Gloves or mittens for BELOW freezing

What gloves or mittens do you wear on the bike when it is below freezing? I was disappointed in my expensive gore-tex gloves and expensive REI mitten shells. They are only good to right around freezing. Below that and it gets painful. The mitts don't give me extra degrees, they give me an extra couple minutes before the pain kicks in.

I experienced frostbite nearly 15 years ago (due to biking short distances with inadequate gloves), and it took several years before my fingers didn't swell up and hurt in the slightest cold. I hope to find a glove solution before that happens again

I found several threads about gloves and cold weather but I'm not interested unless the definition of cold weather extends to 10F. I'm sure residents of California have good advice on many topics but probably not on this one.

I don't care about too much agility. When I'm biking in that kind of weather I'm just not interested in shifting.

I too get very cold fingers and toes and am really touchy about having what I need for this. I headed right for the skiing department at REI two years ago and got the warmest waterproof gloves I could find there. And I got them a size big so I could put liner gloves underneath--having two layers of gloves really helps. Bike gloves, even those described as cold weather gloves, just have not been warm enough for an extremities wuss like me. Actually, what I did was, I declared a cold weather REI research day. That was my sole project there that day. First I asked the skiiing staff about the warmest gloves they had, and then marched upstairs to the sock department and asked what their alltime warmest socks were (smartwool mountaineering socks).

I think the best bet is to layer several pairs of gloves.
1) Start with maybe a 100% merino, alpaca, or cashmere glove liner. My fave is an old pair of real cashmere women's gloves.
2) Then maybe a fuzzy polar fleece glove and/or a Gortex winter glove.
3)Then a loose flexible men's ski glove with windstopper shell and Thinsulate. (I like the Manzilla brand gloves for this)

4)Then perhaps lobster mitts or loose mittens over all that if you still need more. This may be hard to fit over everything.

Obviously, you have to have larger/looser gloves to go over the inner gloves.

In the 10's, for walking/snowshoeing for a couple of hours, I find wearing the first 3 layers I mention is sufficient.
I don't think there is any one single glove that will keep my fingers warm under 10F...they hype themselves plenty but just can't do it for me...god knows I've tried enough of them. They do work if I layer them though. I enjoy experimenting with various combinations of my gloves for varied conditions.

This is just my own experience.

My Pearl Izumi Amfib Lobster Gloves have been great in riding down in the lower 20s for me. Past that, I tend not to ride.

Wool glove liners are great.
when it gets really cold nothing beats heatpacks! You can even find rechargable chemical ones, though they tend to not get as hot as the single use kind. One of my teammates even has battery powered heated gloves (bad reynauds).

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Originally Posted by Melalvai

I'm sure residents of California have good advice on many topics but probably not on this one.

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Cuz it never snows in Tahoe or Plumas County or etc? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Since someone in California recommended these, you probably won't even want to look. Even come in sizies so you could use winter gloves inside.
http://barmitts.com/index.php

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Originally Posted by SadieKate

Cuz it never snows in Tahoe or Plumas County or etc? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Since someone in California recommended these, you probably won't even want to look. Even come in sizies so you could use winter gloves inside.
http://barmitts.com/index.php

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Those are cool! In the figurative sense, of course...Only drawback would be limited hand movement on the bars, I guess. But still. What a cool idea.

Yeah, but someone from California recommended them . . .

I wear these with varying weight glove liners, usually either silkweight or really cheap midweight polypro, but I have layered heavier powerstretch liners under them too.

I love these gloves. They are really flexible and not bulky, although they are insulated and wind/waterproof, and the leather palms are grippy. The wrist closure works nicely under or over a variety of layering systems.

I've done short commutes down to under 10 degrees (but over 0!) in these with liners. I also have pretty good circulation in my extremities though.

I use PI Lobster gloves down to about -12 C/10F. The kicker is keeping the rest of your body warm enough without sweating. If you start to feel chilly it's your hands and feet that go first.

Layer one: Smartwool Glove Liners
Layer two: Therma-Luxe Glove liners (REI carries them - brand name starts w/an "s" - can't remember now, but they have a gold lame vibe going on ;))
Chemical Hand Warmer
Top layer: AmFib Lobster Claw Gloves

I'm an endurance rider and this combo keeps me decently comfortable for 2-3 hours in temps above 20 or so. Like Tulip, I'm loathe to go out in temps below 20.

