In need of new winter gloves
 

Previously, when I was living in a city, 90% of all my destinations were within 15 minutes ride of my apartment. In the winter, my fingers would get a bit numb, but nothing too horrible. Now, in the boonies (literally, I'm in Boone County), there is nothing closer than 15 minutes away. Most of my rides are over 30 minutes in length. I have two pairs of gloves.

http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Bike-Bo.../dp/B000TOZD2W

http://www.amazon.com/Craft-Siberian...ft+bike+gloves

Both are good enough so long as it's above freezing, but yesterday, for instance, it was 12F. I was quite warm just about everywhere, with the exception of my fingers. After 15 minutes I had lost feeling in fingers.

I've been considering some battery powered, electric gloves, but before I make any purchases I thought I should ask what you guys think.

Mitts work much better than gloves for keeping your hands warm in cold weather. I'd also make sure they're well insulated with thinsulate or equivalent material. If you have a store in your area that sells ski and/or ice fishing gear you'll find a lot of options. I use ski gloves a lot of the time but once it's down into the single digits or colder, I switch to mittens designed for ice fishing. Super warm.

I think this is one instance where it's better to go to a brick and mortar store. You want to make sure there's some amount of bulk to them. I'd also say that in general products made for cycling aren't designed for very cold temps. There's some exceptions.

Agree with the previous poster. 12F is pretty cold but I'm sure I've done it back in NYC. Without any batteries. On a motorcycle or snowmobile 12v gloves are fine. On a bicycle, not so much. A co-worker gave me some half-dead chemical hand-warmers for my ride home one evening. I was impressed but I don't have the same commute anymore. As I understand it, hand warmers can be made using rice. You charge them in a microwave oven and they stay warm for some time. I'd look into good gloves and some kind of non-electric hand warming option. FWIW.

I have a set of Louis Garneau lobsters. They handle most anything to about 20 degrees. After that I add my Pearl izumi mid weights and I'm back to sweating.

These aren't bad and they're on sale, Novara Stratos Tech-Compatible Bike Gloves - Men's - REI.com

They're good down to low double digits. When the temp gets lower than that, I need a bit warmer gloves.

Was just going to post these. I have a pair, had one last year and I lost them somehow so I was happy to see that they were available this year as well. And that price? That is a lot less than I paid. Great gloves and highly recommended from someone that suffers from Reynaud's and still rides in cold temps. Wore them today and it was 14° when I left. They kept me fairly warm for the half an hour I was on the bike to get to work. :)

It all depends on what you think "cold" is. Here in Minnesota, we might say 0F. In the south or west coast, they might say 50F.

The other real alternative that helps to take glove warmth out of the picture are to get a set of pogies. I like either the Wolftooth ones (have them on my fatbike) or the Bar Mitts that I have and occasionally use on my road bike. Both of these are such that I can use either summer biking gloves to thin fleece gloves down to about 20F.

J

Personally, I can't ride with heavy gloves like the others have posted about. My hands sweat a lot (and stay pretty warm so long as I'm moving), so I prefer two layers of light gloves. I use a merino wool inner glove, and a light- to medium-weight outer glove, depending on temp.

I agree that mitts are the best for preventing fingertips from freezing. I've considered getting a pair of shell mitts, but I haven't needed them yet (down to 5F or so).

What do Bar Mitt owners do when they leave their bike locked up on a rack at work? Do you remove them? At their cost, I am not sure I would want them left on the bike due to the fact that they are fairly easy to remove from what I have seen.

I have had surprisingly good results with a slightly oversized pair of North Face Canyonwall gloves plus a set of fleece glove liners. This after having mediocre-to-poor luck with heavy ski gauntlets and insulated work gloves.

I think a key advantage to this configuration is that it provides meaningful insulation on the gripping areas of your hands and fingers, so they're protected from the cold metal, plastic, and rubber of your handlebars and brake levers.

That said, I haven't tried any of the purpose-built winter cycling gloves/mitts. Most of the ones I've been able to find temperature ratings for have been...inadequate.

I get Ski Gloves .. they're cheaper than Bike gloves .. for my tour I had glove shells and fleece gloves inside them
so I could remove the liners and dry them quicker separately.

My snowmobile gloves are good down to about 0-5F but they are quite bulky and modified. I don't use them anymore since i prefer mitts. Pogies/bar mitts are also good but not for me because they have to be removed when the bike is locked up.
If having lots of dexterity while riding is not mandatory i would suggest mitts if not then pogies/bar mitts or egloves. If you have small hands (not like me) then you could probably find warmer gloves systems (by layering) good for 12F.

If I weren't a man, I'd assume that I have Reynaud's. My brother's fiancee has it and we seem to have the same temperature threshold when it comes to our hands, so this is very helpful information. I truly worry about losing fingers.

