Proper decent gloves

[Glover Fan]

Winter will finally get here and I'd like some gloves that do a good job of keeping the "freezing" cold off and are as waterproof as you can realistically get?

No idea on budget, will look at what is offered as option here.

Saw some SealSkinz All Weather gloves which are £25, but looking at reviews they look like they aren't very good at the dealing with cold bit.

[Chris N]

Layers.  All in one gloves are a PITA (smelly, take ages to dry, generally not waterproof) so a three part system works best: thermal liner (silk, thin fleece, merino, etc), long finger cycling gloves with a bit of padding then a waterproof shell mitten (e.g. Extremities Tuff Bags) over the top.

[Ningishzidda]

Cryo handling gloves that are waterproof.
Expect to pay over £100.

[Euan Uzami]

Cryo handling gloves that are waterproof.
Expect to pay over £100.

so is a full-body all in one cryogenic jump suit but can you cycle in it?!

[peliroja]

Showers Pass have come out with a new range of gloves, which are likely to be worth a look. They were very proud of them when we visited last year. (We've not tried them, though.)

[interzen]

Layers.  All in one gloves are a PITA (smelly, take ages to dry, generally not waterproof) so a three part system works best: thermal liner (silk, thin fleece, merino, etc), long finger cycling gloves with a bit of padding then a waterproof shell mitten (e.g. Extremities Tuff Bags) over the top.

This.

Mountain Equipment glove liners as a base, with either regular mitts or full finger gloves over the top. If I need a vapour barrier then I'll wear a pair of nitrile¹ lab gloves between the liners and the gloves - it rarely gets cold enough to warrant this, though (it did last year on the epic fat-bike commute when the air temperature was around -13C)

¹ - Latex is an acceptable alternative if you're not allergic to it. I am.

[L CC]

Sealskinz gloves are shite- not very waterproof and not very warm.

Chris S really suffers with cold hands, and as he controls the bike (as well as being my weathershield) it's very much in my interest for him to have functioning hands. He now uses chemical warmers, for hands and feet, and I bought him 2 pairs of Proper Hardcore Cold Wet Weather Gloves. They work. I can't, however, remember what they are, perhaps he'll pop up and let us know.

Layers.  All in one gloves are a PITA (smelly, take ages to dry, generally not waterproof) so a three part system works best: thermal liner (silk, thin fleece, merino, etc), long finger cycling gloves with a bit of padding then a waterproof shell mitten (e.g. Extremities Tuff Bags) over the top.

Layers did not work as well as we'd hoped, I think this is because Chris has Big Hands, and the gloves weren't big enough to layer and trap a nice warm layer of air in. The gloves I got him dry overnight (I think), and are waterproof for long enough for most commutes, and warm all day for audaxing.
My gloves are old style Altura Night vision. The new (neoprene looking) ones are nowhere near as good, for either warmth or waterproofing. My hands don't get anywhere near as cold though- as long as I'm moving I generate enough heat, pretty much.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Keep an eye out for Aldi skiing mitts.

I bought some last year and found them too warm for temperatures above -2.  Not waterproof, but decent windproof shield, fleece lining and thick insulation over the back of hands, down the back of fingers and thumb.

[Ningishzidda]

Keep an eye out for Aldi skiing mitts.

I bought some last year and found them too warm for temperatures above -2.  Not waterproof, but decent windproof shield, fleece lining and thick insulation over the back of hands, down the back of fingers and thumb.

ALDI Thinsulate woolies with Marigolds over the top.

[Wobbly John]

The current (our shop still has them) Aldi cycling gloves seem good, but I haven't worn them in wet to test their, claimed, waterproofnessness. Can't really go wrong for £4.99, but worth testing them before you rely on them on a long ride - but that's the same for all gloves.

I did buy some Seal skins gloves a few years ago - probably the worst gloves I've tried. 

[zigzag]

i had good experience using proper skiing gloves on a bike, they are warm, waterproof (gore-tex) and comfy. might be too bulky to operate certain sti shifters, but i ride a bike with thumb operated mtb shifters when very cold so any type of glove works.

[Kim]

I'm going to stick up for SealSkinz.  Waterproofness isn't actually that important in gloves, as they get wet from the inside out. What matters is that they stay warm when wet (which means windproofing), and breathe reasonably well.  SealSkinz seem to do this better than any other gloves I've tried (DHB, Aldi, various ski gloves), especially when combined with silk liners (pretty much any winter gloves can be improved with silk liners, if only for ease of taking them off without them turning inside-out).

I also rate them for fitting well (a personal thing, but I find that most gloves big enough for my hands are too long in the finger), and not disintegrating from prolonged use of trigger shifters.

I use Aldi gloves for short rides to the shops.  They're cheap and fine until they get really wet.

[mrcharly-YHT]

The current (our shop still has them) Aldi cycling gloves seem good, but I haven't worn them in wet to test their, claimed, waterproofnessness. Can't really go wrong for £4.99, but worth testing them before you rely on them on a long ride - but that's the same for all gloves.

Not very good at all. Not particularly warm and get a bit sweaty.

[mds101]

Wamrest hands I had last year was when I put gore waterproof socks over my normal gloves. Assuming that this was because there was a barrier to the wind and actually waterproof. My thumb fitted nicely into the heel so changing gears and holdin gthe bars wasn't a problem.

