Genuinely waterproof winter gloves

rflynnr

Pulling off my old Sealskinz gloves to fix a puncture outside Garristown today, I ripped a finger off. So I'm in the market for new ones. I have liked the Sealskinz but found that in long showers they're not really waterproof. Given that I want to be doing long rides through the coming winter I am contemplating shelling out for either the Assos rainGlove or Rapha's Winter Gloves. The latter are described as "water resistant" however rather than waterproof whilst the former are made of neoprene and thus I wonder how warm they might be. Has anyone tried either?

Beasty

rflynnr wrote: »

Pulling off my old Sealskinz gloves to fix a puncture outside Garristown today, I ripped a finger off.

I think you need a doctor rather than new gloves;)

As with rain gear generally waterproof is not always best

The Assos Raingloves act a bit like a wetsuit - may not stop the water penetration but certainly keep the hands warm

diomed

http://thebeautystop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/washing_up_gloves.jpg

Craig06

My castelli gloves aren't waterproof but my hands are always warm which I think is the most important thing.

bcmf

Everything has a saturation point regardless of how much it costs.
I got a pair of neoprene gloves last winter and was the only thing to keep my hands warm.
Dry? No.
Warm? Yes

ROK ON

The Rapha winter glove is an excellent glove in terms of warmth and comfort.
It is not waterproof however, but is water resistant in light rain.

It is really warm and only suitable in weather that is below 5degrees but ideally close to zero.

cerastes

Ski gloves, I got a pair of mid range ski gloves years ago, not bulky, they are the only gloves I have ever gotten that are waterproof.

doozerie

I've read both very good and very bad things about both the Assos RainGlove (some said they were no better than far cheaper branded/unbranded neoprene gloves) and the Rapha Winter Glove. I considered both last year when I was finding that none of my (many) different gloves were working for me in combined wet and cold weather. That all just goes to show though that different gloves work well, or not at all, for different people, so as with most things any glowing or damning reviews of them are far from definitive.

The solution I opted for was to buy a pair of merino glove liners (from IceBreaker in my case, they sell 2 different thicknesses) to wear inside whatever outer glove(s) I randomly selected on the day. Some days that worked for me, some days it didn't, but on balance I'd consider it an option worth trying as an extra layer can be useful at any time so the liners don't go to waste (that's my inner parent talking!). Again though, it's an approach that doesn't keep your hands dry but just tries to exploit merino's ability to keep you warm even when wet, which works very well for me with base layers, jerseys, and socks, but works intermittently for me with gloves.

For truly cold days I use a pair of Sealskin lobster gloves as my outer layer, but I haven't put them to the test enough to be able to comment on their effectiveness yet. They have Primaloft insulation so they are reasonably bulky, I'm not sure if they have any waterproof protection at all and I don't think I'd want it either as too much warmth would be as uncomfortable as too little. Pearl Izumi do a version of them too (and have done for years) as do some other brands.

I need a separate wardrobe for all of my gloves, curse my dainty little hands

Captain Havoc

I have BBB Aquashield, which I find very good.

rflynnr

Thanks for all the contributions. I share Doozerie's experience: I have about five pairs of autumn/winter gloves (Sealskinz, De Feet, Specialized Lobster Gloves etc.) but none of them have stood up to sustained rainfall. And, for some reason, I can't help feeling that textile science should have reached a point where a warm, dry pair of gloves is within our reach. Joking apart my Sealskinz are essentially a pair of washing up gloves with a merino liner and some kind of polyester outer. When I look at their construction I'm baffled as to how they can let water in (and I'm fairly certain it's not sweat) but they do (albeit it takes about 45mins of sustained rain). Regardless it looks like neither the Assos or the Rapha constitute a definitive solution so I might just go with a new pair of 'Skinz or have a look at the Aquashields.

Captain Havoc

Go back to the sealskinz, 45 mins is good going.

doozerie

I bought a pair of BBB Aquashields on the strength of almost exclusively good reviews of them. I found them good on cold dry days, on a par with some more expensive gloves I've tried over the years, but they didn't work for me on cold wet days and my hands still suffered a lot. I'm resigned to the fact that I'm particularly odd when it comes to gloves though. Beware of their sizing too, I had to buy one size larger than usual as they seem to have stubby little fingers on them.