Three-fingered Gloves - Oxford vs. HG

I've been a fan of Hein Gericke's three-fingered Pathan gloves for a while now, in fact I'm on my third pair. Nothing comes close for comfort and flexibility - normal (winter-weight) gloves always seem very restrictive in comparison. I get them on the large side (XXL) so I can wear inners, and generally that does the job down to around freezing point - below that and I'd rather not be on the bike, thanks very much. The only real downside is that they are not 100% waterproof in a heavy downpour, but they do dry out very quickly, unlike leather gloves. The liner does bed down after a while, and become less insulating, so where a new pair is too hot for summer use, a worn pair can be ideal - especially if you like to carry a spare pair to change out of your leather summer gloves if (when?) the weather turns wet.

Yesterday I called in at the dealer formerly known as George White, now Motorcycle Megastore, in Swindon, who are having a "Clothing Down Sale " (see what they did there?) I spotted some Oxford three-fingered gloves at £20 a pair, which is less than half the price of the HG ones (though HG are doing 30% off everything at the moment). So, purely in the interests of research, I bought a pair. As with the HG ones, XXL seemed to be the best fit in terms of finger length, though with less room inside for an inner.

I tried them out today on a 120-mile jaunt round the Cotswolds on the MT-03, which has no fairing or even handguards. I'd guess the temperature was about 8 deg when I set off, and it can't have been much above freezing by the time I got home after sundown. To be fair, I did make several stops to take photos, but the final, coldest, leg was about 40 miles non-stop.

The verdict? Well, they are somewhat more restrictive than the HG ones, with slightly narrower finger pockets, though still more flexible than any conventional winter gloves I've tried. On the other hand (pun intended) they do have more effective-looking knuckle armour, which may stiffen them up a bit. The lining seems to be a bit thicker and warmer, so my digits stayed toasty all day - which is more than can be said for my toes by the time I got home. So from a warmth point of view I rate them highly.

A couple of niggles. The wrist strap is a bit short and comes out of its anchor, or whatever the proper name for it is, when you put the glove on. It's then fiddly to get it back in with the other, gloved, hand. A small safety pin would cure it, but would also look very naff. And the liner seems to be a completely separate inner fleece glove, only sewn in at the finger tips, so you have to be careful to get your hand in the right place when pulling them on (I can feel a Sooty joke coming on). I could have done without all this fiddling about every time I stopped to take a photo. And I can see the liner being a right pain with wet hands.

As with a lot of Oxford stuff, they claim to be "Bone Dry", but I'll believe that when I've experienced it. However, for £20 I reckon they are good value, even if I do only use them on cold dry days like today.

Great write up.......and it is easy to pretend you are Spock from Star Trek too.

"Set Phasers Tae Malky"

As my new bike doesn't have heated grips (and to be honest I don't plan to fit them as they weren't in all honesty greatly effective especially on the backs of your hands and most importantly finger tips) I've decided to opt for a decent set of gloves, having looked at the 3 finger variety I'm going for either the HG or oxfords.

Bearing in mind that although I don't commute I do stupid things like head off to Wales camping in February, having experienced both, between the two, which ones do you think perform better overall, taking into account waterproofness (if that's a word), heat retention useability?

Over to you Bob, or anyone else

On the whole, I'd go for the HG ones with inners - that way you can take them out if it gets a bit warmer. You could even substitute heated inners if you wanted.

BUT the HG ones aren't 100% waterproof in heavy rain, so if you're going on a long expedition you really need to take a second pair of gloves (not necessarily the same sort). Even if you wear latex gloves underneath, once gloves are wet they are not very pleasant to put back on again. I can't vouch for the waterproofness of the Oxford ones, but bearing in mind you could buy two pairs of those for the price of one pair of HGs - you do the math, as they say.

Just as an update, I wore the Oxfords again last Sunday, for about 100 miles total. Actually, it was split into two - first half early in the day, not much above freezing, much of the journey on motorway/dual carriageway - second half early afternoon, so warmer, on mixed roads including some heavy town traffic. On the first half, they were just about warm enough, while on the second they were almost too warm. Also, as I mentioned before, they are a bit more restrictive than the HGs - your pairs of fingers are held in close proximity, if you see what I mean - which seems to aggravate any tendency to clamminess. So on reflection, for last Sunday's trip, I'd have been better with the HG gloves - with inners on the colder, early leg, and without them later in the day.

Hope that helps rather than confuses!

Bob

Based on a combination of your review and my experience of Oxfords "Bone Dry" claims I think I'll go for the HG gloves, even at £42 not a bank breaker... Plus Mrs Snowcat is fishing for chrissy & birthday pressie ideas so I might get em for free

Oxford Bone-Dry Gloves Update:

Well, I went out for a run on Sunday with a few mates. Biblical rain and standing water everywhere, so, hardened all-weather bikers that we are, we decided it wasn't much fun and called it a day after about 50 miles. So an excellent opportunity to test the bone-dryness (or otherwise) of Mr Oxford's gloves, which I hadn't actually worn for some time, as it's been relatively mild.

No prizes for guessing that they failed the test. Moreover, because of their construction, with a fleecy inner lining attached at the fingertips, so not removable, the inners still haven't dried out after 4 days sitting near to (but not on) a radiator.

So I'll just keep them for dry, cold days, which we may get a few of in the next few weeks.

Since Hein Gericke went bust (for the second time) they seem to have resurfaced as an online-only outfit. I haven't checked if they still do the 3-fingered Pathan gloves, however.

I've now checked the HG website and they do still list the Pathan 3-fingered gloves. In fact, I think they're cheaper now that they were when I bought them in a store.

I was out in them today, and got caught in some unanticipated rain. Although they are by no means fully waterproof enough to stand up to hours of continuous rain, they were fine in the odd half-hour we had today. Just as importantly, they had completely dried out by the time I got home after about 40 miles of dry, though chilly, riding.

I'm thinking of investing in a pair of their waterproof overmitts to complement these gloves.