Firstgear gloves

[JamesW]

I remember a posting way back when someone was inquiring after gloves with a thinner palm for heated grips. I have just acquired a pair of gloves labeled TGP, (for technical performance gear) manufactured for FIRSTGEAR, along with being waterproof and with thermolite insulation it has no palm insulation to increase the effectiveness of heated grips. The gloves are labeled "Men's Tundra Glove". What first attracted my attention was the large gauntlet opening to fit over my coat sleeves.

 

[Fred W]

James,

I think I am the party guilty of the posts you are referring to, last year at about this time.

The insulation is light enough that I can use them when it's not below 40 F, and in fact just used them on my way back from NAFO (in the rain). I will tell you this: They are not waterproof (at least not as they come, out of the box) if you'll be riding all day in the rain. I started a discussion on waterproofing agents for leather gloves and nobody had anything good to say about that. I think the real world consensus, based on empirical evidence is that you need some sort of waterproof over-gloves if you really want to stay dry. I have since managed to come up with a set of very heavy rubber gloves (made for use by linemen for electrical safety) that I got in a larger size that I can wear over my gloves in future slogs through the rain.

That said, I still like my TPG gloves a lot. They fit very well (normal sizing) and give what looks to be good protection. The thin palms do work to allow the heated grips to penetrate the glove better than fully insulated gloves do, and also allow them to be used in a wider range of temps than a fully insulated glove. I think that there is no such thing as a fully waterproof leather glove, even the $250 gloves with Goretex will get damp inside eventually, and so, these things are about as good a leather all weather glove as you will find.

 

[JamesW]

James,

I think I am the party guilty of the posts you are referring to, last year at about this time.

The insulation is light enough that I can use them when it's not below 40 F, and in fact just used them on my way back from NAFO (in the rain). I will tell you this: They are not waterproof (at least not as they come, out of the box) if you'll be riding all day in the rain. I started a discussion on waterproofing agents for leather gloves and nobody had anything good to say about that. I think the real world consensus, based on empirical evidence is that you need some sort of waterproof over-gloves if you really want to stay dry. I have since managed to come up with a set of very heavy rubber gloves (made for use by linemen for electrical safety) that I got in a larger size that I can wear over my gloves in future slogs through the rain.

That said, I still like my TPG gloves a lot. They fit very well (normal sizing) and give what looks to be good protection. The thin palms do work to allow the heated grips to penetrate the glove better than fully insulated gloves do, and also allow them to be used in a wider range of temps than a fully insulated glove. I think that there is no such thing as a fully waterproof leather glove, even the $250 gloves with Goretex will get damp inside eventually, and so, these things are about as good a leather all weather glove as you will find.

I have been spraying leather gloves and boots with a product called CAMP DRY,currently made by kiwi, for years, seems to forestall the inevitable for quite a while. Two coats, let the first one dry, and be sure it is a ventilated area as it does have an odor.

 

[Fred W]

Yup, have that in my arsenal. A can sitting out in the garage right now. I have not tried it on these gloves, and it may help some.

But I'm pretty sure they will still succumb to the ravages of mother (nature). She always seems to win. :glare:

 

[dsmack]

I agree that the gloves are always the weak link when riding in heavy rain. My recent trip down into CA along the WA, OR and NorCal coasts proved that no matter what the gloves are treated with, they are soon a soggy mess in heavy rain! :angry2:

I had treated my three sets of gloves repeatedly the two weeks prior to the trip, and without fail, 1 to 1 1/2 hours into the trip each day the damn things became miserable to wear. We DID become proficient at rigging drying racks in the motel room at night!

Because of the decent protection afforded by the Feej, the only other parts that became wet while moving down the road were the outside portion of my forearms, and my jacket and liner kept me comfortable there. All bets were off though when we got caught in a real toad-strangler while creeping through the mis-timed 1431 stop lights in Eureka, CA! Damn, I hate that town!!!!! Their traffic engineers (?) should be strung up by their collective scrotums (scrotii?) and left to rot in the rain. :yahoo:

If anyone has a true waterproofing solution for riding gloves, he/she stands to be a wealthy soul!

Don

 

[Mount Rainier]

“You couldn’t pry my Tundra Gloves off my warm dry hands.”

These FIRSTGEAR gloves have served me very very well for more than 46K miles over the past 18 months. They show no sign of failing anywhere. And, based on my dealing with FIRSTGEAR regarding other garments, they really stand behind their warranty.

I wear them every-time I ride, in all weather conditions. They are bombproof. I have not had even a hint of leaking in my travels in the Great Pacific Wetwest. Never felt a need to treat them. Sorry to hear of your troubles with leaking Fred.

Riding year round affords many opportunities to test there effectiveness and they have never disappointed me.

I bought them for the thin palms, not because of heated grips, which I don’t have, but because I seemed to suffer from numbness after an hour in the saddle. I wanted to try a thinner palm and more relaxed grip and the issue was resolved instantly.

I have V-Strom hand guards and Garauld's extensions installed. I also have a couple of different liner combinations depending on the temp., and ride comfortably down to the upper 20s.

One more tip here that I feel contributes to the comfort and effeteness in the cold is I went up one size. Not because they are not true to size, but I find that a larger, looser fit with the insertion of liners, facilitates better circulation and keeps the fingers warmer.

And yet one additional plus is the Palm side heel skid/impact pad matches up perfectly with the Cramp Buster paddle.