That's a good idea! I like the whole "cheaper than bike gloves" bit a lot.

I'll probably get another pair of gloves, but I'm definitely doing this. Pogies sound perfect since I'm afraid of losing too much dexterity due to wearing bulky gloves.

Thank you everyone for your help!

This works great for me as well wool under glove, and light weight wind resistant outer glove.

Good plan. I was surprised at how warm pogies are. I found that I had more of a problem with hands that were too hot than being too cold.

On a road bike, with your hands being out in the wind 100% of the time, it's pretty hard to keep your hands warm. Any little air infiltration will lead to cold hands. It's impossible with so much stitching on gloves to make it airtight to the level that there is no air intrusion. Pogies solve all that to the point where you probably will be able to ride with summer half gloves much of the time.

J.

I have a pretty serious pair of mitts that I use when the weather gets into the single digits. They're mountaineering type mitts with a waterproof lining. I use them with a liner and they work.

It's not impossible i did it to mine. My snowmobile gloves were good down to about 25F mostly because of wind going through. Now they are good down to 0-5F with some modifications.
But your point is still valid pogies can do better than gloves.

Oh, I'm not disagreeing. I just think it is really difficult to find a pair of gloves with sufficient dexterity that are completely windproof but yet breathe. I'm really big into winter sports and I have - literally - about a thousand dollars (or more) invested in gloves and mittens most of which are some of the best made. I have maybe one pair that is anywhere near as good at keeping my hands warm as are pogies because of air infiltration at some level. And when they are warm enough, then dexterity usually suffers strongly.

Around here (Minnesota), 25F sort of qualifies as fall riding, it's really not winter. At that temp, it's pretty easy to stay warm but hands and feet, because they are exposed to the wind in the same aspect (never changing) still get cold. I agree that at that temp it's fairly straightforward to find a decent glove what will work about about 30 minutes or so - but will be cool but not cold. As the temp drops, the windchill factor climbs fast. So in the OP's case when it gets to 12F, that same glove is going to be quite cold if it was cool at 25F.

That's where the pogies shine. They end the wind problem and add some insulation. That means you can back way off on the gloves and be even warmer.

Again, whenever these conversations arise, I'm always amazed at what the range of "cold" is. It's really an individual and acclimatized thing.

J.

have you looked into bar mitts?

i use a
(1) wool liner by swix
(2) mid weight glove by head
(3) work gloves by black diamond

they work really well in the teens-20s weather.
work gloves are amazing. you can grab 'em at any hardware store. they block out wind and are cheap-o. highly recommend.

I'm surprised those Craft gloves didn't work (I own the full fingered pair and they've worked great for me), but it sounds like you have hands that are strongly on the cold side.

Those REI gloves looked interesting.

45nrth sells some warm bike specific gloves...I'm actually a little confused, I know they were also selling a mitt and warmer gloves, but right now this is the warmest glove on their website (They say 0-15f):
45NRTH | Unparalleled Cold Weather Performance

I see others have already mentioned pogies if you need the ultimate in hand warmth. I know they vary in warmth, the ones listed on this page under "Expedition Pogies from Epic Designs" :
Winter Cycling Gloves, Lobster Gloves, and Bike Pogies Buying Guide - Bloom Bike Shop
http://bloombikeshop.com/images/prod...on-pogies1.jpg

Are ones I've seen mentioned before for being over the top warm. Also expensive though. Good luck. :-)

I have the same Craft gloves. I love them and have been pretty comfortable in them in temps down to 15 F or so for multiple hours at a time. But the key to that comfort is glove liners. I hardly bother with wearing gloves without liners unless it's in the 40s or so. They make a big difference. So I would start by adding a pair of glove liners to your wardrobe. After that, yeah, mittens is the next place to go. I don't have mittens because I'm typically riding drop bar bikes. Operating road shifters with mittens is a little bit problematic. Even the lobster claw gloves are more awkward than I would like.

Reynaud's knows no boundaries. My mom had it, and myself, as a man, I have it. You very well could have it, and just because you are a man doesn't mean you don't have it. I am not sure how to take your statement.

I'd ask that you take it as the miss informed comment it was. I was under the impression that it was a gender specific condition.

My 2¢:

Down to about 20º F, I like cross-country ski gloves.

Below 20º F, mittens are the best. I've been using gore-tex shell mittens with wool liner mittens; fleece liner mittens would be a good idea, too.

For both, I'm a big fan of Outdoor Research. They make great stuff. These XC gloves, especially, are great -- they're flexible enough to allow you to reach into your pocket for your keys without taking the gloves off, but they're totally windproof and warm enough for most of the weather we get here in NC.

LG lobsters are good, rode this afternoon with them - temp was around 8 F and sunny out. When temp is down to freezing, I use a pair of yellow jersey gloves from the hardware store. They are inexpensive and the yellow color helps emphasize traffic signals.