Ok chaps, bit wet lately and I need some good water proof gloves. I have been going round in circles. I see good reviews from magazines and then crap ones from buyers. Does anyone have any they can recommend?

I am looking for 2 pairs: 1 winter and 1 summer.

Cheers

spazz

I’m thinking about getting some grippy palm neoprene kayaking gloves for this rainy weather… Got to be warmer than my current useless options!

I can’t recommend them at their eye-watering RRP, but I bought a pair of Pearl Izumi PRO WxB barrier gloves after a PSA here a few months back for a wallet-pleasing £9.60. Tested their qualities by wearing them like Marigolds to wash apples over a weekend’s cider making and they passed with flying colours.
And on the subject of Marigolds, you can make ghetto waterproof gloves by layering fleece inner, latex/washing-up/surgical gloves and an exterior grip glove (screwfix etc) for less than a tenner.

Marigolds?

I reckon there are loads of waterproof gloves, but they all come with a big hole at the end. Personally I also find condensation always seems to come on quicker and feel worse in gloves than other bits of clothing. Upshot is that they frequently end up a bit wet inside anyway IME.

Castelli do a neoprene glove that is brilliant, waterproof and very warm.

Perfect Curve Glacier Gloves are completely waterproof. But, if you wear them in anything other than baltic conditions, your hands will boil and they’ll fill with sweat.

Waterproof gloves: do they exist?

Nope, they all have a hole in where your arm goes.
AND, the surface area of skin means a lot of sweat.
Add in lots of taping/glueing and the area available to breathe is minuscule.
AND you are resting on water, so forcing it in under large hydrostatic pressure.
AND that taping and gluing is flexing lots, so fails earlier than elsewhere.
Yes you can pay a FORTUNE for properly waterproof gloves, however it is only a matter of time before they fail IME, or one wrong sleeve ‘setting’ and the water pours in.
Personally, I have a few pairs, and expect to swap them through a ride and hang em up to dry at the end.

The appropriate question is “Waterproof gloves, can they work as a concept.”

And the answer is no. Buy something that is warm when wet and doesn’t weigh lots when saturated.

Waterproof gloves = steam bags for your hands.

i have a few sets of sealskinz, and they really are waterproof, apart from the oldest set (3+ years) which get used daily for throwing the dogs toy. er on the large side so you can get silk undergloves in if you need a bit of warmth.

halfords have them at the moment for 25 quid

The only ones I’ve found that come close are Endura Deluge gloves. Tried loads of gloves and these are now my default winter riding ones. So far so good.

I wear neoprene gloves. It depends what you actually require though. Neoprene keep my hands really warm but will make your hands sweat quite bad and the inside will be wet. You have to turn them inside out to dry them and If you forget they will be just as wet the next day. I wear mine for cold duathlons where I’m wading through water in low temperatures then getting on bike and they still keep me warm. They don’t feel wet till you take them off.

I wear Mystic 2mm kitesurf gloves with Amara (synthetic waterproof leather) palms and have found them to be better than the various mtb gloves I have tried over the years. Dual use too as I take them out kitesurfing as well!

+1 with Porter jamie.

I have a pair of Seal skinz I bought years ago. Fully waterproof to the point where you could put your hands under water like a pair of marigolds. Nice long and tight cuffs too.

Gore Windstopper for me, they’ve kept me dry for hours. OK not branded as waterproof unless you go for their Goretex ones starting at £50.

Edit: oh sorry, I’m not a chap so better ignore me. 😉

My Sealskinz winter extreme gloves are very waterproof, they do get sweaty and smelly, but my hands stay warm whatever the weather. They can even be too warm but I suffer from Reynauds so don’t take any chances.

Previously best were some cheap altura neoprene type gloves that acted like a wetsuit, got wet but kept pretty warm. Not seen any for sale for years though! But I’d have another set without question for 3 season use.

Seal Skinz

warmth over waterproofness here.
marmot guide gloves…….fan bloody tastic.

Try some Glacier Perfect Curve or Glacier Premiums, which have a fleece liner. These are window cleaning gloves, so they’re definitely waterproof – 2mm neoprene – but your hands will sweat in them so maybe wear a liner glove as well.

seal skinz here too they do work well but can get a bit hot , they do the job though

Another thumbs up for Seal Skin gloves. Do a good job in the wet/cold

Sealskinz work, but the ones I’ve got are too warm unless it’s close to freezing, get quite sweaty, are bulky and they are hard to take off without pulling the liner inside out.
So, they are a compromise and only really get used when it’s bloody cold and pouring down.

Edit: oh sorry, I’m not a chap so better ignore me.

Doh! sorry 😳

Any thanks everyone else, I might try these seal skinz gloves and see how it goes.

Cheers

I can’t recommend them at their eye-watering RRP, but I bought a pair of Pearl Izumi PRO WxB barrier gloves after a PSA here a few months back for a wallet-pleasing £9.60.

