

Motorcycle gloves seem to offer excellent protection and durability, but they won't be very breathable.

Pogies are supposedly the best solution if you don't mind keeping them on your handlebars. There are a couple threads on here about them, and you can check out icebike (http://icebike.com/) for more info.

I've been wearing a pair of Ibex Kilometer gloves that I bought recently, and they have been really good, but their lower limit is probably 20-25 F. I also have a pair of Pearl Izumi Infernos that work pretty well, but I prefer the Ibex gloves. In general I prefer wool or a wool/synthetic blend for all my clothing. It is soft, warm when wet, smell resistant, breathable, and naturally anti-bacterial.

You might want to withhold judgement until you actually wear them on the bike. I have a pair of windstopper gloves that work great after the first 15 or twenty minutes. The rule of thumb is that if you are warm when you first start riding then you are over dressed, this goes for gloves also. Once my blood starts flowing and I work up a sweat my hands are fine. The problem is that if you have only worn them while walking around or driving your car chances are you aren't working up much of a sweat, unless you are a very aggressive driver :)

Thanks for the replies. I thought about exchanging them for a pair of Magma Mitts but instead decided to buy some Gordini Approach gloves from Campmor, which are made from Merino wool.

papedaler: Maybe you're right and I should have tested them on the bike before drawing any conclusions, but it sure did seem like the fabric was getting awfully cold just walking around, which didn't bode well for bicycling.