I love my new Louis Garneau WindTex lobster gloves. They are lightly lined with warm fleece, but also super-super windproof. So far I have trained and raced with them at temps as low as 18F ... comfortably. I'm planning to add a liner glove and/or hand warmers if the temperatures get closer to 0F.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll think about it and let you know what I try. I want to make a decision pretty quick because it is sure not getting warmer.

I love my merino wool undershirt, although I'm slightly traumatized by owning something labeled "undershirt" that cost $70! This undershirt plus a light windbreaker is all I have needed to wear on top even on the coldest days. (If rain threatens I wear my new goretex rain jacket, which is actually too warm. However, since I got it, it hasn't rained, leading me to believe that goretex doesn't keep rain off the wearer, it keeps rain off the ENTIRE CITY!)

Anyway, I've enjoyed the shirt so much I'm inclined toward merino wool glove liners. By the way, the gloves I was disappointed in are Phantom Gloves from Gore. They are not Goretex material but they are the same company.

SadieKate, I honestly thought California was warmer because it's on the coast. I didn't know parts of it get snow. Your correction of my misconception could have contained less ridicule.

What? You need a smilie face? Maine is on the coast also.

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

There. I maxed out the smilie limit. That better? ;)

Melalvai,
Some of us who have Goretex rain jackets find them to be too sweaty and non-breathable. If you sweat and then get cold, it's not good.
I tend to wear several merino layers to keep warm, and maybe a windresistant VEST on top, so my arms can breathe.

Just remember if you layer gloves, get the outer ones in larger sizes, maybe even men's sizes. The extra air layers in between gloves help keep your hands even warmer. Same with wool socks- too tightly packed and they hinder circulation and keep you less warm because of less air/insulation layers.

Those BarMitts might be good for some people and probably very warm....but I'd be creeped out by the feeling of not being able to get my hands out to the side instantly for signaling and other possible emergencies. I can't imagine them in a busy traffic environment. Maybe it's just a psychological thing, but still. :(

Personally, I never pay much attention to winter clothing advice from Californians either. ;) :D

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Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

Personally, I never pay much attention to winter clothing advice from Californians either. ;) :D

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Neither did the Donner Party. :rolleyes::D

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Originally Posted by SadieKate

Neither did the Donner Party. :rolleyes::D

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Well I could always eat my gloves I suppose. Or a Californian cyclist or two. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by SadieKate

What? You need a smilie face? Maine is on the coast also.

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I've lived on both balmy coasts - CA and ME. ME tended to freeze the nose hairs. CA has in the past frozen my water bottles while riding.

Some of us don't live in CA for the beaches. :rolleyes:

"CA has in the past frozen my water bottles while riding."

Oh! I've had that happen as well! However, my PI AmFib gloves kept my fingers toasty (thanks Santa!). :D

What people in the tiny eastern states don't seem to realize is California is more than beaches, which if you're in the north are very likely to be foggy. There are alpine mountains to lose flat lander cyclists in, deserts (Hello Mojave!), and the central valley that probably provides a good amount of the produce we all eat. The climate ranges from arid to subarctic, temperatures have been recorded from minus 45° to 134° F. Annual rainfall has exceeded 161 inches in some places, while other points have gone for more than a year with no measurable rain. There is lots of snow for playing in the Sierras, providing the roads can stay open. It is not uncommon for them to be closed due to snow.

And that my doubting Thomases is your California geography and climate lesson for the day.

Ok, ok- we are now all well-versed in California geography and climate. Having been born in Yorba Linda and lived in the OC, many of us can attest for the many climatological differences in that state. Enough already. :rolleyes: ;) It's like the generalization that all people in Oklahoma live on farms and have cows and play cowboys and "indians" out on the Plains. Most people just assume that California is warm because lots of it usually is (although you're now getting pounded with strange snow and such- so weird).

I'm glad you started this thread, Melalvai, because I was wondering the same thing. I just can't keep my toes and hands warm no matter how much great advice I get on this topic from these wonderfully wise women here on the board. I keep trying new combinations, hoping I can find something to keep the digits somewhat warm. No luck yet, but I have hopes for warm toesies and fingers... some day.