webBikeWorld visitors frequently ask for comparison reviews of various products.
But there are several logistical problems with this type of review.
These are discussed in this section of the Site Info page and this 2008 winter glove review poses yet another issue.
This was initially planned as a single review of the British Motorcycle Gear Thermosport winter gloves.
But webBikeWorld visitors started requesting their favorites, so we added another pair. Then another. And another and another and another…
This all started back in August, believe it or not. The gloves kept arriving, and it’s now December, 90+ days and counting, and the gloves are still coming in. At last count, we have 8 pairs of very nice winter gloves to review.
Wait — make that 9!
So here’s our comparison review of winter/waterproof motorcycle gloves for the 2008-2009 season.
But before we start, here’s my litany of logistical lamentations that conspire to make a seasonal product review like this so difficult.
First, it’s customary to evaluate winter gloves in cold weather, of course. And although Mother Nature has cooperated this year sooner than usual, it still took until November for proper winter glove weather to arrive. Even then, it’s only been about 4-7 C (40-45 F). That’s not winter — more like late summer riding weather to many hard-core webBikeWorlders!
Then each pair of gloves must be evaluated over at least several rides of varying lengths, hopefully by more than one rider. We have to take notes — usually voice notes recorded on a handful of Olympus digital recorders. The notes then must be transcribed and compared.
A meeting or at least a flurry of emails helps to develop a consensus. But so far, all of that is the fun part — next comes the writing, the photographs, the editing…
Nine pair of gloves means 9 complete reviews, and each review takes many hours to complete. So do we publish nothing until all 9 are done so we can compare the lot? Ooops — wait a sec: that means one more article, the 10th, summarizing, contrasting and comparing. And don’t forget the charts.
Tough stuff, this. As the Editor, this 2008-2009 Winter Waterproof Glove extravaganza has been hanging over my head now for too long, and I need to do something and get on to the rest of the cool moto goodies that are piling up, waiting for evals before the year expires so we can get them in to the “Best Motorcycle Products of 2008” awards.
Oh, and by the way, there’s one more thing: sometimes the manufacturers don’t release their new winter gloves until very late in the calendar year.
This means that by the time the gloves arrive and suitable cold weather is here and the evaluation process is in gear and by time the articles are written, most motorcyclists will have long ago forked over their hard-earned cash for their 2008 winter gloves and the reviews are too late to help make the decision.
Yikes! Can you see why comparison articles like this are so difficult? Of course, if we wanted to simply take a couple of photos and list a few specs like they do in the print magazine “reviews”, no problem. But surely you expect more than that?
So to speed things along, I say forget about trying to finish and publish all 9 articles at once along with a comparison summary. At this point, if I tried that, I’d be tied to my keyboard until it was time for mesh.
Instead, let’s take a one-at-a-time look at a selection of 2008-2009 winter motorcycle gloves and then I’ll hopefully still have enough motivation at the end to write up some type of comparison. It’s always hard to get started on a project like this, but now that we have it set up and developed a draft ratings chart (see below), the rest should come easier and quicker.
So expect to see a series of articles spread out over the next few weeks on the following gloves, and then check back for a summary. We’ll start with the BMG Thermosport gloves and do the rest in random order; here they are listed alphabetically.
Ride safe,
The Editor.
| 2008-2009 Winter Waterproof Gloves: wBW Reviews | 2008 List/Sale Price |
|---|---|
| Alpinestars Storm Rider Gore-Tex Gloves | $179.95 |
| British Motorcycle Gear Thermosport Gloves | $79.95 |
| Fieldsheer Aqua Sport Gloves | $44.95/$40.99 |
| Held Freezer Gloves | £69.50/~$100.00 |
| Olympia 4650 Ultima 1 Gloves | $74.95/$67.99 |
| Rev’it Kelvin H20 Gloves (2009 Model) | $149.99 |
| Rev’it Tempest H20 Gloves (2009 Model) | $179.99 |
| FirstGear “Carbon” Heated Gloves | $169.99/$152.99 |
| Warmthru Battery Heated Gloves (updated version of the Warmthru battery gloves we reviewed in 2006). | £115.98 |
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