Irritating Allergy.
 

Once again I was rudely reminded of a very inconvenient allergy that I have to some forms of neoprene when I purchased and attempted to use a pair of Sugio winter gloves. Unfortunately after a couple of uses I found my old allergy was still in intact as my wrists broke out in a painful rash. The suspect material is in in the wrist enclosure so I basically have an pair of perfectly fine but used gloves that I have to get rid of.

I've had this problem before with other gloves but hadn't experienced an outbreak for a long time. I sorta forgot about it. Unfortunately (?), it doesn't seem to be a problem with all neoprene since cycling includes a good deal of it and it only rears it's ugly head occasionally. More so in the winter since most winter clothing contains a great deal more of this product then summer gear, though I have had some issues with summer weight gloves as well.

So my question... Obviously I can't go without gloves in the winter, but now I'm hesitant to try other gloves since most of what I'm finding do involve neoprene. Any suggestions on manufacturers/options out there that I could consider instead?

I would also like to find something that is at at least water resistant (since I live in the rain capital of the US) but obviously this makes my quest even the more difficult. I even tried using a glove liner that prevented the glove from coming into direct contact with my skin but this didn't help either. I suspect the actual allergy has to do with a chemical that is used in some neoprene production. I had an allergy test done many years ago that failed to pinpoint the actual source of the problem, but it's definitely something to do with neoprene.

Thanks in advance for any feedback on this.
~Karl

First, go to the Winter Cycling forum. They're talking about gloves right now.

Second, I'm mildy allergic to lycra. You think neoprene is common in cycling gear .....

Third, paragraph breaks make things much easier to read. :)

How cold is it? If you're going down to -5 C, I find that a set of half-finger leather weight lifting gloves with those black cotton magic gloves underneath work well. They're not water proof, though.

I've been wearing this combination of handwear for working on the trail with my friend. It's been hovering around 0. We're working a marshy kind of area (building suspended riding platforms). When the gloves get wet they're cold, but I find that they dried quickly.

For extra warmth you may dual up the magic gloves - they can be found at the dollar store - 2 pairs for a buck.

Never mind. I just read the whole post and you said a glove liner does not work.

I'll gladly trade you all my food allergies for that one. bk

Try various ski gloves or ice climbing gloves. Mine are made by Outdoor Research
http://www.outdoorresearch.com/home/.../descent/73151

Thanks. Yeah, I've considered like gloves, but I was hesitant since prior experience found that gloves not specifically designed for cycling had a tendency to wear out/rip prematurely in areas that are normally reinforced accordingly. Have you been using these for bicycling for long without such problems?

thanks again,
~K2

I have been using a pair of the winter work gloves by Patagonia for two winter riding seasons now + all normal winter outdoor wearing and have not had a problem with them wearing out prematurely yet. I would think that any winter work glove made be Marmot, Cloudveil, OR, or Patagonia would easily last you as long as any winter cycling glove would.

Skin allergies suck. I have several myself. Good luck finding a glove that works for you.

Gloves not specifically designed for cycling work better than gloves specifically designed for cycling in winter conditions. Cycling glove designers have no concept of riding in the cold.

I've been using ski gloves, etc. (usually acquired inexpensively from places like Walmart) for YEARS!

Can you find leather gloves with wool, sheepskin or similar innside?

In the last several years allergists have found that exposure to latex rubber can act as an allergy "enabler". By that I mean that exposure to latex can precipitate heretofore unknown and unsuspected allergies.

Based on your comments, you may want to be tested by an allergist. The understanding of allergies has had tremendous growth in the last 10-15 years.