Winter Motorcycle Gloves: Product Review

Marilyn Elmore Bragg is a motorcycle rider, photographer, and writer who occasionally writes for Olympia Gloves.

She was given a pair of Ladies Olympia Aventador gloves (Style 4295) to road test this winter.

After wearing them for about 300 miles, here’s her review

Review: Olympia Ladies Aventador Gloves (Style 4295) 

by Marilyn Elmore Bragg

I live in the foothills of North East Tennessee.

We don’t see many days when our daytime temps fall into the teens or single digits.  It happens, but not for weeks on end.

For the most part we are able to enjoy our daytime winter temps in the low 30’s or warmer.

When I ride in winter, it’s to make a store run, or to alleviate cabin fever.  I’m not the kind of gal who can sit all winter without a good run on the motorcycle. As long as the engine will roll over and the icy weather has cleared from the roads, I’m riding.

I ride a little 1200 Sportster.
I don’t ride with a windshield or fairing, so my hands are exposed to the elements and bite of the wind.

During “hard winter” I need a well designed and manufactured glove for my rides.

So far, I’ve worn the Aventador gloves in temps ranging from 25 degrees F, up to 41 degrees.  I’ve put on about 300 miles with them, and I know I’ve tested their abilities quite hard in those miles.

My thoughts on the performance of the Olympia Aventador Glove:

The first test was the coldest @ 25 degrees F. I made a run to the dollar store, 9 miles away. In lesser gloves, the ride would have my fingertips buzzing with the cold, if not outright hurting.

My digits managed relatively well in the Aventador. The left hand, (which always gets colder than the right because of its constant contact with the clutch lever), did begin to feel a chill by the end of each 9 mile journey, but it was a hint of chill, not outright, bone fracturing cold. This fact alone is the best feature I found at the low end of these gloves temp range.

Another ride took me to “The Snake”. That’s SR-421 between Bristol and Mountain City, TN. I put a little over 225 miles, with the temps hovering around 36 degrees. The Snake is a twisty road that requires concentration and a bit of skill. If you have numb or burning cold hands, the ride could find you at the bottom of a ravine.

Wearing a pair of gloves that keep your hands warm, close to the bars without clumsiness, and dry are what makes for a fun and productive ride.  My ride was all of these good things and more.

Here’s what I liked about them:

• Rated for cold, I found at 25 degrees, my fingertips stayed warm enough that I wasn’t in pain, and while I wasn’t feeling “mitten warm”, I did enjoy the ride.
• On a long ride, the gloves performed better than expected. The curved fingers did their job in relieving hand fatigue. The soft liner stayed where it was supposed to. It didn’t try to come out with my fingers when I took the gloves off to refuel and have a cup of coffee.
• I encountered heavy fog for most of a ride. The outer shell of the gloves didn’t feel saturated or damp. The goggle wiper came in handy too.
• Seams can be an issue on a long ride. So far, the seams on these Aventador gloves haven’t caused any chaffing or discomfort. Time will tell on longer rides, but for now these seams rock! No air/water leakage, smooth comfort reigns inside the glove.
• I like the way Olympia designed the fingertips to wrap over the tip, then sewn with the seam on top of the finger just beyond the nail bed. Warm design. It’s comfortable too. No clumpy seams in the fingertips to restrict feeling there. I don’t always want to take off my gloves to pick up an item I may have dropped.
• The palms are made from the softest leather I’ve encountered in a winter glove. Sewn with reinforced leather and stitching in the high wear areas, yet they feel smooth and comfortable from within.

One suggested improvement:

• Gauntlets. Sometimes I like them, most times I don’t. The gauntlet on these gloves is OK. I like that they are not heavy material. I also like the draw string and the little locking barrel that holds the draw “closed”. I wish the gauntlet was a tad longer. My outstretched arms tend to pull the gauntlet further away and separate from the sleeve. Cold air up the jacket arms are the end result.

Gone are the days when we layer multiple gloves on our hands for warmth. Now our gloves incorporate layering with technology, and are an amazing feat of workmanship, innovation and design. 

Materials like Gore-Tex and Primaloft insulation win the day.  Less hand fatigue from bulk, better warmth, great abilities to feel the connection between you and the bike are what makes the ride today a better “fit”.

In short, this pair of Ladies Aventador gloves are the best pair of winter motorcycle gloves I’ve ever owned.

See you on the road!

Photo credit: Marilyn Elmore

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A note about Olympia Road Testers: We sometimes ask riders to test our gloves under normal riding conditions, and give us feedback.  We then reprint their unedited feedback here.

Here’s why we publish these first-hand reviews:

     –  Olympia doesn’t get a lot of reviews from magazine editors, because we don’t advertise in magazines.

     –  We believe it’s important to give riders an idea of how our gloves perform in everyday conditions.

     –  Product reviews on ecommerce sites don’t tend to be as in depth.