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Hi everyone,
I hate to write a review when I just received these gloves and have NOT done any field testing, but I feel that they deserve at least a simple first impression to help potential buyers.
Why I bought them: I was looking for a cold weather glove to keep my hands warm and dry during winter mtb rides and long winter training rides on my triathlon bike in 30-50F degree weather. Mainly was looking some something non-bulky (i.e. not a fat-fingered insulated glove) with good warmth and wind/waterproof characteristics.
First impression: I think I found great winter riding gloves that are very well constructed, NOT bulky or padded looking, and provide a soft interior with rugged exterior. Seriously, it's a comfortable, semi-form fitting glove that is easy to take on/off.
Fit: I am 5'11" 160lb and wear only Medium size Pearl Izumi clothing and even Medium size Pearl Izumi fingerless biking gloves. AFTER SOME INTERNAL DEBATE, I BOUGHT A SIZE LARGE IN THIS GLOVE. (using a standard ruler, from the tip of my middle finger to the base of my palm directly where my wrist bends is 7.5 inches I went to REI thinking that I was a Medium in all things Pearl only to find out that a size Medium in this glove doesn't leave any extra room. Here's what I mean... Where you run into trouble is the area between the thumb and forefinger. If you buy smaller the glove will be tight in this area and will not fully sit in the "U" portion connecting the thumb and forefinger. On the other hand, the finger length of the Medium fits me to a tee with no wiggle room. I don't kie this for 2 reasons. One is that when you are shifting and griping your hands around the handlebars your fingers firmly press into the tips of the gloves and can be a little too tight. Also, since these gloves are not heavily insulated, there's no way I could fit a glover liner into the Medium size if the weather turned colder. I wanted the option for this so I pcked the Large. With a super thin glove liner on, the Large fits exactly like the Medium. I goes to show that the Large size is only slightly bigger. The rest of the fingers (mainly the thumb) are only MARGINALLY longer at the tips and I did not notice any more "bagginess" throughout the material in the palm or around the fingers. Usually a step up in glove sizes leaves me swimming in the finger tips and wrist cuff, but that is NOT the case with stepping up a size in these Pearls.
Form: As a triathlete I hate all things non-form fitting or "loose". With that being said, these gloves are a happy median between bulky and skin tight. This may be a good or bad thing depending on how well they actually keep my hands warm though once I can test them. Overall the exterior provides excellent dexterity and a SLIGHTY padded look... please do not read this as a fluffy or puffy look, far from it. The OuterDry exterior is a nice matte black and semi textured material giving the impression of a water barrier. The graphics are not flashy but very stylish. The seams look very tight and the overall length of the cuff is very generous. The cuff enclosure is a medium duty Velcro strap with a rubber textured tab which is easy to grab with the other glove on. It will snug down pretty tight too. I have to actually unhook the strap completely to get the glove on. So I appreciate the "tightness" of the cuff right out the gate in case I forget to strap it down. The exterior palm of the glove seems extremely durable and grippy for both road and mtb riding... again it's the quality you come to expect from Pearl Izumi. On the inside, the glove has a nice warm/soft fleece lining and I can't detect any bulges of material around the stitches or seams at the finger tips or around the fingers... feels seamless.
Function: Well I did a couple "scientific" tests. The waterproof test was performed under my kitchen faucet for 2min. I ran water over the palm, backside, and fingers (seams too) and felt no leaks or moisture. The water seemed to bead off rather than saturate the material. The windproof test involved me putting my mouth over the exterior of the glove and blowing with gale force tonsil winds. (come on, we are all friends here, you know you have done this to test out gloves before I blew over the palm, backside, and finger seams and couldn't detect any wind seeping through. Unfortunately, the weather here is still in the mid 60F and dry. The real tests will come later, but I am confident that a "minimalist" glove such as this will perform outstanding on 50mi rides at 20mph in 30-50F weather.
