GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

Okay, after the torrential downpours of the last few days here in Oregon it is abundantly clear the Teknic Thunder "waterproof" gloves are absolutely not. Maybe for 10-15 minutes. I commute 27 miles on the highway each way, every day, and until it gets down to the mid-30's (near freezing) I plan on leaving my truck in the driveway, but I absolutely must get some gloves that are actually waterproof. At this point I don't even care about the cost...if they work properly. I am considering the following:
Alpinestars WS-3: $129
(http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/9452/2008alpinestarswr3goretmj8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

Tourmaster Winter Elite: $99
(http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/9776/default2622812ue9.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

Cortech Scarab Winter gloves: $77
(http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/6969/2008cortechscarabwinterdc4.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)


Should I be looking at any other gloves? I know Gore-Tex is guaranteed to keep dry, and supposedly the Hipora liner in the Tourmaster/Cortech product is the same and some other reviews of gloves using that liner pass the "hand in a bucket of water" test for dryness. I need these for when it is rainy and cold (regularly in the low 40's) I have other gloves for when it is warmer/dryer. What does GSTwins nation think?

Heres somthign you need to consider as well.  IF you have a shop around you that carries those Brands(note: not the speific model) YOu should try a pair of each on.  If youre like me, which not many are, YOuve had your fair share of broken knuckle brawls and the Knuckle gaurds may or may not be very comfy.  The only Brand I can wear so far are the Alpine stars.  THey have a little more room in the Knuckles for my, well, larger & slightly deformed knuckles.  Most companies will use the same knuckle gaurd in almost all of thier gloves from what ive seen.  But yeah, Im in need of some too.  Ill let you know what I find at my local shop.

You could always get something like these:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-gloves/waterproof-motorcycle-gloves/rain-off-gloves.htm

Then you could wear whatever gloves you've already got... They're cheaper than actual waterproof gloves too, so they might be worth a shot...

Those  rain-off-glovesd look the goods. Can you get them in Australia I wonder?

I just purchased a pair of Fieldsheer Eskimo gloves. They will arrive on Tuesday so I can let you know how they are then, but they seemed to be the best solution from what I saw. They are waterproof, armored and leather and come with a built in rain cover like the one fred linked too that is stored in the palm for when you really want wind/water away from your hands.

I like the feildsheer ones. The Tourmaster's have a rain cover lobster mitten looking thing that stores in the gauntlet. Also, the tourmasters have a visor squeegie on the left thumb. I eagerly await more opinions!

Those over-gloves look like a good solution as well, if they aren't so loose to make feel of the controls odd.

+1 on the fit deal- thankfully every glove in every brand I have tried fits me the same in a medium with my girlish hands!

Quote from: galahs on November 16, 2008, 06:31:32 PM
Those  rain-off-glovesd look the goods. Can you get them in Australia I wonder?

Says they are made in New Zealand, so I would think they would be available in Australia....

Quote from: bikejunkie223 on November 16, 2008, 08:07:51 PM
I like the feildsheer ones. The Tourmaster's have a rain cover lobster mitten looking thing that stores in the gauntlet. Also, the tourmasters have a visor squeegie on the left thumb. I eagerly await more opinions!

The thumb squeegie sounds sweet! Not that rain is really an issue here in LA... It was in the 90's this weekend.

The most insanely cool, water and cold proof gloves I have ever used were these ...

http://www.ecvn.com/ROOT/offerUpload/home/nanbei/images/15b7d6131d2e_nanbei.jpg

Freaking awesome ... good grip, keeps out cold and water and fits like a freaking condom ... feels like plain hands only better grip ... very very cool.

Disadvantage ... they are like your plain hands if you take a fall ...
And they are rather sticky and will stick and snag and tear on stuff, as well as their palm surface will wear itself out rather rapidly.
Then with constant flexing etc, they will get the seams lightly squirrlled out and they will let in air and freeze your knuckles.
Cool.
Buddha.

Are those neoprene fishing gloves or something? if they had a longer cuff they would look like crabbing gloves- which I thought about.

I'm in the Seattle area so I know we share similar weather. I'm currently looking for waterproof winter gloves too. This is on a different board but you should read this thread for some recommendations.
http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,32095.0.html

Bertman

Quote from: bikejunkie223 on November 17, 2008, 07:54:43 AM
Are those neoprene fishing gloves or something? if they had a longer cuff they would look like crabbing gloves- which I thought about.

They are some sorta hunting/fishing some or other gloves. I have a set that has a camo back too, not just the grey.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: The Buddha on November 16, 2008, 09:01:47 PM
The most insanely cool, water and cold proof gloves I have ever used were these ...and fits like a freaking condom ...

I will never ask to borrow your gloves.

