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Cold weather gloves

devarts

New member
Does anyone have a reccomendation for a warm and waterproof glove. I have warm weather gloves, but the frost in on the pumpkin in Vermont and need something warmer. My bike has heated grips that work quite well at warming the palms.
 
David - this seems more like a GEAR thread, so off it goes to GearLand..

Hang on, thread moving in progress.. :bolt
 
Ditto on BikeMike's advice.

I have the Wunderlich version of Hippohands, they are VERY effective, and I can wear unlined gauntlets down into the low 30's without a problem (except HIGH on the heated grips quickly becomes too hot..) They are also quite good at keeping wet off your hands/gloves, enough so that even though I carry waterproof gloves - I never bother with them when I have the grip "muffs" on.
 
I use Gerbings. Sometimes, when it gets really cold, I even plug them in. Once you get down to about 20 degrees, they really need the help of the electricity. Not sure they are really all that waterproof. But have yet to get wet hands in them.
 
I use Gerbings. Sometimes, when it gets really cold, I even plug them in. Once you get down to about 20 degrees, they really need the help of the electricity. Not sure they are really all that waterproof. But have yet to get wet hands in them.

The Gerbings folks have told me to use waterproofing spray occasionally with the gloves.
 
The BMW winter glove is a great glove. If I remember correctly, it is Gore Tex lined. Those gloves with heated grips handle most winter riding for me.
 
The BMW winter glove is a great glove. If I remember correctly, it is Gore Tex lined. Those gloves with heated grips handle most winter riding for me.

Which BMW gloves are you using, Dan? I'm currently considering the ProWinter 2 gloves.

Thanks!
 
Gerbings here too. They work alright plugged in or not, they're bulky but they are winter gloves.

I've been in rain a number of times with them, my hands get wet.

While the thermostat has a range with the dial, it seems like it only has 2 settings, on or off.

For cash sakes I want to get a couple more winters out of them and look for something else.



h
 
Try Held

About five or six years ago I bought a pair of Held's Hawk Gore-Tex gloves and they work well. They're heavy, insulated, warm, and waterproof. Like any heavy winter glove there's less feel, but that's just part of the give and take with any motorcycle gear. Held no longer makes the Hawk Gore-Tex, but I know they've replaced them with something and, if I were in the market for a new pair of winter gloves, that's what I'd get. If you want to check for yourself, newenough.com sells Held stuff and they'll have pics and reviews.

As an aside, I wear my Held Steves in weather down to the low 30s with heated grips (and my GS hand protectors help, of course) and they do just fine. Unless its cold and wet I rarely wear the heavy winter gloves.

Your profile doesn't say where you are, but it also depends on where you're riding. I'm in north Texas where our winters are relatively mild, so my heavy insulated gloves ought to last a lifetime. That, and I have no need for heated gloves. But if you're riding in colder areas its a different ballgame.
 
My favorite non-heated gloves are the Tourmaster Winter Elites. I've been wearing them for seven years and even bought a spare pair in case they ever stop making them. They are good to 30F degrees without the attached cover (stuffs in a zippered compartment of the gauntlet). They are good to 20F degrees with the cover in place.

http://www.newenough.com/browse/view_product_images/797
 
Ditto on BikeMike's advice.

I have the Wunderlich version of Hippohands, they are VERY effective, and I can wear unlined gauntlets down into the low 30's without a problem (except HIGH on the heated grips quickly becomes too hot..) They are also quite good at keeping wet off your hands/gloves, enough so that even though I carry waterproof gloves - I never bother with them when I have the grip "muffs" on.

Bought a set of Wunderlich Handle Bar Muffs (Item# 8110360, $85.00) and used them for the first time on a ride in the Alaska Range last weekend. Rode in temperatures as low as 24 degrees wearing only a set of light deer skin gloves with my hand warmers on low.

I used them on my GSPD that has Touratech hand protectors mounted. I found that fitting them over the hand protectors was not a problem, but it created an opening at the end of the hand muffs that let in some cold air. An easy fix with a bit of tape.
 
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+1 BMW Winterglove

I think there are several different types of thoughts....

1. Do you want heated gloves? It is the warmest option of them all. Research Widder, Gerbing gloves, they make glove liners and full gloves. The full gloves are waterproof. I used to have a pair in the past, but sold them as I found them too thick for good control. That is just my personal experience.

2. If you don't want heated winter gloves, I have found that the BMW Winterglove is the warmest and well made, it is also waterproof. (I own a pair and love them)

3. Hippo hands: with that it looks ugly, but is very effective. You can wear thinner gloves inside them, but you don't see your controls. I hear it takes getting used to.

Nothing is worse than cold hands, so it is matter of compromise. Happy researching.
 
I used to wear winter gloves. I have the Aerostich Insulated Elkskin Gauntlet with the Merino wool lining. I've Scotch-garded the heck out of 'em, and they are very warm and mostly waterproof. They have Aerostich's TFT padding in the knuckles.

I too have handlebar covers - very similar to the Wunderlich product. Mine were made by a police supply company in Portland, OR that no longer sells to the public. Mine were specially made for the R1150RTP, which has stalk mirrors in addition to the body-mounted mirrors. It appears that the Wunderlich product would also work with stalk-mounted mirrors.

