oldbikeguy

I’m new to mountain biking, having recently purchased a Specialized Rockhopper. I have been and will be riding mostly single tracks, with the normal assortment of obstacles; roots, rocks, tress, etc.

I have a question about mtb gloves. Full fingered vs short fingered, padded vs not padded, and what are some common brands and types?

Thanks in advance.

born2bahick

I wear full fingered in the winter, and short fingered in the summer. ( I really only wear them when my hands sweat so bad they can't grip the bars, or when they are freezing in the cold weather)
I like a thinly padded glove that doesn't interfere with my grip. As for brands.............

kenhill3

Handlebar grips usually are somewhat soft/padded so padded gloves (ie. for the road) are not really needed. Like B2B I use full fingered in cold weather- with a poly liner inside for insulation if necessary. I think that MTB gloves should be pretty tough to deal with rocks, trees, bike repair etc.. as well as the inevitable kissing of the trail.

For warm weather I like to use Ironclad Framers:

dminor 

Like others have said: half-fingers for summer heat; full-finger for the rest of the time. I don't like padded palms but a double layer for wear is good. Too bad Fox doesn't make the MudPaw cold-weather gloves any more.

I hate half-fingered gloves that the end of the 'cutoff' rolls and balls up under the knuckles; and you never know which ones are going to do that until you've worn 'em.

Fox is probably the most common brand you'll find; SixSixOne offers a lot too and comes with my personal recommendation

jcook1989

I have a pair of full fingered gloves. They protect your hands a little more and thats what gloves are really for. I bought a pair of fox dirtpaws the other day and I really like them so far.

z415

I vote full finger. Only halves I've worn in the trail were my road bike ones (which might be why I don't like 'em), but I prefer fulls. Those Ironclad ones someone posted above look intriguing though - might try them in the future.

Oh, and my mtb fulls have no pads, my road bike ones do so that might be the big difference. I move my hand around a lot more on the trails and the padding is just in the way an puts pressure in weird places.

oldbikeguy

Thanks for the replies, the information has been very helpful.

DirtPedalerB

I use the specialized body geometry comp or whatever the cheapest specialzed are on my MTB.. half finger.. when it gets cold I use some no-name full fingers

Cheeto

I use no name half finger and they work just fine for me.

ca7erham

A bit unorthodox, but they work just fine and have ventilation comparable to any other full fingered gloves that I've ever used (but I've only tried one other pair). Great for riding AND trail maintenance. Get a pair of these for normal MTBing and some halfies for hot weather/road riding.

https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

Edit: I used these for moving firewood with my dad for a week or so and have had a couple of crashes and they seem to be holding up just fine and look new still (after washed).

Cheeto

as far as workgloves for riding,
Mac Tools M-pact2.
they are like motorcross gloves, extream padding, and grip. durable also.

ca7erham

I don't know though, 10 bucks is a purdy good deal (sale at Lowes)

tandemonium

I use Axxo or Fox full fingered gloves with no padding in the summer. They are very comfortable although they will get quite damp. Blackberry branches won't snag and stick into plastic knuckle guards.

BearSquirrel

I skinned palm REALLY hurts and it's impossible to bandage. But ya know what ... skinned fingers also hurt despite your being able to bandage them.

So I'm full fingered all the way. I use Specialized Body Geometry for all my bike/human contact points. They really did the science on these things to make them comfy.

rbrsddn

Pearl Izumi full fingered work for me.