Overall: The Pro Barrier WxB glove seems to be the glove to transition from fall to winter riding. This will also be my new everyday winter glove for hiking and light snow shoveling given its water proof nature. For a cool weather glove I will turn to my Pearl Izumi PRO Soft Shell Lite, for a cold weather non-bulky glove for wet and windy days I hope to use this PRO Barrier WxB glove, and for the deepest freeze days I will use the PRO Soft Shell WxB 3x1 Glove.
Overwhelmed with the fact that I own 3 pairs of Pearl Gloves, there is a 4th pair I am considering: PRO Soft Shell glove. This glove has Primaloft Insulation which the PRO Barrier WxB glove does not mention in its description. Since I have not held the PRO Soft Shell, I can't comment on the greater insulation as a possible trade off to the PRO Barrier WxB's superior waterproof capabilities. There's a good possibility that I might need the extra insulation that the PRO Soft Shell glove offers during those sub-30F degree rides. In that case I might just wear the bulkier PRO Barrier WxB 3x1's without the thin Thermal Lite liner or wear the thin Thermal Lite liner in the PRO Barrier WxB gloves to make a nice snug fit. Decisions, decisions...
Edit: Field test number #1 on 10/20/11. Temperature 43F degree with 14mph wind... wind chill made it feel around 35F degree. I rode 16 miles @ about 16-18mph, which I consider lower end moderate activity (sans the wind). First off, the gloves are fully windproof. No leaks in the seams. Secondly, my hands stayed comfortable. While maintaining a steady spin and talking to the guy next to me (i.e not concentrating on my hands) the heat being produced in the gloves was about perfect to keep my fingers warm. During a 2mi stretch in my aero bars, with stationary hands and strong headwinds, my hands stayed comfortable. The more you keep your hands moving in these gloves the warmer you will stay. At NO point though did my hands ever get HOT or SWEATY. The only time my finger tips got chilly was when I took them off to adjust my helmet and had to regenerate some heat inside the glove to them warm up. I am super anxious to get them out when the temp is legitimately in the 30F's degree or lower. I fear that they might not be enough for sub-30F's with little to no movement in the hands for an extended time. My plan is to use the super thin Thermalite Liners from my Pro Barrier WxB 3x1 gloves in these gloves as that last little bit of insulation needed for low to sub-30F degree rides. I don't want to speculate yet, but the Pearl Izumi PRO Soft Shell glove might be a better cold weather glove due to the Primaloft Insulation... of course the tradeoff is going to be the 100% waterproof/windproof barrier that the PRO Barrier WxB glove offers. For me, I want the 100% water/windproofing at the sake of more insulation because that makes the glove more versatile in real world winter conditions like shoveling snow or scraping off my car windshield where my hands are going to be staying more active but getting really wet. More on that in a couple months...
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These gloves have been used in muddy cyclocross races and commuting in downpours. Not a drop of water found on the inside. On their own, these gloves are great in temperatures 40F and more. When it's below 40F, I like to wear a thin wool liner (Smartwool Sopris).Best Deals for Pearl Izumi Pro Barrier WxB Glove
I am a bicycle commuter who rides a bit more than 30 miles mile a day year round in rainy Portland, Oregon. I tried a few different gloves before finally giving these a try. I've been testing them for several months now in a variety of conditions, and I can happily say that they have fulfilled their promise of waterproof. I've ridden in snow, downpours, and of course the famous Portland smattering, and am happy to report that my hands stay as dry as can be.A few things to note though if looking to buy these gloves:
1. These gloves are absolutely waterproof. However they are not excessively warm. They are relatively thin, and depending on your tolerance for cold hands, you will likely need liner gloves in colder weather.
2. They have a durable, leather palm, but there is minimal padding. Hands can go to sleep on longer rides.
3. They seem to run big. I have another pair of Pearl Gloves in Medium which fit me perfectly, but I needed a small in these.
All in all, I am thrilled with these gloves, and since it typically isn't that cold here in Portland, they are perfect for my needs.
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