Are You Wearing The Right Gloves When You Ride?

It’s critical that your gloves fit correctly while you’re holding on to a handgrip—pay particular attention to whether the thumb is long enough to fit right.

MATERIALS Leather is the number-one choice for versatility, protection, grip, and comfort. Look for carbon fiber or plastic armor in the knuckles and the heel of the palm. Thin gloves give less protection, but better control feel. Strap closures help keep the gloves on your hands in a crash. Deer- or elkskin stays supple after getting wet. Interior seams should be placed where they don't chafe. Going cheap? Hardware-store leather work gloves can be a good value, and if you have heated grips you can use thinner gloves.

VERSATILITY No one glove will do it all—you'll need at least two pair—one for warm weather, one for cold. Shorter gloves may be more comfortable in warm weather; long gauntlet-style gloves overlap jacket sleeves to keep wind out. You only need insulation on the back of the glove and fingers. Fabric panels on the sides of fingers and back add ventilation in warm weather. Choose long, thicker-insulated fabric gloves with leather palms for cold weather, and add a thin liner to increase your glove's warmth.

FIT Your gloves and your jacket need to work together, but your jacket is a bigger investment. Take your jacket with you when you're glove shopping, and make sure the jacket's sleeve and the glove's cuff don't fight against each other.