Gloves and mitts systems
 

Guys, what do you think about gathering information about what we are wearing on our hands? (And probably for other parts of the body as well, later on)
(Mitts, gloves, bar mitts or whatever you put on your hands)

If lots of threads are dealing with winter clothing in a general matter. None are precise and formatted enough to be scientifically meaningful. This thread intends to fill the gap at least a little bit even though lots of variable are not controlled like the wind, humidity, riding position, cold sensitivity, intensity of the exercise etc. Hoping to build a database useable by everyone of what works and what don't.
To be meaningful answers will have to have the same information in them. Sorry for the inconvenient.

minimum length for the test ride : 1hr
dexterity test: tying 1 shoelace

no cold fingertips or a comfortable feeling whatever the windchill
the worst scenario prevail if in between 2 categories (means warmer or lower dexterity category)


dexterity
high: less than 10 sec
med: less than 30 sec
low: less than 1 min
bad: more than 1 min

very extreme cold weather:
-40F and below
-40C and below

extreme cold weather:
-20F --> -40F
-29C --> -40C

very cold weather:
0F --> -20F
-18C --> -29C

cold weather:
20F --> 0F
-7C --> -18C

light cold weather:
40F --> 20F
4C --> -7C

chilly weather:
60F --> 40F
15C --> 4C


The more results the better to help with misleading results due to raynaud's syndrom

I start

gloves system:
nitrile gloves : 6 mil
merino wool gloves : 390g/m2
motorcycle leather gloves : 40g thinsulate

result:
cold weather
dexterity med

what about cheap synthetic fabric glove under cheap leather glove (warm and comfortable after 1h10min 27.2kms commute)
cold weather
dexterity test: velcro straps on my sorel boots.

my results are skewed 'cause I have Reynaud's too but here are my results - both scored high dexterity
- cold (haven't ridden yet below 20), Seirus glove liners, Burton snowmobile mittens
- light cold, same liners, Champion C9 convertible glove/mitten (Target)
for colder than 20 I'm going to put glove warmers in the Burtons (they have a cool little pocket)

Insulated Pogies and thinner gloves inside them?

I use:

Nylon ski glove shell procured from discount ski gloves. Reasonably well made shell but not to high standard of expensive gloves.
All lining and insulation removed from the shell.
Medium thick unlined polar fleece glove inside Shell.

Medium overall dexterity.
Good dexterity for shifting mountain bike type shifters and gripping handlebar. And most all riding tasks.
inadequate dexterity for fixing flat tire or zipping standard jacket zippers.

50-40 F -> too warm
40-30 F -> just about right but hands feel slightly warm
30-20 F -> hand comfortably warm, fingertip ends may get slightly cool if not riding hard.
20-10 F -> hands stay warm enough to ride at brisk pace but fingertips get cold but maintain adequate dexterity for riding

My hands are generally sensitive to wind chill but don't require much insulation while riding at my usual pace. In general it is easy for me to keep my hands warm compared to my feet. I neither have hands that are tough in the cold or hard to keep warm.

Pros:

Easy to separate and dry out after rides.
Dry out quickly.
Relatively cheap to buy.
Work well over large range of temps.
Very good wind resistance.

Cons:

Not as breathable as I'd like.
Not warm enough for below 10-15 F range.
Less dexterity than thin cycle gloves.

This.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xS8WyGt7-L...2/IMAG0569.jpg

How warm?

old mitts system:
nitrile gloves: 6 mil
BD woolweight gloves: 320g polartec thermal pro + wool
RBH altitude vaporthrm mitt liners : polarguard 3D
modified snowmobile leather mitts: leather layer + added (thumb's layer + reflective membrane)

results:
extreme cold weather (not tested below -40F)
dexterity bad

LG lobster gloves (the kind that keeps 3 of my fingers together) with wool glove liners under them.

Coldest ridden with this so far was light cold of about 33-34° F. Depending on wind, fingers were either perfectly warm or just slightly chilly, no discomfort.

Dexterity poor. Would not even try to tie a shoelace, but can operate bar end shifters and brakes just fine.

Reynaud's here also. 25F to 35F days I have been experimenting lately. Pair of cheap thinsulate lined leather gloves from closeout store with manzilla liner and kept warm. No numbness. Dexterity great as they are not that thick overall and hands could function easily after ride of an hour. Hands stayed dry and gloves were not soaked after ride so they did breathe a bit. Don't think they will work that well under 25 deg F.
Above taken on windy day with some clouds to mostly clouds. If it is 30 and the sun is shining with no wind I can easily get by with the liner and the open finger bike gloves.

Manzilla under open finger bike gloves good above 35F.

