Anyone ride with ski gloves?

[Mr._Gone]

I know this might seem like an insane question right now — does anyone ride with ski gloves? — since it was 108 degrees here just the other day, but I'm planning an autumn ride into some higher elevations where the temps are expected to be at/below freezing, and I'm gearing up now. A few companies make pretty good ski gloves, such as Marmot and Black Diamond: leather palms, waterproof, even some extra knuckle padding. Are ski gloves warm enough for cold weather motorcycle riding? Any thoughts? Anyone wearing ski gloves? If so, what are you wearing?

 

[Auburn]

NO WAY - ski gloves are not stitched properly to handle a crash. If you hit the ground, they seams will blow apart and then you will have skin on pavement. The same goes for leather jackets such as the ones made by Wilson leathers. Those will blow apart as soon as they hit the ground. And the leather is not tanned properly for use in motorcycle gear.

EDIT: SOme lower end motorcycle gloves will blow out the seams too. Best bet is to look at what the road racers are using. That will give you ideas of what will protect your hands.

Held are very good gloves, I have a set of those and a set of Lee Parks gloves. Get the full guantlet so it goes over the bottom of your jacket sleeves so there is no exposed skin.

Skin on pavement means lots of pain and long recovery. Some of the companies like tour master make a winter glove, I don't know how good they are.

 

[ShawnKing]

Are ski gloves warm enough for cold weather motorcycle riding?

Depends on how cold but for anything about freezing, yes....but

Any thoughts?

Yeah - don't do it. As AuburnFJR says, ski gloves aren't meant to protect in a crash. The issue I found with them is they are *way* too bulky to be able to safely operate a bike. I went with Gerbing heated gear, including the gloves.

 

[JamesK]

+1 Not the right equipment for the given job. However, based on this pic it seems some people will get up to anything to deal with the extreme temps :blink:

 

[gixxerjasen]

I have ridden with snowmobile goves in the past. Kevlar reinforced and all that. I still don't think they'd hold up in a crash like my racing gloves, but dang it if I can't feel my fingers and the controls better when the temps get low. Of course, now I have my first bike with heated grips....so looking forward to that. If you don't have grip heaters, you might look into some.

 

[Road_Runner]

I have ridden my bicycle in cold temps with ski gloves, but would not do it on a motorcycle due to the reason stated already... they won't protect hands in a crash. Better to get heated grips, electric heated gloves, or motorcycle specific Winter gloves. Check out: Winter Gloves

Even if you don't go heated there are many out there that will be as warm as ski gloves but have the protection of cycle gloves.

 

[FJReady]

you will lose good tactile feel also with ski gloves unless they are the sporty thin ones which of course have no thermal or road rash protection.

I've ridden in cold weather for thousands of miles. Hands down (no pun intended) winning combination for me is a medium thickness leather glove(maintain good feel to the controls), heated grips and over the hand guards to keep the wind from stripping away the heat from your hands and grips. I have some tusk covers I bought at Rocky Mtn ATV for dirt cheap. Easy on and off when you need them and very effective.

tusk hand guards

also good if you're caught in a lengthy cold rain. and they store flat in your side cases/top case.

I used v-strom hand guards for many years but these tusk covers work better for keeping the heat in.

 

[SLK50]

I've been wearing ski gloves for about ten years.

Thin palms for feel and control, insulation on back for warmth.

Combined with heated grips, they're simply luxurious.

For the record, I try really hard to not crash. It's hard on the bike.

 

[moto]

Don't do it --- use your ski gloves to put a snow chain on your bike tire - should you get caught by surprise in December riding around Colorado (that way you won't mess up your motorcycle gloves with road salt).

All kidding aside -- I find that some ski gloves won't even give you a good controlled feel of the equipment used in skiing.

Listen to the folks on this site -- THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.

OH!! by the way, Excellent question.

 

[Dr. Rich]

I have an expensive set of snowmobile gloves that I specifically purchased for riding. The knuckle and finger areas are protected with Kevlar and are as substantial as my regular riding gloves (Helimots) The snowmobile gloves are waterproof and keep my hands warm in freezing temps. I would not recommend riding with regular ski gloves but there are some high end snowmobile gloves that I believe will work just fine.

