djb

Good morning waddo, here in Montreal I commute year round, so ride regularly in 0 c weather, and down to maybe -10c, -15c. Basically I use the same layers as when I cross country ski at the same temps, so my system is neither special nor overly expensive, and tried and true over decades.

layers, pretty simple, but the key part is a pair of shell overmitts. Being a shell, they don't have insulation, but they are long and go up to nearly half to my elbow, and have an easy draw elastic to bring tighter. Made for snow stuff, great as no snow gets into your sleeves, and stops cold air going up sleeves also.
Being a shell, they are light, fold compact, so are the essential cold weather bit of kit to slip over whatever layers that are appropriate to the temps.

I've had mine for probably 25 years. They are oversized, so I can fit puffy mitts inside and with thin polypro type gloves on, can be out at -30c and have warm hands--and I'm a skinny old guy who gets cold easy.
Mine are goretex, so breathe a bit, not waterproof , especially after a quarter of a century, but boy do they make the difference for warm hands in cold winter activities.

main attraction is compactness, lightness, and flexibility for changing layers underneath for specific temps--choice of layering is key, and allows for cheap various layers. Being a Brit, I don't know what real winter experience you have, but layering for YOUR comfort is key, and wind blocking.
Here in Canada, shell mitts are sold, maybe not in Japan, maybe only in mountaineering stuff, which will be probably overkill in thicknesses and price.

look into them, again, don't need to be overly thick or insulated.

good luck

JohnJ80

I was just going to write the same thing. I live in Minnesota and I ride all year unless the temp goes below -5F/-21C; in other words, I ride in real cold like I think you do too.

Until it's well below freezing, I use a layer system for my gloves too with a top of a shell glove like you mention. I also use some insulated overmitts that I can take off and put in a jersey or jacket pocket. They work great and largely remove the need for Pogies.

I also have a set of pogies for my fat bike and for my road bike. The only problem with them is that they really constrain your hand position which can lead to fatigue. Yes, they do work, but they are not optimal. They also can get a little scary if you need to get your hand inside fast to get to the brake levers. You have to be very careful with them.

The over-mitt does all of that and works well. If it's really cold, I take a heat pack and put it in my gloves at the underside of the wrist where the blood vessels are. That makes a huge difference too.

There are a number of companies that make overmitts - you typically find them from mountaineering companies. Black Diamond has some, then there are these from up here in Minnesota. I also have a set from C.A.M.P.

Here are the insulated ones I use these too from Level Gloves that are totally the bomb. With these, you never need pogies.

I have not ever been able to make even the most serious winter gloves work all by themselves. We ride in real cold here, and when you couple that with continuous high wind on the same part of your hands for extended periods, no single layer glove is going to solve that problem. You need to trap a layer of air outside the glove (i.e. take away the wind) or you will eventually wind up with cold hands. I've spent a fortune to learn that lesson despite being a ski patroller used to long periods of time out in the cold. Being on a bike is a bit unique because your hands are *always* 100% of the time in high wind unlike almost any other application.

robow

Is anyone using brifters and wearing mittens, and finds it easy to shift ? I haven't been able to pull that off easily, hence why I wear gloves, hence why my fingers freeze.

JohnJ80

Yes. I do it all the time with no problem. SRAM (single paddle) is easier than Shimano (double paddle). If that's a problem, you can wear very light gloves and use Bar Mitts for drop bars and stay very warm with lighter gloves (with the issues that are inherent in pogies).

J.

djb

i have used my overmitts with my shimano brifters, it works ok, but not really great, so I certainly get your experience. When its cold enough for mitts , overmitts, I'm riding other bikes with trigger shifters pretty much.