Quote from: bertman4 on November 17, 2008, 11:19:12 AM
I'm in the Seattle area so I know we share similar weather. I'm currently looking for waterproof winter gloves too. This is on a different board but you should read this thread for some recommendations.
http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,32095.0.html

Bertman

All of those are gloves I have been looking at. I tried on the Tourmaster Winter Elite's and if someone finds those too bulky they will never find a winter glove that isn't. I like that they are totally soft and supple when new- it took 2 weeks of wear for my Teknics to loosen up. Also, the Tourmasters have the rain cover lobster mitt stashed in the gauntlet- I think I'm gonna give them a shot..

Would love to hear how those tourmasters turn out. I need a pair of rain/wind proof gloves myself!

Mary

I have the Tourmaster Elites and love them.
Warm, dry, overcover, squegee, they have it all.
They are excellent.

I just got my fieldsheer eskimo gloves in the mail and love them. I didn't know they came with a squeegee. Very warm.

Does anyone know if the waterproofing spray that LL Bean sells will work on gloves too? When I got my GoreTex boots it came with the spray. It says it works on all surfaces. My gloves are the Fox Bomber gloves.

thanks,

Mary

Most of those sprays are what they call a DWR (durable water repellant) They are what make the water bead up on the surface and roll off, but don't really waterproof anything, just delay water entry. I don't see why the stuff you have wouldn't work on gloves though. I have re-treated the DWR on a few jackets using Gore Revivex with good results.

Cool, I may just try it. If it give me a little more time it's worth it.  You said you tried it on your jackets were they Cortech or another material?

Mary

I have used it on jackets for skiing- North Face and Heli-Hansen to be exact. Don't see why it wouldn't work on a textile jacket tho- if I remember right the instructions are to wash the item and hose it down with reviviex when wet and let it air dry.

http://www.bikebandit.com/product/2527

What about these? I need gloves for the cold...budget is less than $50 CDN

Racer Multitop.

Get the squeege attachment from Aerostich, unless you have teeny thumbs like I do and it doesn't fit. :(

I've got to weigh in on the Cortech Scarab gloves. Now, I haven't tried any of the competitors... but I have used some waterproof Olympia gloves that were leather & textile mix with a thumb squeegee and has a pathetic plastic knuckle guard. The Scarabs are warm, fit well and are protective. My summer gloves have scaphoid protectors on the palm (like a rivet patch, that allows your hand to slide instead of "stick" on impact, harming your wrist) but I have never seen this feature on a waterproof winter glove. The scarabs come the closest with a hard textured material on the palms that are stiffer than compressed leather, allowing for more "slide".

I did a 150 mile trip up to Vancouver B.C. two weeks ago (no rain, only mist, thank heavens) and my hands didn't start getting cold until maybe 90 miles in. Even then, it wasn't a painful cold; I've encountered far worse just waiting at a bus stop in similar weather. I went into a McDonalds, drank some coffee and ate 4 nuggets and was good to go for the next 60 miles.

The only downside is that they don't have a thumb squeegee! But just using the side of your finger works pretty well and you can always get those $2 slip on squeezees in the Beef Jerky bin near the counter of your local motorcycle shop.

One piece of advice, though. Any glove with Thinsulate *will compress*. It's not like a leather glove that stretches to break in. The glove gets 'thinner'. If I measure my hand around the thickest part of the palm I'm about 8 3/4 inches around... that puts me right on the line between "medium" and "large" for the Cortech gloves. All my summer gloves are either Large or XL and are quite snug. The "medium" was painful, so I bought the large, but after 150 miles they broke in enough so that they're snug and I can wiggle my fingers around within the gloves. I think medium would have been the better choice. You want to keep as thin of an air layer around your fingers as possible for maximum heat retention. Just so long as the fingers on the glove aren't pressing against your finger tips in the riding position, otherwise they'll start to ache after a while. Then again, we're talking about the absolute extreme end of the glove's capability... in anything above 50 degrees F, they'll work perfectly, slighly too big or not. So use the size chart, go as snug as you can tolerate it, and you've got your very protective, warm winter glove! I've got some DL650 handguards coming to me in the mail and I'll report back on how well the combo works after I've lived with them for a bit.

Scarab Winter gloves are easily amongst the top 3 of all the winter gloves I looked at. Just don't get the Scarab R.R. They're not waterpoof.

Well, I can give a bit of a review on the Tourmaster Winter extreme now that I have used them for a couple of weeks- they are absolutely waterproof, even without using the lobster covers. They are very soft and flexible, and extremely warm. I rode to work (30 miles) in 30 deg weather with some of the $6 silk liners and the tourmasters and my hands were toasty warm the whole way, without the liners my fingers were just starting to get that feeling where you realize it's cold but your fingers aren't cold yet. At first I thought the gauntlets were on the large side but when you are putting them on over an armored jacket with liner inside a 1 peice rainsuit they are sized perfectly and the cinch gaiter seals off the inside from water running down your sleeve. They are a bit more expensive than the Cortech Scarab but I think they are worth it, though they are not nearly as armored.