My Underhanded Glove Reviews

Each fall, as the air gets crisp, I dig deeper into my suitcase of gloves and promote them to my cycling tub for more frequent use. Then I seem to take most of the next three months to remember what works best for the given conditions. As a permanent note to me, and perhaps to any pathetic soul who might meander to my blog; here I go…..

PI AMFib Gloves

I know they make a lobster version, but I have the five finger model and it keeps me warm.  Awesome Mike has the lobster version and he still has all his digits. This is a serious cold weather glove. This is great for temps below forty degrees and when I have worn them below freezing, they have protected me. The downside of this armored car protection is that if you elect to take them off to don some lighter gloves, they take up a ton of jersey pocket space. You trap heat with bulk and so unless you get creative (read on) you have to accept some tradeoffs.  When I ride in the depths of winter with my team, gloves are a “hot” topic with many of us looking like cartoon characters with skinny arms and huge gloves.

GORE Glove

This is a reasonably warm glove and it keeps your hands dry for a long time in epic wet conditions. I like these because they don’t have a lot of bulk, so you don’t have to take them off for everything. I was able to take my camera from my jersey pocket and snap photos without having to remove either glove. They are good from about forty to fifty five degrees. While they do keep the water out, they can get sweaty and so if it is going to warm up, or if is dry, I’ll opt for the PI Full Finger Gloves instead. If I am going on a long ride, or one where rain is certain, these are hard to beat. These also are the most Darth Vadar like of the bunch.

PI Full Finger Gel Glove

This is a great glove that seems to rarely be too hot and has a big temperature range.  The padding is spot on and I was sad to see the improvements they have since made to this glove. I have tried on the new ones in stores, but they don’t seem to fit as well or have the quality of padding that the older style had. This is a good glove for temps in the mid 40’s to the 60’s.

SWIX (unknown model) Gloves

I don’t know the model of these, but they are designed for cross country skiing, I wore them with some polypro liners in 33 degree weather and they were perfect. I don’t use that word often, so you should know I was impressed. These have a leather palm and just enough padding on the palm for a good ride and more padding on the back of the hand and fingers so they are warm without making me look like I’m wearing catcher mitts on my hands.

Creative Gloves

Pull on some shell gloves or mittens over your existing gloves. Then throw a heat pack inside and enjoy the warmth. Remember, you won’t need much insulation on the palms, (but padding is nice) so if you are in the market for winter gloves, look for ones with the bulk of the insulation on the back of the hand.