Page 1 of 2

Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 26 Sep 2015, 7:10am
by Dave W
Three degrees here this morning so full gloves time is racing upon us. So what's the best winter gloves? Some of my friends get away with Aldi specials but I seem to suffer more than others. I have Endura gloves with double layers and they are marked 'waterproof' they aren't and they don't offer much warmth but they are comfortable.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 26 Sep 2015, 7:18am
by andrewjoseph
i suffer with cold fingers too. i have several gloves: mitts, long finger thin, medium (old aldi gloves), thick 'waterproof' sealskinz (not good on road bike), a pair of thinsulate liner gloves, and the newest ones bought last winter, neoprene.

the neoprene are the best i've found so far for cold wet days. the thinsulate liner gloves go in my pack/pocket to use with whatever gloves i start with, incase i need an extra layer.

i've read silk liner gloves are really good and may try those at some time.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 26 Sep 2015, 7:32am
by pwa
I got Sealskinz winter gloves last winter, the ones for very cold conditions. But like every glove I've had (including Gore) they are not totally waterproof.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 26 Sep 2015, 8:27am
by TrekMad
Sealskinz with an optional ( on very cold days) inner glove of silk or thick lycra. I ' run cold' through the winter and this combination has never let me down. A cheap.alternative to £90+ goretex gloves which I've found neither particularly warm nor waterproof.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 26 Sep 2015, 10:25am
by robc02
I also get cold hands so have tried various gloves over the years. I find the best ones, for cold rather than wet weather, are the type with a windproof outer and an insulated liner - often two separate pieces. If necessary I buy the windproof glove a size too big so I can get a thickish liner underneath.

Most of mine are quite old now so there's not much point trying to quote models, but I've had success with Specialized - who did a two piece glove aimed at MTBers, and with Altura. I've recently bought some of these to replace some old Altura gloves that I found OK, with a liner, for all but the coldest weather.

For very cold weather I've got some three piece Assos gloves. They cost a fortune, even with a discount, and they are a fiddle to put on, but they do the trick.

I thought about trying one of the lobster claw types, e.g. these, thinking they might give some of the benefit of mitts while being less restrictive.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 26 Sep 2015, 11:46am
by roubaixtuesday
I suffer from Raynauds:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Raynauds-p ... ction.aspx

and the best solution I've found is the specialised lobster claws linked above. They come with a separate inner, but I also add a thin liner too for properly cold days.

I also find wearing arm warmers down over the wrists overlapping the gloves helps.

What I struggle with is warm long sleeved tops which are long enough - I'm 6'4 and no-one does extra long sleeved cycling gear that I can find.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 26 Sep 2015, 12:00pm
by tatanab
robc02 wrote:For very cold weather I've got some three piece Assos gloves. They cost a fortune, even with a discount, and they are a fiddle to put on, but they do the trick.
I've been using those for about 5 years now. Almost all of the time I find the main glove enough, the trick is that it is windproof. Very seldom have I needed to add the lining glove, and I've used the outer mitt. They are thin enough that you do not have the great bulk of insulation, yet warm enough for most times for me.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 26 Sep 2015, 12:39pm
by old_windbag
I have reynauds too, my fingers will go to white by just picking up fridge food in the supermarket. I've used altura waterproof winter gloves but my latest Aldi winter gloves used throughout last winter( I have two pairs black, one pair as a spare and now the latest fluo yellow for night rides ) will let me ride for up to 3hrs at around 3 degrees C before I start to lose the strength to chainge gear etc. Thats the problem I find the strength to brake, flick gear levers starts to fade as time in the cold increases. So I'm impressed with the Aldi gloves at £4.99 as 2-3hrs in the dead of winter is normally a good 40-50mls. Clearly the speed/windproofing may well play a part.

At work somone commented "yuk fruit salad fingers" as referencing the famous chew, and it is how my fingers look, pink hand, yellowish/white morgue fingers.

Yet its so common but not many speak of it, I've heard to put hands and feet in hot water whilst sitting naked in a very cold room or outside :oops: resets your system to not react as sensitively. Haven't tried that but someone out there may have.

Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 26 Sep 2015, 2:17pm
by donald.stewart.nj
I use BarrMitts during cold weather. The pogies are wind and water proof. On really cold days I throw in hand warmers and still wear my regular gloves.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 26 Sep 2015, 2:42pm
by robc02
tatanab wrote:
robc02 wrote:For very cold weather I've got some three piece Assos gloves. They cost a fortune, even with a discount, and they are a fiddle to put on, but they do the trick.
I've been using those for about 5 years now. Almost all of the time I find the main glove enough, the trick is that it is windproof. Very seldom have I needed to add the lining glove, and I've used the outer mitt. They are thin enough that you do not have the great bulk of insulation, yet warm enough for most times for me.


I tend to use the main glove and inner mostly, occasionally removing the inner. This is handy on those days when it starts off cold but warms up later on.
When its very cold I add the lobster claw style outers.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 29 Sep 2015, 8:28pm
by Flite
I've also got Reynaulds. Believe me, no amount of insulation from gloves helps when your hands don't produce any heat.

I find sealskins, thinsulate or neoprene the worst - perversely they make my hands sweat, then they get very,very cold, and immobile.
Disposable hand warmers (look like teabags) are good, and flexible enough to use inside gloves on the bike. The heat they produce can then be insulated with various gloves/mitts according to conditions.
The old solution of sheepskin mitts works well if you can manage to use your brakes and gears in them.

But last winter, after nearly passing out and falling of my chair at a local tearoom due to the pain of hotache, I at last invested in some HotPogs (pogies or barmitts) to go on the MTB. Wish I had bought them years ago. I don't really understand why they work so much better than gloves, but there's a whole different microclimate in there - I could ride in light gloves most of the winter. (And I live above 1000ft in the North Pennines, with most of my local rides going over exposed roads up to 2000ft) The brand HotPogs are made in GB. If you search this forum, you will find my rave reviews from last winter. This winter I shall look into getting some for the drop bar bike, but I think they are mostly American/Canadian.
The only downside: I am now recognised as The Old Lady with the Big Red Pogies :oops:

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 30 Sep 2015, 7:44am
by roubaixtuesday
Flite, wow, never heard of those. My experience of raynauds is very much the same as yours. Looks like I may need to go to the us to get a pair for drops.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 30 Sep 2015, 8:03am
by stewartpratt
The warmest glove I've found, by a country mile, is this:

http://www.gbcycles.co.uk/p/46397/North ... wwod9RUFPw

The "3+1" version is becoming harder to find now, but it works excellently, giving a single finger for shifting. I've used them at least as low as -6C and they've managed to keep my hands working (and, as a yardstick, my fingers are currently getting cold typing in an office).

What I struggle with is warm long sleeved tops which are long enough - I'm 6'4 and no-one does extra long sleeved cycling gear that I can find.


I'm 6'5" and I find most Gore stuff has long arms. I've got kit in sizes M-XL that all has sufficiently long arms. The Xenon 2.0 SO jacket is my cold weather top (that and a Northwave Nomad) and the Xenon 2.0 AS and Oxygen 2.0 AS outer shells also have long arms. Castelli is generally good, too, and I've got a Pearl Izumi windproof that's also long in the sleeve. In general, I find the American and Italian manufacturers cater best for tall people.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 30 Sep 2015, 8:18am
by francovendee
I find that every glove I've tried, from Aldi/Lidl to expensive brands don't prevent my hands going numb. Gear changing becomes almost impossible, braking also not so easy. The only gloves that offer some help are a pair of skiing gloves bought from Lidl. I find I have sufficient movement in them to use the gears for about 2 hours in sub zero temperatures. I can use the 'blow hole' in the back of the glove to add some warm air from my mouth (my wife says it's hot air :oops: ) so this helps as well.

Re: Best winter Gloves?

Posted: 30 Sep 2015, 10:26am
by LollyKat
I find Altura Night Vision waterproof gloves good enough for most of the winter. Sometimes I add a pair of thin silk inners. If it is really cold I switch to some cheap skiing gloves I got a couple of years ago from Mountain Warehouse - toasty warm, waterproof but breathable, and I can still use DT levers without problems.