 

[TomInPA]

Riding at or near freezing is not especially cold, and I have done it with regular non-insulated Sidici gloves frequently. If my hands do get cold, I can quickly add heated liners, or use cold-weather Olympia gloves. I guess go prepared, and you can't go wrong, but I doubt you'll be uncomfortable unless there is moisture in addition to the cold.

I am sort of envisioning very transient chill for your ride passing briefly through high elevations or short chilly periods in the morning. Where are you going?

 

[worney]

I agree that ski gloves will not give the best protection in a crash, but I have them so no additional cost involved, and I believe that hypothermia is a greater risk than abrasion protection since the former would/ could lead to the latter. I have ridden with V-Strom hand guards and these gloves.

-worney

 

[Mr._Gone]

Ladies and gentlemen, all GREAT replies. Thanks for the input, which seems almost unanimous. I think I'm about to surrender and buy some heated Gerbings. Thank you, guys!!!

 

[Mr._Gone]

Riding at or near freezing is not especially cold, and I have done it with regular non-insulated Sidici gloves frequently. If my hands do get cold, I can quickly add heated liners, or use cold-weather Olympia gloves. I guess go prepared, and you can't go wrong, but I doubt you'll be uncomfortable unless there is moisture in addition to the cold.

I am sort of envisioning very transient chill for your ride passing briefly through high elevations or short chilly periods in the morning. Where are you going?

TomInCa, the first couple weeks of September I am riding from Arkansas (where I live) to the Rockies, up to Yellowstone, maybe up to Glacier NP if I can find the time, then back home via the Badlands. I tend to overthink when I plan my trips, so I check the average temps, and in the higher elevations I can expect some near-freezing temps in the morning, like you said. But I will be staying up in the Rockies as much as possible for 3-4 days, just riding around and taking photos and marveling at the landscape. Plus, Yellowstone is at such a high elevation, the tempts might only climb into the 50s, so I'm looking for some good gloves while I ride around for a couple days.

 

[Fred W]

You will not be disappointed using heated gloves. Last fall I finally broke down and bought a heated jacket liner and heated gloves as well as the dual controller, all made by First Gear Warm N' Safe. I do also have heated grips and V-strom hand guards installed on my bike, but there is no need for the grips to be on when using the heated gloves. I was able to ride all through last winter in New England (it was uncharacteristically mild winter) on any day there was no snow covering the road.

The nice thing is that these gloves are not very bulky, so you retain excellent dexterity (if you ever had any) and with the adjustable controller you can make sure you get just the right amount of heat so your hands will not sweat (and eventually get cold). Having the jacket liner does the same thing under your coat, so you can stay warm without looking like the michelin man.

You may want to compare the Gerbings to the Warm'n Safe gear. I've heard that the latter is more reliable, which prompted me to buy it over the former. They are otehrwise functionally quite similar.

 

[TomInPA]

I'll second the W&S gear. I use the Gen 4 jacket with a wireless troller and it is really nice not to be installing lots of plugs and wearing connection wires. Very warm gear, I can ride in the teens in comfort with the liner under my Olympia Air Glide mesh outfit with the liner. I use the glove liners, but the all-season gloves would be nice. They don't rely on thickness to keep you warm.

For early September, you will have cold nights and mornings, but usually very nice comfortable days. You will be past the monsoon thunderstorms, and as long as a big cold front doesn't set up early, you can expect very nice riding. Fall color usually doesn't start until mid to late September.

 

[Bounce]

Before I learned the Holy Trinity of Thinsulate+wires+bike_battery (heated gear) I used to wear ski mittens. Less wind through the finger tips.

 

[Mr._Gone]

At this risk of hijacking my own thread, what are everyone's thoughts on Gerbings versus Warm N Safe?

I'm a self-admitted glove whore. I love gloves. When I find a pair of gloves I like, I usually buy a couple pairs so I'll have a backup in case I lose the first pair. Yeah, yeah, I know... I might have a problem — someone take away my credit card! Anyway, gloves are small and easy to pack, so it's not uncommon for me to take 3 pairs of gloves on a day-long ride, just so my hands are comfortable as the temps rise and fall throughout the day.

But now that I'm looking at heated gloves, and thus a big jump in $$$, I guess I'm going to do my homework on what to buy.

 

[Fred W]

This ought to keep you busy for a while... LMGTFY