Help looking for the "perfect" glove

[Semper_Fi]

Looking for the perfect (non-electric) fall/winter glove

 

2 must have requirments

 

1 - waterproof - real world experience not marketing hype

 

2 - windproof

 

Material does not matter.

 

Please advise - thanks

[Penforhire]

Bump for interest. I never found THAT glove but rather use Aerostitch Triple-Digit glove covers.

 

I had winter gloves but the insulation bulk slowed me down too much at the controls. Was unacceptable to me. I switched to electric gloves plus that liner (if it rains).

[johnlt]

There are two other parameters that I believe are important. The first is a thin palm area so that the heated grips work better. The second is flexability. I have some BMW winter gloves that meet all your requirements but for me they are too stiff and tire my hands after riding a while.

[T__]

Semper_Fi, I can’t give you a direct answer to your question..

 

What I can say is: I have an older pair of Kombi snowmobile gloves.. They are waterguard rated (whatever that means). Sorry I can’t find the exact model as the tag has long since vanished..

 

They seem to be similar to the new “Irip” style.. I just love these gloves as are they are very warm,, very supple,, have a soft leather palm with lots of back-of-the-hand insulation.. I don’t know how wind proof they are rated but they seem to be very good in that area.. They do work good down to about 15°- 20°f continuous & good for short rides (under 1 hour) at down to about 0°..

 

The part I can’t tell you is how waterproof the are as I have never used them in driving rain.. I have used them plenty in light spotty rain, hail, snow with no problems but have my doubts they would hold back a continuous driving rain.. The outer shell is nylon so it does breathe & let hand moisture out.. I have large rubber over gloves that I use over these gloves in a hard all day rain but seldom encounter that.. If it is raining hard here it is usually not that cold to require these gloves so I use a different hand cover that is waterproof..

 

By looking at the Kombi web site I see that they do offer a similar cold weather glove that is Goretex & that looks promising.. Problem is I can’t tell how soft & supple they are..

 

I guess the reason I posted all the above is to inform you about the softness & suppleness of my Kombi gloves (great riding gloves for control feel & operation).. You might find a dealer in your area & go try some on to see if the Goretex version are as soft or even if their newer versions are still as soft & warm feeling as my old stanby’s..

 

 

Twisty

 

[Selden]

Agreed on Aerostich triple digits, plus a glove with an uninsulated palm. Add to this a pair of thin polypro or wool glove liners, and you have a very flexible system. Make it two pairs of glove liners -- they're cheap and take almost no space, so if the first pair gets wet, you can quickly switch to a dry pair.

[elkroeger]

My two cents is that no glove is ever truly waterproof due to the giant hole where your hand goes in. Water runs down my sleeves and into the gloves.... However, a "waterproof" label does usually help. Most of the time... I usually carry a second pair of old ski gloves, etc. just in case.

 

Personally I like these:

http://www.heldusa.com/steve.htm They have foam padding all over the back of the hand and none on the palm. No waterproof liner, so use some "sno-seal" on them. I find they fit the bill 80% of the time (hot to cool days)

 

For really hot days I got these:

http://www.olympiagloves.com/ the "452 Perforated"

 

And for winter:

http://www.heldusa.com/icebreaker.htm I love these too, but most folks here would probably opt for electric gloves instead.

 

 

 

[Semper_Fi]

Thanks everyone for your comments -now it's off to do the research and review.

 

 

[elkroeger]

http://www.heldusa.com/icebreaker.htm

 

I should probably add that Held gloves are, or at least used to be, pretty hard to find. There was some talk about the importer having financial troubles... or whatever. It may be easier to find them on the internet. If you do order these "Icebreaker" gloves online, I'd recommend getting one of each size and sending the rest back. I usually wear an XL glove in most brands (even in other Held models...), but I had to go with an XXXL in the Icebreaker. XXXL??? Crimony. I think they got their sizing cockeyed, but they still are the best quality glove that I've come across....

[hopz]

Interesting... I was browsing in one of my local gun shops last week and since it is hunting time here in Utah... there was lots of outdoor clothing stuff on the racks. I spotted some gloves that were labeled Bear Tooth and they had hang tags saying Thinsulate, and another saying it had some high-tech material making them water proof. they also had cuffs in a lighter material with a drawstring arrangement and a plastic stopper/locker. This made a nice gauntlet around the end of my sleeve.

 

I was surprised at the low price of $16 and I understand the pay for what you get idea but I could not resist. The next day they went on a test ride and I really like them. Very warm. No rain yet.

 

FYI look outside the bike shops and you might get lucky.