When cold weather sets in, make sure you keep yourself properly protected from the elements. Hands are one of the most important factors when it comes to operating a motorcycle; applying the brake and hitting the throttle require quite a bit of work while riding, and you’ll be in a world of trouble if your hands start to go numb from the cold.
To shore up those digits against any dips in the temperature, we’ve rounded up a couple of insulated riding gloves specifically designed to keep your hands toasty during the ride. From leather to textile styles, there are plenty of options that’ll keep your hands functioning at optimum capacity during the chill. With so many types of insulation material to choose from finding the perfect set of cold-weather gloves can become somewhat of a daunting task, so allow us to help narrow the field.
Rain and frost have nothing on H-D’s Cyrus gloves. These insulated, waterproof gloves are constructed from genuine cowhide leather exterior with the bonus of a brushed tricot lining. The Cyrus gloves offer protection against the wet stuff as well as bone-chilling temps thanks to a lifesaving layer of 3M Thinsulate insulation.
Aside from the Cyrus’ ability to keep your mitts warm and toasty, they’ll also fit them the right way, with a power stretch knuckle design, 45-degree pre-curved fingers, and a reinforced padded palm that all add up to comfortable, all-day wear. H-D developed this set of riding gloves to not only look good, but feel good, and perform even better.
When it comes to cold-weather protection, some riders have come to rely solely on the trusted gauntlet style of glove. Their longer cuff design means another layer goes over your wrist, which really cuts down on the windchill when riding through ice-cold air. Milwaukee’s police-style gauntlet gloves feature premium cowhide leather construction with an added interior thermal liner for extra warmth and protection from the elements. The extra wide cuff openings allow the gloves to fit over thicker riding jackets, and wrist straps keep the gloves secured snuggly around the rider’s hand.
It’s hard to deny the visual appeal, level of comfort, and the performance of a quality riding glove. Once you take Inbike’s cold-weather gloves for a spin, you’ll find that they are tough to beat for the price. The leather exterior keeps the hands looking good and well-protected, and the interior 40-gram Thinsulate liner provides enough warming power to allow you to keep riding through hours of cold-weather exposure.
The hard protective case on the palm, back, and knuckles helps deflect finger injuries that could potentially slow you down. These gloves have also been designed with a scraper on the thumb, which can be used to quickly remove rain and frost from the mirror—it’s a unique feature that could prove to be quite handy when the chill sets in.
The Churchill gloves are a spin-off of Goldtop’s zippered café racer-style motorcycle gloves, designed with a timeless, nostalgic feel in mind. Not only do these gloves offer an attractive exterior styling, they have also been strategically given a longer, more slender design, which you can definitely feel when wearing them. The fit is snug and will keep your fingers warm thanks to the interior fleece lining.
The exterior two-finger chamois-style leather visor wipe gives you the power to quickly clean mirrors of moisture, and the angled classic ball zip adds to the retro café racer look that is just too undeniably cool.
When looking for a fresh pair of seasonal riding gloves, a good number of riders first narrow down selections by price point, then by styling. Riparo’s fleece-lined Italian leather gloves hit on both marks, as they offer many colors and attractive styling to their simplified design. They balance that fine line of looking like a legit work/riding glove with an added level of sophistication that will be well-received by longtime riders and newbies alike.
For riders searching for a textile alternative to cold-weather riding gloves, check out these thermal lined numbers from Ozero. They’ve been designed with a water-resistant polyester shell that offers water and windproof properties with an interior thermal cotton lining that features a full-hand waterproof sheath, which further adds to its protective level from the elements.
Improved touchscreen leather fingertips allows for easy access to cellphones, tablets, and GPS units, which is always a valuable feature. It sounds like it would be difficult to incorporate this many amenities into a single pair of cold-weather gloves, but Ozero has harnessed everything you’ll need to keep your hands protected from the cold.
