3 Finger Winter Motorcycle Glove Review
This review is not about a particular brand or model of Winter Glove,
instead it will show you what a difference a 3 finger glove makes to motorcycling.
The review below was written in 2009.
All Hein Gericke stores in the UK were closed down or sold to their competitors in 2012 and 2013.
The Hein Gericke brand (a German company) was purchased by a Chinese company in late 2013 or early 2014.
The Hein Gerick Pathan Evo 3 Finger Glove is made for very cold weather.
A 3 finger design is superior to a 5 finger design
at reducing wind chill between the fingers.
It also has
3M Thinsulate Thermal Insulation
Sheltex (waterproof, windproof, breathable) membrane.
Pittards Leather
3M Scotchlite Reflective Material
And Costs £42.99
The 3 finger design is much better at reducing the cold than 5 finger.
I have used these gloves on a 130 mile ride in cold weather (below 5c and no sun).
The feel and control I had of the bike was very surprisingly good for a winter glove.
I was able to chuck the bike round tight twisty bends and use the throttle, brakes and clutch very well and precisely.
I had no problem filtering through rush hour traffic in grid lock etc.
I also had very good control and feeling from my thumb (very good for starting the bike, using the indicators etc.).
All this meant I could really enjoy riding the bike and push it very hard, much like in summer.
Despite the 3 finger design, the gloves were not perfect at stopping the cold (I do not know any that are).
The ends of my fingers and thumb did get a little cold after around 20 miles, but not excessively cold.
The very surprising thing is, as the miles increased my fingers and thumb did not get any colder (very strange).
I assume this was due to the gloves keeping the rest of my hand warm (including my blood)
and the warm blood flowing to my fingers and thumb stopping them from getting any colder.
I did find reducing my grip slightly on the handle bars reduced the cold in my fingers and thumbs substantially,
which supports this idea.
The areas of my fingers and thumbs that got cold, could well be the parts that heated handle bar grips could reach.
Unfortunately my motorcycle does not have enough power to use heated handle bar grips (it's only a 125cc bike).
But if I had a bike that could I would try them with these gloves.
The other surprising thing with these gloves is they are not too hot to use in warmer weather,
so as the day warms up you can still use them.
I tried them on another ride when it was over 15c and the sun was shining and had no problems.
If I am trying to keep my fingers warm,
I will never use a 5 finger glove again, there is just no way it could compete with a 3 finger.
Of course a 2 finger design would be even warmer,
but some people with powerful braking systems like to brake with only 2 fingers and use the other 2 to steady the handlebars.
Only downsides I have found.
No visor wipe or cloth when it's raining (UK winters have a lot of rain), but the thumb is soft leather that may do something.
Glove is very, very good quality and value,
but I would have preferred if they also made a higher quality 3 finger glove at around the £80 mark.
For more information about hands in winter see Hands
For more information about gloves in general see Gloves
Update
On a 65 mile ride at -1c to -3c,
headwind and no sun the gloves let the ends of my fingers and thumb get uncomfortably cold after 35 miles.
I managed to complete the 65 miles non-stop but I was trying every trick in the book to keep them warm.
I expect under gloves would have improved the situation but not solved it, the cold + wind chill and distance were just too great.
Heated handlebar grips and may be even handlebar muffs were well and truly going through my mind during that ride.
If you have a 125cc bike or lower there may be some handlebar grips that use low enough power to work,
especially if you can switch your headlight off.
You can easily obtain Handlebar muffs at most motorcycle shops and loads of people report they really work well.
But some people have reported that cheap badly designed ones
can let the wind push them against the brake lever slightly resulting in a warped brake disc.