Tried a pair of cheap "waterproof" thicker gloves ( I use to use for snow shoveling before I finally switched to ragg wool mittens ) and my hands were soaked after 20 minutes. I think there is plastic shell inside to make them waterproof. No good as they don't breathe. Dexterity poor

Do the nitrile gloves make your hands sweat?

yes and no. The nitrile gloves don't necessarily make my hands sweat more but my hands get soaked because the sweat has nowhere to go but i don't mind. Usually there isn't a lot of sweat. When there is it's because of too much insulation vs the effort made and temperature. At extreme cold temperature i prefer the lack of comfort due to sweat over loosing a few fingers.

I like the idea of some kind of database but there are a lot of variables to consider. Even the size of glove you wear makes a difference. If the gloves are too tight they will be colder, larger roomier gloves trap more warm air and allow more movement of the fingers and better circulation.

How well the rest of you is dressed will also affect how warm your hands stay. If you head and core are chilled, the body's defense is to shunt blood from the extremities to protect the vital organs including the brain. There is an old saying among outdoorsmen, "If your feet are cold the first thing you need is a better hat." It's true that if your head and torso are properly insulated you can probably tolerate an additional -10 degrees F with the same boots and gloves, compared to if you are chilled all over.

Another thing that is going to affect your results is that different people have different cold tolerances. In my 20s I wore lightly insulated gloves during all kinds of winter activity and rarely got cold fingers. Now nearing 50, my hands get cold much more easily and I've had to resort to thicker gloves, layered gloves, or heavy mittens. My sister has always had cold hands and needed twice the glove I did even when we were in high school.

That said, the weather today was around 15F clear with just a very light breeze. I did 20 miles on the highway at an average speed of 15 mph on a trail bike which is also my winter bike. My gloves were Ice Armor medium duty gloves over a pair of wool liners. I was good for the first hour but the last six miles or so my fingers got cold enough to sting despite taking my hands off the bar alternately to flex and shake them every few minutes.

The more the merrier so I have easily a dozen different gloves and mittens. Full fingered and cut-off's unlined cycling gloves for summer use. Fox, Specialized and Oakley.
Multiple pairs of downhill ski gloves, lobster mitts and Gortex shells that will go over down mittens. My objective is to pick something that will keep me dry depending on the conditions. And I might bring a spare.

Yup - I have raynaud's syndrom too, but have noticed that keeping the extremities warm isn't the most effective strategy - at least in my case. I make a point of overdressing slightly so that my core temperature runs hot which increases circulation to the extremities. Yeah - I might have to deal with sweat a bit, but have stopped having to deal with finger issues in the winter. In fact - the last time I actually had a problem was at a beach after swimming for several hours - which lowered my core temperature and resulted in several fingers turning white in spite of the hot sun in the middle of summer. My current strategy at the beach involves a shortie wetsuit which seems to have killed the problem.

Gloves in general I find easier to cycle with. Mittens are warmer and a bit more awkward. A ski helmet and face protection is equally important. Its very easy to lose heat through an exposed head.

Agree but hopefully, people tend to solve their problems by themselves ruling out some of those not welcomed variables. If your gloves are too tight leading to cold hands there are only a few outcomes: find a better solution, keep suffering or don't ride. Usually people find a better solution. Unfortunately, like in any diversified group by definition not everybody is at the same stage problem solved as riding is a continuous learning process.

Anyway it doesn't matter much if some variables are not ruled out generating some inefficiencies as without them it would be the same as looking for ideal conditions which is most of the time if not always never the case in real life. Just look at the temperature rating of the gloves you bought and you will see that you never reach the temperature rating of the gloves before your hands get cold.

when it gets colder, wear thicker mitts.

I've often thought of creating some sort of windbreak around my brakes/shifters. Like a 1.5L bottle cut vertically in half, and then zip tied to form two concave "mitt shelters".

It's often not the temperature but the wind chill that gets my hands all cranky.

Me too!!! It's like a giant raynaud's coming out!:)

They actually market that kinda thing for off road motorcycles so no reason you can't come up with something similar. :)

Depends on which gloves you use. I'd say the bar mitts/pogies/whatever-you-call-em make it act as if it's 15 to 20 degrees F warmer than it is. For $17 shipped (in the US at least), it's a great addition to whatever else you're doing. And if you have poor circulation, it means that you can wear less restrictive gloves and still have the same effective warmth. (If you want to see how I modified mine to work with bar mirrors, look here).

Cheers,
Charles

Road bikes too! I don't know if you can see them in this pic, but I use hand covers for all but the hottest weather of the year on my motorcycle. It's amazing how much more comfortable I can keep my hands just by blocking the wind. The pogie things would be nice but I ride with drop bars. Sounds like an invention opportunity for someone!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/8...057be26cd0.jpg