TimothyH

I'm looking for a glove which has a pocket for chemical hand warmers but isn't too bulky.

Gloves with pockets for chemical hand warmers tend to be deep winter gauntlet style, very bulky and cumbersome on the bike. I'm looking for something which lends itself to shifting and braking a little easier than a gauntlet style but with a hand warmer pocket.

I'm not interested in mittens, three finger, lobster claw, pogies or electric gloves. Thanks anyway.

I've looked at Swany and Gordini for general purpose winter gloves but again, everything with chemical hand warmer pockets are too bulky and I already have Swany gauntlet style gloves. I've looked at the typical cycling manufacturers and retailers but nothing with hand warmer pockets stand out.


-Tim-

fietsbob

crickets?

since no one is offering their recommended stores ,

I suggest ; Go DIY.


1), Get a Glove you like 2) have a pocket sewn in..



...

TimothyH

I'd like to see if there is an off the shelf solution before I resort to asking a tailor to cut into an expensive pair of gloves.

But your point is well taken. Thanks.


-Tim-

rumrunn6

curious about those traditional units. I'm guessing the theory is, warm the back of a hand & the fingers will stay warm?

GrainBrain

This might not be a totally bad idea imo. I guess for me I'm "blessed" to have hot hands.

Got some details in mind? Ride temps, wind speeds? Most importantly I think is do you want to err on the too hot or too cold side when wearing the warmers? Those warmers work via a chemical reaction with the air, if you're at a fast pace those suckers could go to meltdown hot quickly without controlling air flow to them!

What area of the hands are you wanting to warm?

I'm interested because I want to road bike more this winter, and that gets me up to around 16-20mph and an aero mindset. Compare to last year where I rode the mtb so speeds were from 6-14mph, less aero consideration so bar mitts worked well.

Have you thought about using something like bar mitts? I know they block use of the drops so that's a deal breaker for me. I wonder if there is a solution for wind breaking on the drops?

TimothyH

^^ I'll try to answer...

Right now I am using an older version of the Swany X-Change glove for the coldest rides here in North Georgia.

Temps in the high 20's is not uncommon. The coldest ride was 3 hours at 17°F and I did several a couple of metric distance rides in the high 20's. Wind depends on how fast the bike is going, I guess.

The Swany gloves are gauntlet style and have a warmer pocket. Alone they are usually enough but chemical warmers are used for long rides further from home just in case, and because they are just so toasty. It feels great and is all anyone here will ever need.

Working shifter and brakes is OK but I'm just curious if there is something a bit less bulky and certainly not gauntlet style. Something without a liner glove but with good insulation + a warmer pocket would be enough for North Georgia. I like the Swany X-Cursion Underglove but it looks almost as bulky as the X-Change glove.

Bar mitts aren't going to work for my drop bar bikes. I think there are "dual position drop bar pogies" and such. Overkill for GA but probably not for IA.

Anyway, this thread was just a shot in the dark. I'm happy with the larger Swany gloves. Just always looking for something better.


-Tim-

rumrunn6

mentioning time, temperature & distance from home is important. those factors def. add to the equation! last Saturday, at my turnaround, I was so happy go get inside, warm my feet, change into dry socks & add toe warmers for the 2+ hrs second half of my day on the bike. kinda cozy & safe despite the distance from home. 3 hours at 17°F is impressive indeed. I sure did like my bar mitts last year. so fun using thin gloves on weird cold days. even squeezed my lobster gloves into the bar mitts for the blizzard ride. downright bullet proof. good luck with your quest!

fietsbob

Pogies .. on the bars, gloves don't have to be as thick, then

wear 2 pair thin gloves so the chemical heat packet is not against your skin.

TimothyH

This is actually on my list to try if I can't find an off the shelf solution.


-Tim-

Bikewolf

Interesting tip! May try with a glove and liner.

Spoonrobot 

Yes, you can also place a warmer at the arteries in the wrist for an alternate or additional location.

rumrunn6

I should try this the next time I'm raking the roof in a blizzard

TimothyH

Here is what I've come up with...

Outdoor Research Versaliner gloves have a zippered pocket for chemical hand warmers and are very sleek. They are packaged with outer shell gloves made from Pertex which is supposed to be pretty good but the feel approximates plastic sandwich bags and so the shells won't be used.



Man***** Silkweight Windstop gloves will be used as the shell. These were sized up so that the liners fit. Gore Windstopper should be pretty good but then again, they could smother the chemical hand warmers. Silicone print on the palms and fingers is nice and grippy.



The combined feel is far less bulky than the Swany gauntlet style gloves I'm using now.



Performance of the system in the cold remains to be seen and the real test is yet to come. I've no doubt that heavy gauntlet style gloves will continue to be used in extreme cold. Most of my riding above freezing and if these work for long rides in the 30's then I'll be happy.

Who knows? With chemical hand warmers they could be good down way below freezing, or the system could be a complete fail in which case I'll give them away. Time and temperature will tell.


-Tim-

rumrunn6

thanks for innovating & sharing. will definitely be following due to my seemingly never ending glove addiction

TimothyH

I wore this today. No chemical warmers were used.

The gloves have excellent feel on the bar and levers, not bulky at all.

It was 35°F at ride start and the tips of my index and middle finger were uncomfortably cold within fifteen minutes. It warmed up to the mid 40's during the day and the gloves worked excellent above 40°F.

I would not want to use these without chemical warmers below freezing. The test with chemical warmers is still to come.


-Tim-

GrainBrain

Awesome work Tim. I have found that temperatures right around freezing have been challenging to compensate for. I had the same problem a few nights back with my fingertips getting cold at 34°f, but my other gear would've been too warm.

Look forward to your comments with the warmers.

Marcus_Ti

Hopefully for your use the chem packs work, I wonder about as those chem packs are on your hand and not your fingers...Personally, I've never found conventional 5-finger gloves to work below 35-40F on the bike on their own with my skinny fingers, even for short 30 minute commutes. Not even nicer riding-specific ones like Pearls. Where as even a pair of decent autumn weight 5-finger gloves in cheap lobster claws will keep my hands nice and warm down into the 10F ambient range (no chem warmer).

TimothyH

Well, I used the glove system at 28° on Sunday with different results. It was nice and warm from the ride start.

I'm not sure what the difference was other than temperature.

I'm going to keep using them and see what happens.