I have been using these fine-looking hand-shoes for a while now. I’ve done maybe 2000kms with them. Most of those kilometres have been brisk, and there was even a mad dash to Canberra from Sydney and back where it rained relentlessly.
The gloves were dry on the way down, but finally started letting the water through on the way back. But I’m thinking three hours of dry-time is pretty good. I know it says they are waterproof on the box. But nothing is waterproof.
So the age-old battle against frozen hands was fought yet again.
Not every bike I ride has heated hand-grips.
So I do seek a cold-weather glove that doesn’t leave me feeling like I have inserted my hand into a dead cat.
It’s important to have a glove that lets you operate the controls and buttons of your bike, but still offers you enough warmth so that your hands actually work.
And in these modern times, it’s obviously important for gloves to be compatible with touch-screens on Smartphones and Garmins. Presumably so that when your phone or GPS is mounted on your bike, you can poke at it.
That’s not important to me, but it may well be important to you, so I’m letting you know these new mittens from Ixon are touch-screen friendly.
I liked these gloves, primarily because they looked very cool and worked well in cold weather, while still giving me enough feel so I could press buttons that needed to be pressed on the switchblocks.
I struggled to get the cuff of the glove over thicker-sleeved jackets, so that’s something you might want to consider. The upside is that it was easy to get the glove cuff inside the jacket sleeve. Ever wonder why water will flow down your jacket sleeve and into your glove? Science, bitches.
I like the Ixon feature of putting a slider on the palm of the glove. It doesn’t get in the way of the throttle and experience has shown me that palm-sliders are a good thing when it goes pear-shaped.
The palm is re-enforced with ‘Chamude’. When I Googled this, I discovered it’s pseudo-leather. Like the old Naugahyde, but newer. The rest of the glove is a combo of well-stitched leather and textile, which is all CE-certified.
The knuckle protectors did not chew into my knuckles, which was handy, and there’s apparently aluminium lining the back of the glove for very good insulation.
I reckon they would be ideal cold weather glove if you did have heated grips. Your palms would be warmed by the grip and the backs of your hands would be insulated by the aluminium.
They fasten with a Velcro strap on the inside bottom of the wrist, and the strap is wide at the end so it won’t pull through the plastic loop.
A well-made glove, that looks cool. A man can ask no more than that.
FAQs
How warm are they really? They’re pretty good. They are not ice-age beast-gloves, but then a lot depends on your personal health issues. How good is the circulation at your extremities? Do you drink enough water to help your blood flow more efficiently? If your circulatory system is shit, then your hands will always be cold, no matter what. Exercise more. Eat well.
Can you unzip your jacket with them on? Depends on the size of your zip-toggle. You would struggle getting dressed with them on. So put them on last.
Which one should I put on first? The first one you pick up. Unless you believe in Satan. Then it’s the left one. Always.
HOW MUCH? $149.95
WHERE CAN I GET THEM? Contact Ficeda at www.ficeda.co.au and they will tell you who stocks them.
Words by Boris Mihailovic