Gloves

I've been through a lot of gloves over the years and my general preference is to wear thin gloves all year around and just tough it out (previous bike with no hot grips) or turn up the grips when the weather goes to custard. The main reason for this is the bulky and clumsy feel that winter weight gloves give.

My current pair of Alpinstars are pretty comfortable and survived my little woopsie on the VTR pretty well. They pretty much get used in all weathers...until now.

While down South for the TT2000, Brian and I were checking out the glove selection at Hampton Honda as Brian's gloves had let him down in the wet on the way down the coast. The sales guy showed us a set of Strada gloves and at $100 each we both ended up grabbing a pair.

Later on in the trip we had to put up with some real West Coast rain when we rode to Milford Sound and back. The gloves really impressed us on this trip as they did keep us warm and dry in really wet conditions. At the end of the day I was just starting to feel a slight dampness - I think that the rain was just starting to penetrate the finger tips but that most of the moisture came from taking the gloves off and putting them back on with wet hands after photo stops etc.

Since we've been back I haven't worn them much but I did use them again on Sunday when we riding in very frosty conditions. Initially I also used my hot grips on about 50% but as it got a little warmer (it never would have got over 10 degrees) the grips were switched off and my hands actually got a bit sweaty. A short stint in my thinner gloves (without hot grips) and I was changing back to the Stradas for the trip home.

Overall though, I'm really pleased with the gloves - they were a third of the price of the Goretex Alpinestars I was offered when I bought my jacket and pants and they perform very well in crappy weather. I also have got used to the bulk of them and at this time of the year I'll either be wearing them of they'll be coming along for the ride - just in case.