The combination of the handlebar covers and heated grips means I haven't used my warm winter gloves in the two years I've had the handlebar covers. My summer gloves (Aerostich Elkskin Ropers) are perfectly fine inside the dry and warm still air provided by the combination of the heated grips and the handlebar covers.

Most importantly, the handlebar covers keep your gloves dry. As a Pacific Northwest skier, I can assuredly say there is no such thing as a completely waterproof glove. I've been looking for one for 30 years. The handlebar covers keep my gloves bone-dry, which is critical to this year-round Seattle-area rider.
 
Another advantage of the hand muff route is for those with bikes with anemic charging systems such as airheads and thumpers. On my GSPD I can save electrons I would have used to heat my hands for another purpose such as an electric jacket/vest or aux lights.
 
I have Gerbing G3 gloves. They are a very warm glove even before you turn the electricity on. They have Thinsulate and a Gauntlet that keep air out of your sleeves. They are not waterproof when you get them from Gerbing; they strongly, and very specifically, tell you to treat the gloves with NikWax Gloveproof. I couldn't find any locally and had to buy it on the web from Amazon. Added a few things I needed to the order to get free shipping ($25 minimum). I have ridden in a very hard rain with the G3 gloves, and the Gloveproof really works well. By the way, I also bought NikWax "Conditioner for Leather" at the same time to try on a new pair of boots, as it is recommended for break in. Softens the leather and really sped up the break in.

I can tell you that when you have electric gear, it really spoils you. I ride all winter, as long as there is no snow or ice on the roads, but I use the Gerbing gear all year round, whenever the temperature gets much below 65 degrees when I am on a trip. Even in the summer, if I ride at high elevation or run into a cold rain, the Gerbing goes on. I keep it in a side case when I travel. I think it keeps me safer because, for me, riding when I am cold is distracting. I used to find myself hurrying to get to my destination when I felt cold. With the Gerbing, I can relax and enjoy the ride all the way down in the 20's. That is as cold as I have ridden, it may work at even colder temps, but 23 is the lowest trip for me so far.
 
Another advantage of the hand muff route is for those with bikes with anemic charging systems such as airheads and thumpers. On my GSPD I can save electrons I would have used to heat my hands for another purpose such as an electric jacket/vest or aux lights.

Glad you brought this us. This is an important issue with heated gear. My Dakar has a 400 watt alternator, and I was concerned about draining my battery. I have heard stories about people riding on the highway all day with electric gear and arriving with a dead battery. Last winter, I hooked up a cheap temporary volt meter to monitor the situation. What I found was that if I turn on the jacket liner and gloves full, I don't have a problem. If I turn on the jacket, gloves, and pants all full at the same time, I am discharging the battery. I have the Gerbing dual controller, though, so I can manage that issue by turning down the heat. Once I realized I needed to watch my battery discharge, I mounted a Battery Bug on the bike.

http://www.amazon.com/Argus-Analyzers-BB-SBM12-PS-Battery-Motorcycle/dp/B0029VY4G4

This was a little more cost than a simple volt meter, but it has an alarm feature that is designed specifically for heated gear. If the voltage drops below 12.1 volts for more than 20 seconds, an alarm sounds and an icon on the display flashes. So with this monitor, I don't need to watch the meter. If the alarm goes off, I can dial down the dual controller until my voltage is back up to 13v. An added bonus is the manufacturer claims that it will predict a battery failure before it happens. It does this by doing a load test every time you start the bike. It gives an estimated percentage of battery life remaining, and when that goes below 30%, it gives you an alarm every time you turn off the bike and a flashing icon on the display. So, it is hard miss. I actually had a battery fail while I was riding the bike, so this was an easy sell for me. I wasn't on a trip at the time, but it made me realize how inconvenient it would have been if I had been.

They have a video on their web site that explains a lot of this:

http://www.argusanalyzers.com/battery-monitors/products/bb-sbm12ps-battery-bug-battery-monitor-argus-analyzers.html

Tip: I installed this originally by connecting it directly to the battery, as instructed. Later I read in the FAQ's on their web site that the percent remaining sticks at the lowest reading since the device was powered on. So, if you forget to put your bike on the charger and don't ride it for a few days, you may get a low reading due to the battery not being fully charged. They tell you to disconnect and reconnect the Battery Bug when this happens. So, I modified my install so that the ground wire to the Battery Bug has an in-line weather proof spade connector in a location I can reach without taking anything apart. When I get a low reading due to discharge, I can easily disconnect the Bug, wait 30 seconds and reconnect it.
 
I have Kisan Charge Guards on my GSPD and my wife's F650GS single for the same solution to the same problem. The Kisan on her bike has just stopped displaying any info. If it proves to be a fatal fault I may try the Argus.
 
3. Hippo hands: with that it looks ugly, but is very effective. You can wear thinner gloves inside them, but you don't see your controls. I hear it takes getting used to.
Wunderlich addressed that. Clear plastic windows in the muffs so the controls are visible.. Not that I actually look after riding the bike 42k miles.. but if you need to - they are there.
 
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