Tour Master Polar Tex Gloves

My hands were starting to get cold in the 35F morning temps and I went back and forth on how to solve the problem. I decided the way to get the most bang for my buck was to get winter riding gloves.

I went to my local shop and purchased the Tour Master Polar Tex gloves for two reasons 1) They looked to be of high quality 2) They were comfortable (and the only pair that would fit my hands)

Current gloves

First impressions:
- Fits like a good pair of winter gloves
-The extra long cuff is nice for keeping wind out of my cuffs and is easier than pulling the sleeves of the shirt underneath my jacket out and over my gloves
-Warm

Temperature impressions: (it has been unseasonably warm after I purchased these so I will add to this when it gets cold again)
-At 45-50 degrees and 80 mph my normal gloves would leave my fingers chilled but not unbearable after 30 minutes, you can definetly feel the wind chill
-At 45-50 degrees the PolarTex made my hands sweat, which is a good sign for colder temps, could not feel wind chill at all

Riding impressions:
-Definetly bulkier than my normal riding glove. Again a comparrison would be the difference between a pair of leather 'driving' gloves versus a 'skiing' glove
-The extra bulk takes a little getting used to and I was slipping the clutch a little too fast at first but after 5 minutes it wasn't a problem.
-Operating the throttle was not a problem but these gloves have a very 'sticky' palm out of the box.
-You are more aware of something on your hand and you may have to move your hands slightly outward on the grips but they do not interfere with anything

Key points:
-When buying a bulkier glove the fit is very important -you don't want too big but you also need to maintain the full range of movement of your fingers
-If you are used to skiing or snowboarding, etc then you shouldn't have any problems immediately moving to winter gloves.

Looking forward to your cold weather review on the gloves :thumbup:

Any more thoughts on the Polar Tex glove? I'm about ready to buy a set to replace my aging and crappy Joe Rocket winter gloves.

I have the Cold-Tex which I find are not warm enough below 40 after 30 minutes. I do have finger tips that get cold easily (probably poor circulation). The BMW Pro Winter gloves are better (what I use now), but same thing - after 30 minutes below 30 my finger tips get cold. They were 3x more expensive. I am curious to try the Olympia gloves at GBM in Arlington. The Weather King, #4100 and #4296 both have 3oz of primaloft which is supposed to be warmer than thinsulate and thermolite. I think in Boston you really do need heated gloves for the winter.

dankatz said:

I am curious to try the Olympia gloves at GBM in Arlington. The Weather King, #4100 and #4296 both have 3oz of primaloft which is supposed to be warmer than thinsulate and thermolite.

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Hey Dan, I have the Olympia gloves with the primaloft (style #1310), they are warm but my hands get sweaty in them, they don't seem to breath very well. I don't have a sweat issue with any of my other gloves.
The UPS man just left me a pair of XXXL Cortech "Scarab" winter gloves last night, as soon as the sun burns the frost off the streets I'll be giving them a try, will let everyone know how they work compared to the Olympias.

Today I bought a pair of those fugly ATV muffs that attach onto the handlebars. Best $24 cold gear ever. Just velcroes on and it blocks ALL wind. I was out today in low 30's and rode around for a good 30 minutes and my hands felt great! The gloves I was wearing were my summer ones. So definitely does the job.

Hey Wildcard, where did you get your ATV muffs and which kind did you get?
I bought these Seirus Therma-Lux Glove Liners with Heat Pocket at REI.com yesterday and will let you guys know how it works in a few days.
Botch: thanks for the info. I didn't get a chance to try the Olympias. I kind of don't really want to change the BMW gloves unless I truly find better gloves. I spend a bunch on them.

It finally got cold enough last week and this week to give a real review of the polar tex gloves gloves. At 40F my hands are fine for a 30 minute commute at 75-80 mph. Same commute at 35F I need to shift my hands around some to change where the wind is hitting so I don't develop cold spots. Same commute at 25F my hands got chilly after 10-15 minutes and I had to constantly open and close my hands to keep them warm.

At 60mph it takes almost twice as long for my fingers to get cold.
Under 40mph they haven't gotten cold yet.

23 degrees going to work today, 20 degrees coming back. 10 miles ride which takes me 20 minutes approximately. Through the city with max speed 50mph. BMW ProWinter Gloves with Thermalux liners and my finger tips still froze by the end - not good. Better than without the liners, but not great. I think for this temp I need to get heated gloves.