winter riders

[Nubian]

Which gloves do you use to keep hand warm and dry in the winter months? I have my eyes on the cortech scarab but it gets mixed reviews.
Also looking for some overpants that won't require removing boots to put on or take off. Any and all recommendations welcomed

[3Phase]

Which gloves do you use to keep hand warm and dry in the winter months? I have my eyes on the cortech scarab but it gets mixed reviews.

I've got a pair of Alpinestars Polar Goretex gloves that worked for several days in the rain without leaking and stayed warm:-




A good set of liner gloves makes the outer gloves easier to take off and put back on after a few hours riding in the rain and you can wear the liners without the rain gloves. I prefer fireproof gloves myself:-

Also looking for some overpants that won't require removing boots to put on or take off. Any and all recommendations welcomed

There's a whole page of reversible leather/nylon (Cordura) overpants at

Jamin Leather and it looks like they're having a sale, too.

[rover]

winter

I used to go to Goodwill and buy used sno mo suits. Now I have a set of Carhardts, (jacket and pants), and I can put on and take off while wearing my Mickey Mouse military boots. Only problem is Carhardts are quite stiff and bulky. Really good sno mo mitts are very warm. Here in WI, they use a lot of salt on the roads, and salt retains moisture, so the roads are quite slick, and the saltwater puddles tend to freeze overnight. Now they use liquid salt, and that crap is very slick. I have been sliding sideways many times on an otherwise bare road. The liquid salt is killing the pine trees within thirty feet of the roadway. Early morning is really a bad time for riding in winter, no sunshine to melt the slick ice and snow. I have ridden in 20 degree weather, but I don't any more. Only if it is 36 or warmer with sun, 40 when cloudy. I am 73, and want to live a lot longer. ride to live.

[fredintoon]

Which gloves do you use to keep hand warm and dry in the winter months? I have my eyes on the cortech scarab but it gets mixed reviews.
Also looking for some overpants that won't require removing boots to put on or take off. Any and all recommendations welcomed

Hi Nubian,
Hippo Hands or similar with bag mitts. Snow machine gear works well. How cold is cold BTW? Riding on snow & ice you need a sidecar. Then the low temperature limit is how cold when the engine won't start?

[b.walker5]

Most any good quality leather or codura glove will do the trick but the key words here are 'good quality'. Gloves are about as subjective as tyres and oil, but the trick i've learned is to have good 'glove liners'.

I have both leather and codura gloves (NZ brands wont mean a thing to you guys) and I have long thin fingers with poor circulation so my fingers freeze and get painful at the drop of a hat. Down this neck of the woods, where i live, summer riding temperatures seldom get above 16 degrees c so cold fingers is a daily fact of life and I counter this with thin glove liners made from a mixture of fine Merino Wool and Possum Fur. Keeps my fingers as warm as toast and if the day gets too warm I have to take them off. In wet weather i use rain savers as well.

My advice. Select your gloves for the knuckle protection factor and get some good quality glove liners to keep you warm.

[Nubian]

Hi Nubian,
Hippo Hands or similar with bag mitts. Snow machine gear works well. How cold is cold BTW? Riding on snow & ice you need a sidecar. Then the low temperature limit is how cold when the engine won't start?

I ride down to 30.F

[webbcraft2150]

I actually had a Yamaha let me try about 5 different gloves till I found some that would work. It told him msot gloves work fine at midday but I want some that work at 5am and 11 degrees. I finally settled on a set of snowmobile gloves that worked great despite there bulk. I gave them away to member here since I moved to a place where there are no "real" winters and they were collecting dust in the closet.

[CatatonicBug]

I ride down to 30.F

You almost don't even need the Hippo Hands if that's as low a you go. Although, without a fairing, they'd help. I use the Hippo Hands, and only wear my summer gloves in them, and never have an issue down to 5ºF. They also shed water pertty well. Never rode with them in a deluge, but the little rain they did see ran right off. I spent $30 on ebay for the set, then ran them through the washer and they look like new!

[yamahansolo]

I use feildsheer Eskimo gloves I got them on sale for 60. They are good for about 30 mins in 30* weather. They also are water proof. They have a zipper pocket on them to fold a out lobster claw cover. You can also order heated grips from cycle gear for 30 bucks.
Also don't make the mistake like I do sometimes by wiping the moisture off your seat with your hands or gloves. Water greatly reduces time of staying warm.

[Jerry]

I go cheap. Deerskin leather gloves with cotton liners. Liners are removeable for riding when the temps warm up. (Here in Colorado it is not unusuall to see a temp swing of 30 - 40 deg F during the day.) I ride behind a fairing, though, which helps. I have a set of Hippo Hands that also help a lot, but use them mostly for weekend rides. Hippo Hands require some extra effort if I use them to ride to work, as I don't leave them on the bike during the day.

Pants. I use my TourMaster set summer and winter. Winter use I leave the side zippers all the way up (closed) and for footwear I use my 9" high leather boots. The pants slip over the top of the boots so my shins are not exposed. I can also put my feet up on the engine cases or on the rear set. This gets them out of the wind and they can pick up some heat from the engine.

One note: You may want to make sure you have an anti-fogging shield for your helmet, if you have one. Nothing like having your vision blocked because your breath freezes on the back side of your shield. You can get an anti-fogging spray to help reduce this problem. Most snowmobile helmets are not DOT approved, so wearing a snowmobile helmet may not be an answer. My HJC snowmobile helmet is DOT approved and I bought a heated visor for it. That combo is for severe cold riding, whind I do less and less of as I get older.