Cold weather gloves
 

I've been riding some in the cold weather. Once it gets in the 20 degree range I can't keep my hands warm. Do any of you have suggestions for some good winter gloves? I've tried several combinations but nothing has worked so far. I haven't tried Gore Tex yet. Thanks.

Pearl Izumi Lobster gloves.

Multiple layers work for me. Silk liners or neoprene, followed by cotton felt insulators, with a snowboarding windproof mitten. Good down to maybe 15 degrees for an hour. Lower or longer...it gets harder.

Craft Siberian lobster mits work well for me down to 30 degrees or so. I can extend the range 5+ degrees by wearing polypro liner gloves inside them.

Best low-cost mitten, good down to 10f with a 20 mph wind. Trigger finger for shifting brifters: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/c...aspx?a=1123976

I like the cold generally but my hands get cold easily. I've been thinking about trying out some kind of a neoprene mitten or perhaps these bar mitts (which look ugly but effective): http://www.amazon.com/Bar-Mitts-Moun.../dp/B00G90R1VG

When it's under 25 I'll wear my ice fishing gloves that are wind and waterproof. I also take a second pair that I keep in my jersey pocket. Once I sweat and get my hands wet the cold follows. I also have an inexpensive fair of nylon construction gloves that I purchased at Lowes that are water proof and wind proof that work fine. They are more "puffy" than normal cycling gloves.

It seems Gore tex being a membrane between the shell and the Liner in a sewn together glove means
its a bit of a chore to put on,
since the liner , bladder, and shell are only connected at the cuff, so liner is not always in the fingers. .

if they are separate , then taking them apart would dry more efficiently..

by having 2 fingers together they lose less heat , and share the warmth,
.. of course mittens go one better, by having all 4 fingers in the same space..

My wife really like hers. She used them to commute, and she has ridden short rides this winter with temps in the low 20's. I am hoping there will be a pair under the tree for me. Last month she "casually" asked me if I thought I'd like to try a pair!

I use a pair of windproof fleece gloves. They do a pretty good job.

Spenco Cold Snap gloves work well for me.

Agreed that at some point (different for all) gloves are worthless and lobster glove or regular mittens are required. Look at pogies as a possibility and when it's crazy cold or as a safety item, bring along some Grabber chemical packs but know they take 10min or so to warm up well. I'm sure they have saved my hands and feet from severe frostbit on more than one occasion. Don't bother with the "toe" chem packs...not really big enough to help in cold temps to any meaningful degree.

Motorcycle shops sell electric gloves that have hand warmers. Check on that. They also make inserts that go in the gloves that warm the fingers. We also have a few guys that have hand mitts that attach to the bars that you can slip your hands into.
http://cozywinters.com/shop/bar-mitt...zmap=Bar-Mitts
http://www.zorotools.com/g/00140764/...m_campaign=PLA
http://www.thewarmingstore.com/gerbi...l#.UrsJlY2A2Uk

The best combination I found is Goretex glove with a removable rag wool liner. I bought mine from REI a long time ago and they have worked well when I used them to ride a motorcycle in the winter. The liners come in a variety of weights so you can swap them out for a thicker liner as it gets colder. The cover is waterproof and windproof which certainly helps a lot. The glove itself is long enough to come up over your wrist, eliminating that cold spot. Wool has the property of staying warm when it gets wet so even if you perspire in the glove it will still keep you warm. Out here in the desert I generally just use a pair of light cotton gloves in mid-day. It was 47 degrees at 6am and promises to reach 60 for a high.

The other combination that I used in the cold midwest was a pair of surplus military leather gloves with a wool liner and a separate trigger finger in the top of the glove. I removed that and sewed the leather shut since I wasn't likely to need to shoot anyone. I found them in a sporting goods store in Madison, WI. Leather is not as flexible as Goretex. They last a very long time as I still have them after many years.

I've been using Specialized Sub Zero's and they've done a great job down into the 20's. The ones I have are the fingered versions (versus lobster claw) which allow for shifting of road shifters. They are like other gloves in that they have a wind and water proof outer shell along with a thin felt liner. They also have a poly fingered separate glove that the shell/liner slides over. When the temps warm up you can remove the shell and just use use the poly glove. These gloves solved my cold finger issues.

+1 The hunters mitts I got at Gander Mountain even have pockets for hand warmers.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=356572

Marc

Lobster gloves plus a thin wool/silk glove works perfect under 20f.

They have demos in the showroom at the LBS across the street from me. I turned them up full blast, waited a minute, then put my gloves on and tried them out.

As you would expect, like an oven mitt, gloves insulate from the heat as well as from the cold. Might be okay in the 'tween seasons while wearing half-finger gloves or none at all. Winter? A gimmick.

I'm good down to the mid-teens wearing an extra-large pair of windproof 'tween seasons cycling gloves over a large pair of summer-weight long-fingered MTB gloves.

When buying lobsters, try them on first. If your fingers are paired together inside the glove, it's okay to buy. If your fingers are separated by the liner (like a glove) don't buy them since they've defeated the purpose of pairing your fingers.

For real cold, nothing beats a good pair of snowboarder's mittens. (They're less bulky than snowmobile mittens.) And yes, I can work the levers of my STI without difficulty while wearing them. I have to shift my hands a bit and use a slightly different technique, but they're quite usable with integrated road levers.

I use gore-tex mitten shells. I use the mitten shells by themselves down to about 30, with polypropylene glove liners down to about 20, with wool glove liners down to about 5, and with both liners below that. My personal "record" is about 1 hour @ -7F.

How well do these work? I was going to order a pair on Amazon today.

Snowmobile gloves. With liners at <20degF.

Three things worth mentioning that have nothing to do with brand, material, etc of the glove/mitten:

1) Glove size - Insulation is provided by trapped air, not the material itself, so it benefits a rider to get gloves a size larger than his/her summer gloves even if they feel a bit loose. This allows the insulation to keep its loft while trapping additional air between the skin and glove. If you are layering gloves, you need to make sure that each layer is progressively larger for the same reason. If your outer glove fits well by itself, it is probably to tight to put much of a liner in. Snug gloves work against you in another way, the mild compression further reduces blood flow to the fingers, which has already been compromised by the colder conditions. If you are wearing mittens, you should easily be able to wiggle your fingers inside the mitt, even when wearing a glove type liner.

2) Hydration - You don't feel as thirsty in cold weather and in many climates the air is drier than in the summer. You may not sweat much but you are still losing a huge amount of fluids. One of the first ways your body compensates for fluid loss is vasoconstriction. In order to keep your blood pressure normal when your blood volume is down, the vessels become smaller in diameter starting at the fingers and toes. Your fingers and toes don't have muscle to generate heat, so the heat must be carried there by the blood vessels. If the vasculature in your hands is constricted there is decreased incoming heat from the muscles of the arms and core, so no amount of insulation will keep your fingers warm.

3) Protect the Core - There is an old saying "If your toes are cold (or in this case fingers) put on a hat". This tip goes hand in hand with #2 . Your fingers need a copious blood supply to stay warm. Faced with survival in cold weather, one can survive sacrificing a few fingers or toes to frostbite, but hypothermia of the core can kill you. Your body has adapted to protect the core and sacrifice the extremities, so if you allow the core temperature of your head and torso to drop (this isn't the same as having a mild surface chill that might make you shiver a bit), your body will protect the core by shutting down the circulation to the hands and feet. Conversely, if the core is adequately warm and you are working hard enough to generate excess heat, the circulation to the feet and hands is increased to act as a radiator. There is a bit of a trick to keeping the core properly warm in below freezing weather. You want to stay warm enough to be comfortable but cool enough not to generate a lot of sweat. Appropriate layers and 3/4 or full zippers to adjust are your friends here. I find that cool but not shivering hard at the start and comfortable but not sweating heavily during the working part of the ride, works out about right for me and I've ridden frequently in sub-freezing weather and occasionally in sub-zero F weather.

Lobster gloves work quite well into the high 20's. Too hot for anything over 38 degrees. The functional part is loft (air trapped in the insulation) + heat source (two fingers share a space) + wind block. The lowest I have gone is 25 degrees when mountain biking. They were just fine, my lungs were not!

Keep in mind all bodies are different. My wife uses lobster gloves with heat pack inserted if we go for a walk in 30 degree temps, whereas I usually wear fingered gloves for that activity.

Note: I have poor circulation in right middle finger, standard fingered gloves cause that finger to go numb when riding in temps below 35 degrees.

I like leather gloves lined with fake lambs wool, fitted loose. Mine probably came off the Wells-Lamont display at the hardware store. Easy on/off is a plus, especially when the old schnozz gets to running. That, and I can ball my fingers up in the palm area for a quick warm up.
The ones I have now are getting pretty grungy. Think I'll stop by the Surplus store tomorrow and see if they have any lined leather gloves.
I'm sold on leather. I use unlined in coolish weather, and only wear fingerless biking gloves in the heat of summer.

For 25 degrees and below, I use my motorcycle gauntlet type gloves for my bicycle commutes.. pretty warm... On the motorcycle when I go below 15, I use electric gloves. Wish I could use them on the bicycle.. :)

http://www.cehoward.net/glove77.jpg