I believe the manufacture may have made some changed since I made my purchase. Below are my version.

Great Gloves. Not affiliated with FIRSTGEAR in any way, just a big fan.....

Keep Going!

 

[dsmack]

Jim, that's about the best review and endorsement I've read for ANY pair of gloves. I'm going to have to look them up and give them a try.

I have been very happy with FirstGear products in the past. I have two of their jackets and a pair of their overpants/liner. All have proven very sturdy and well made after a number of years of use. I did replace the armor in the overpants with come CE rated stuff I bought off the 'net and feel a bit more secure... Dress for the Crash, ya know?

Thanks for the good word on the gloves,

Don

 

[Fred W]

And just to be perfectly clear (for anyone following along from home) Mount Rainier (and the OP) are talking about a slightly different First Gear TPG glove than what I have.

What I have are the Firstgear TPG Glacier,

The Glacier is the all-leather analog to Mt. Rainier's beloved Firstgear TPG Tundra.

The above two links are to webBikeWorld reviews of the two gloves that prompted me to buy a pair last year.

The features of the two gloves are nearly identical. They both use a Hypora liner system, which is supposed to behave the similar to Gore-tex and is found in many "waterproof" gloves. My experience is that, after 10 hours of riding in steady rain, they aren't. While they were not a soggy mess, like a pair of non-waterproof gloves would have been, the insides were more than damp.

wBW indicates that both gloves passed their bucket immersion test. I think that test is a better indication of how dry you can expect to stay in short exposures to the rain. But my guess is that neither of these gloves is totally waterproof in an all day slog, and would probably require an over-glove for that situation.

I will probably try applying some sort of waterproofing agent to the leather glove exterior in an attempt to prolong the inevitable moisture infiltration. Maybe the same approach could be employed on the textile outer surface of the Tundras, though Mt Rainier indicates that this has not been necessary for him. Being from the Pacific Northwet, you would think that he has had ample opportunity to test them,

 

[mr.paul]

I have had great luck with the rain gloves/covers from Aerostich link to Aerostich triple digit

They have kept my hands dry through 12 hours-in-the-rain rides and some tremendous downpours. I have only lightly treated them. I do like that they go on over whatever gloves I wear but store small when I don't need them. I can keep them in a jacket pockiet and whip them out at a moments notice. I don't like the change in gripiness though, as the nylon is a bit slippery. They work well as a windbreaker in a cold setting too.

mr.paul, from Minnesota

 

[Fred W]

Too bad that they do not have individual fingers. Seems that would not be that much more difficult to make and would improve dexterity a lot.

FWIW, the over-gloves that I have "procured", (but not fully tested) are these:

Salisbury Lineman's Gloves

At $67 they are quite pricey. But we buy these at work as required PPE and they require replacement every 6 months if used, or every year even when unused, so after that they are essentially free to me. Generally I buy the size 9 kit for work (which includes a protective leather over glove), but a size 10 or 11 rubber glove would fit nicely over most folks' leather riding gloves and retain full manual dexterity. Being a very thick solid rubber, they are about as waterproof as you'll ever get.

 

[BrettB]

I have the glacier gloves linked above and like them a lot. They stay dry for at least a couple of hours in heavy rain, and work awesome with heated grips into the teens.

 

[BkrK12]

Keeping the inside of your gloves dry is always a challenge. Here's something I discovered by accident one particularly wet trip through Calais, ME up into NB. Depending on how tight your rainjacket sleeves are, either: 1) Put on your rain jacket and roll up the sleeves, then put on your gloves and roll the sleeves back down over the gauntlets. 2) Put on your gloves and then pull your rainjacket on over them. Either way, your gauntlets are now protected and rain can't wick/run down your arms into your gloves. Try it before you scoff. It has been the difference between soggy glove inners and completely dry hands for me many times.

 

[Fred W]

Absolutely, Dan. It may be counter-intuitive, but that is definitely the way to stay dry (er).

Rain glove gauntlets tucked INSIDE the rain jacket sleeves. :thumbsup:

 

[ionbeam]

Last year I went on a scuba expedition ride to Cota95's digs in upper NH along with Fred W :Snorkle: I was wearing my nifty waterproof gauntlet type gloves with goat skin palms to make them crash worthy. While the gloves were indeed waterproof, the monsoon like rain sluiced down my rain suit and straight down the cuffs of the gloves. I know they are water proof because when I took them off no water leaked out and they remained full <_< I also discovered that once a waterproof glove gets soaked inside it takes from summer of that year until spring of the next year for them to completely dry out.

If you are going to ride in the rain and wear a rain suit, give some thought to having a rain suit with cuffs large enough to go over the cuff of your gloves or the cuffs of the gloves need to seal around the arms of the rain suit.

 

[Harald]

Keeping the inside of your gloves dry is always a challenge. Here's something I discovered by accident one particularly wet trip through Calais, ME up into NB. Depending on how tight your rainjacket sleeves are, either: 1) Put on your rain jacket and roll up the sleeves, then put on your gloves and roll the sleeves back down over the gauntlets. 2) Put on your gloves and then pull your rainjacket on over them. Either way, your gauntlets are now protected and rain can't wick/run down your arms into your gloves. Try it before you scoff. It has been the difference between soggy glove inners and completely dry hands for me many times.

Absolutely! I ride all year here in the Pacific Northwet and use this trick daily.

This trick won't work for some riders: