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Cold Weather Ride Readiness 101 | Glove Recommendations

As the summer season of riding comes to a close, many of us are faced with figuring out how to extend our season.  With so many great options available in technical gear these days, there’s really no reason to stop riding just because it’s getting cold or wet.  A properly geared up rider can ride comfortably all year in almost any condition. (If you don’t believe that, visit Germany in February and you’ll be amazed by how many riders are on the road).

One of the pain points of cold weather riding is our hands.  (Since wet hands usually = cold hands, we will address the importance of waterproof motorcycle gloves as well).

 

HELD Tight Gloves Creates Cold Hands

Here are the key considerations to keeping your hands warm:

  • Your gloves should be windproof and preferably waterproof. I personally rely on Gore-Tex technology but there are other non-Gore-Tex choices that are less expensive and can keep you warm and dry.
  • Glove fit should allow movement of all your fingers so blood (and your supply of warmth) is un-restricted. Tight gloves = Cold hands.
  • Choose a glove that has ample insulation for the types of temperatures you anticipate riding in. This is tricky because everyone’s hands are different and it’s impossible for manufacturers to accurately assign temperature ranges to their gloves.  Be prepared to try more than one option. 
  • I prefer a product that uses a proven insulation such as 3M Thinsulate or Primaloft although there are some good generic choices too.

Factors in choosing the right cold weather glove:

  • Consider the temperature ranges you expect to encounter. Keep in mind that wind speed makes even 65F seem cold to some of us.  Many experienced cold weather riders have 2 or 3 pairs ranging from simple silk inserts, Gore-Tex Windstopper inserts (now called Gore-Tex Infinium), non-insulated glove with no venting or a heavily insulated windproof waterproof glove.
  • If you are planning on using an insert, make sure you maintain enough room for blood to keep circulating or your hands will get cold. Some riders have an outer glove that is a ½ or full size larger to accommodate the insert.
  • Heated grips are amazing so if you have those, you will be able to run a thinner glove in cold weather.
  • Heated gloves are also a great option; there are some brands that offer wired 12V solutions as well as battery options. We’d prefer the wired version supplied by bike power for reliable, endless runtime.

Some notes on our personal favorites:

Full disclosure: our go-to brand is HELD.  Given the wide range of Gore-Tex gloves, experience and quality, they are hard to beat.  For cold weather riding you can take a look at some of these:

 Until next time, keep the rubber side down!!!

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