Head Outlast ski/snowboard gloves.
- My parents bought them for me a couple Christmases ago for snowmobile riding. They are waterproof and breathable, and technically meant to be skiing/snowboarding gloves.
- The liner is something called "hippora". I can't find any information about it, but I know it works great. The first time I used them was a snowmobiling trip with my dad up near the Macinaw Bridge on an insanely cold day; -1F temp with -20F wind chills. We were bundled well, and the snowmobiles are pretty good at keeping us warm (heat blows back, and the body/shield block the wind), but the one spot that is the most exposed is always the hands hanging out on the handlebars. Most of his machines have heated grips, but that can only do so much. In order to radiate heat all the way through your gloves and hands, the grips have to be so hot that it can get uncomfortably warm on the palms. Anyway, the point is, on that particular frigid day, these gloves kept me warm enough that I was frequently toggling the switch between Lo and Off; never Hi.
- That said, most of the time we're only doing 30-50 mph on the snowmobiles, so the wind chill on the fingers isn't as extreme as it is at highway speeds on a motorcycle. They still kept me comfortable on 70-100 mph blasts, but those are usually no more than a few miles at a time. Long-distance riding at those speeds without heated grips would probably have been pretty cold. Still, either way, I can't think of any time I've ever used these gloves and wished they were warmer. They have never disappointed me. I used them on Ruby when I was commuting 37 miles in sub-30F weather last year, and never felt like I needed something warmer.
- On top of all that, they have a weatherproof zippered pocket on the back of the hand meant for putting in temporary hand warmers. I've never used them for that, but if you need more warmth, there's another option.
- Aside from the warmth, they are by far the absolute most comfortable winter gloves I've ever had. I can't stress that enough. I am not exaggerating; these things are so soft, light, and flexible. They're about as bulky as you'd expect for heavy winter gloves, but they don't feel bulky at all when I'm wearing them. They're very flexible in all the right places so they really don't limit mobility. I can even buckle my helmet with them on.
- As I said, they don't have any type of protective armor at all, but they do at least have some very reflective material on them in some places to enhance your visibility when wearing them.
- The wrists are just a bit long, and just the right width to just fit over the sleeves of my jacket, and they have a drawstring to tighten them down and completely keep the wind out of my sleeves. There's also an adjustable strap on the back of the wrist to keep them snug and secure feeling. To help you put them on, there's a large very sturdy pull-strap on the underside of the wrist. No fighting to get your hands in; just pull them straight on. They come with adjustable wrist straps, too (for skiing), but they're fortunately removeable since I don't need that feature.
- The outside material feels very sturdy (and must be for all the use and abuse I've put them through and they still don't show any damage). They also have a nice thin textured rubber material on the palms, whole thumb, and finger tips that really helps with grip. They even added a pull-tab made of the textured rubber on the drawstrings and wrist straps to make them easy to adjust while wearing them.
- Another nice touch is a decent sized patch of microfiber type material on the top of each thumb that's useful for wiping off goggles and shields without scratching. VERY handy when needed.
- So, I know they're not the ideal choice for motorcycling since they don't offer much for crash protection, but they are just about perfect for winter protection. Since they're what I have, and I only have a 2.5 mile commute, I'll keep using them as long as I'm stuck here in the frozen tundra of Michigan. Unfortunately, since they're at least a couple years old now, I doubt you'll find them anywhere to buy these days. However, I will definitely reccommend the brand. I know when these eventually need to be replaced, Head will be the first brand I shop for to replace them (for general use, that is...I intend to get real winter motorcycle gloves when I can afford to).