Learning for this for this year then I've bought some overgloves....motorbike ones from ghostbike...they are large sized so I've probably bought a bit big, but they were  a tenner so if they work I'll get a smaller pair but the principles are the same as for the socks...water and wind barrier even if they aren't entirerly "proof".

[Morrisette]

I have some Gore ones. Not that cheap but had them in the Evans sale last year. They are good - not too thick and bulky, but warm and waterproof-ish - enough for commuting, anyway. I have v. small hands and they fit like, well, a glove!

[Gruby Mits]

Another one against Sealskinz. The Winter Waterproof I got last year at an exorbitant price are not waterproof and get soooo (alot) soaked with water that freeze your hands, even with an underlayer waterproof liner.
Most disappointing purchase 
These are more like ski gloves than cycling but as i suffer from very cold hands I went to town with the bulky type to allow for more warmth and undergloves (witch to date are my only solution to keep a bit warmer)

[tiermat]

I have a large range of gloves, some work for one type of riding, but not for others.

For really cold/wet/windy rides, I find the best are Specialized Sub-Zero.  If my hands get too hot I take off the outer and just wear the inner.  For Autumn/Spring rides I go with long fingered Spesh BG gloves and for summer rides, Altura or Endura mitts.

My Sealskins are great for very cold commutes, but for longer rides they get wtter inside than out.

[Chris S]

As fboab mentioned, we had to get serious with gloves last winter, after we had a SITUATION on the "When I'm 64" 200. It was cold (around 2C) with moderate rain and wet snow, all day. I was wearing these (Altura Nightvision windproof):


Untitled by Pelotonhound, on Flickr

My hands got so cold I couldn't work the brakes and she had to invoke Stoker Emergency Braking Privileges to stop us. Not fun. Trust us to pick the coldest winter in 40 years to mount an Audax points chase. So fboab bought me gloves.

Specialized Radiants (The "Arctic" ones):


Untitled by Pelotonhound, on Flickr

Specialized Sub Zeros (The "Antarctic" ones):


Untitled by Pelotonhound, on Flickr

The Radiants are fine for most 0c conditions. It takes a goodly while for water to penetrate, but it does eventually. I wore these on the Green & Yellow Fields White & Frosty Fields 300 where it got to -5c overnight, and they weren't up to it - I had cold hands, and had to use disposable hand-warmers too. In conjunction with hand-warmers - I was fine. If I'd had these on the "When I'm 64" ride, I think I'd have been OK.

I've only used the lobsters a couple of times. Nothing gets through them - they're toasty warm. I don't think I've worn them in the wet, only cold - but they handle sub-zero without any problem, and I'm able to operate STIs just fine - something I was concerned about given the reduced fingerage. I should have worn these on the Green & Yellow Fields White & Frosty Fields 300.

Both the Radiants and the Sub Zero (liners) have conductive pads so you can operate your iStuff/GPS touch screen without removing them - useful if that's important to you.

ETA: I would disagree with Kim (which hardly ever happens). A degree of waterproofness is very important if you are riding for a long time in the wet. When your gloves become wringing wet in cold conditions, it's very bad - at least it is for me. I had to go to the docs after the When I'm 64 200 as I had some tissue damage to my fingers, which he said "Looks a lot like frostbite".

ETA 2: I wore the Specialized Radiants during the day on our Easter Arrow, and the lobsters overnight. During the day it was dry but cold, around 0c. During the night it was very cold (-5c) and snowy later. The only time I had cold hands was when getting started after a control stop - and that always happens; it's a circulation thing - I soon warmed up again.

[mrcharly-YHT]

If Aldi gets any of the winter ski mitts in, I'm going to buy you a pair.

They were comfortable for me down to -19. I tolerate cold well, so should be good for you at warmer temps.

[Euan Uzami]

i've got the pearl izumi equivalent ones of similar style to those specialized sub zero ones which are also good.
Too hot when it's more than about 5 degrees though.

[interzen]

I must admit, I do like Specialized's gloves - their Body Geometry mitts worked wonders in the wake of ulnar nerve fail. I've not seen a pair of lobster mitts for years (a guy I was at university with had a pair of the Trek mitts - swore by them, especially in the depths of a Welsh winter)

I'm also thinking that a pair of Sub Zeros might be a good bet for the loftier¹ bits of the Great Divide route ..

¹ - ca. 11,900ft on the top of Indiana Pass, f'rinstance ..

[Wobbly John]

If Aldi gets any of the winter ski mitts in, I'm going to buy you a pair.

They were comfortable for me down to -19. I tolerate cold well, so should be good for you at warmer temps.

These are the ones I find sweaty if used in >0⁰ C - if they are the same as I bought 2 years ago.

[L CC]

Mr Smith tends to be, I hesitate to say it, a bit of a tight arse when it comes to clothing. I'm  much less so. I went for those based on quality, and didn't look at the price till I 'checked out' and then grimaced somewhat.
It was worth it, though.

[Bender]

Cant go wrong with army surplus extreme cold weather mitts. Love mine, toasty warm, breathable and hardwearing.

[marcusjb]

Cant go wrong with army surplus extreme cold weather mitts. Love mine, toasty warm, breathable and hardwearing.

Some of the Hackney boys use something similar - some kind of snipers glove.  They seemed to work very well in some of the colder rides earlier this year.  Sure one of them can provide the actual model etc.