I bought a pair and they’ve been outstanding for daily commutes. Not overly warm but plenty of room for liners, the cuff is plenty long enough to go (and stay) under a jacket sleeve. Coupled with my awesome Aldi Jonny Jacket, I’ve been dry when I get to work (and home) in the recent deluges.

I cant recommend Fox Antifreeze gloves enough for winter riding. They keep you warm whatever the temp and when wet and still give you enough feel on the bars and brakes. One of the best items of winter kit I’ve got and you can pick them up for £30 and they’re worth every penny.

Matt_outandabout waterproof gloves aren’t taped – they use a (large) glove shaped membrane that gets squished up to fit in the glove. There are no seams to tape in the membrane to tape.
Problem with most gloves is that the membrane sits third in line after the face fabric and the insulation layer. That means that water will at some point get through the face fabric and contaminate the insulation material so that it can no longer do it’s job, leading to you feeling cold and wet. It also means the membrane will no longer breath properly due to the saturated insulating material. All in all, much like a waterproof jacket that’s wetted out.

The Pearl Izumi gloves mentioned above are unique in that they are the only brand in Cycling that use OutDry where a glove shaped membrane is bonded directly to the face fabric of the glove, putting it just where it should be, and not where costs dictate. Works really well, but has a cost attached!

Two things:

1. What sillyoldman said about OutDry – consistently the best waterproof glove solution out there for the reasons he says. Gore-Tex gloves allow water to pool between the big, floating waterproof membrane insert and the outer glove. Pearl Izumi is the only cycling brand I know using the technology, but Mountain Hardwear use it in outdoor gloves and some of their gloves also work okay for cycling – their Epic glove with a liner for example.

2. The other thing with Gore-Tex gloves is that the floating lining slips around, so when you grasp a handlebar grip, it can feel like opening a motorcycle throttle as the outer glove is static on the grip and the liner and insulation moves relative to it. Disconcertingly vague.

3. The thing about gloves having a big hole in the top for your hands to go in. Yes, but if you have a well-designed jacket, the cuff will overlap on the outside and stop water running into them.

Anyway, I’ve found OutDry significantly better than anything else I’ve used on a bike and off it. I’m sure it’s not the only viable solution, but it’s the best ‘conventional’ glove, erm, technology I’ve found anyway.

re the sealskinz, err on the slightly larger sizing, because it makes taking them off and putting back on when out much easier – as someone said above you can turn them inside out else which is a pain.

So, like i said i’m moving towards the sealskinz. Some people say they are real good and then some say absolutely rubbish. I guess there us a possibility that some gloves may be a bit faulty, but anyway now i’m rambling.

So, lets talk seal skinz sizing. I’m 22 cm or 9 inch around my knuckles, however my fingers are a little long. middle finger is 9cm thumb about 7cm. Any recommendations for sizing?

also thinking about the deluge what do we think about that?

oh yeah…. its still raining 🙁

If weather is truly horrible I carry a pair of ski gloves in my pack but go out in normal winter/wind proof gloves. And when I can no longer handle the numb fingers I move to the ski gloves. But usually only for breaks to get the feeling back…waterproof gloves have never really worked for me

+1 for sealskinz gloves

-1 for Sealskinz. Mine have the waterproofing qualities of a damp sponge, yet they’re also startlingly effective at making my hands sweaty.

i like my Glacier perfect curves. I use them with an extra liner, which seems to stop them getting (too) sweaty.

Don’t like my Sealskinz – just too hot, even in the worst of winter.

Aldi for me – if you cover the cuffs they’re great.
Not perfect but a better compromise than anything else I’ve tried.

Very true, due to the nature of the seal skins they do make your hands sweat a bit.

I’ve just purchased a pair of Planet X lobster gloves at £14:99 reckoned they’re worth a punt.. I’ve been through sealskinz(fell to bits)/endura strike(liner came out pulling hands out)/ski gloves(good but too thick) done 2hrs this morning in dry and early days but hands were very warm .. It was around 4 degrees with windchill close to 0 ..

Yet to try in wet but they are well put together and cheap as chips 🙂

@plus one,

hey man, thanks for the heads up on those gloves. For that price I will give them a go. How do the sizes look, what is your hand size and which size you go for ?

I may get a couple more pairs of other gloves there too seem to be a bargain!

I use some Altura ones when it’s really bad – no issues, but then my jacket does have long enough sleeves to overlap the gloves.

I’m normally a fan of gore bike wear but there goretex gloves are awful and only suitable for for about an hours riding. After that point i’ve never had a pair of gloves make my hands get so wet – to the extent that its not just feeling a bit wet i can feel the tips of my fingers sloshing about in water and by the time i get home and take them off i turn them upside a stream of water will come out!

I’m a large in all my other gloves and these in large fit well 🙂