How to Keep Your Hands Warm Riding in Winter
For winter riding the pick is the Fleece-Lined Deerskin Gloves at $120, worn over a thin liner, with heated grips on the bar if your bike will take them. That combination beats buying one thicker glove, because the thing pulling heat out of your hands at 60 mph is moving air, not the number on the thermometer.
This question is harder than it looks because three separate problems all feel identical from the saddle. There is wind, which a windproof shell and a sealed cuff fix. There is wet, which ruins almost any insulation the moment it soaks through. And there is compression, where a glove sized too snug squeezes out the still air that does the actual insulating and leaves your fingers colder than a looser glove would have. A thicker glove only addresses the first of those, and if you buy it in your usual size it can make the third one worse.
How These Were Judged
I weighted three things: how well each option blocks moving air at highway speed, how much finger feel survives once your hand is inside it, and what it costs against the warmth it actually delivers. Warmth per dollar counts here, so a $250 membrane glove does not automatically win if a $120 glove plus a $25 liner gets you most of the way there for the temperatures you really ride in.
These are editorial scores. They come from riding in this gear on cold mornings and from handling how it is built, not from a laboratory. We do not run thermal or abrasion tests, we do not publish temperature ratings we cannot stand behind, and a score here tells you nothing about what happens to your hands in a crash. Every Legendary glove below is unarmored leather with no CE certification, which is worth saying plainly before anyone reads a warmth ranking as a safety ranking.
1. Fleece-Lined Deerskin Gloves, Best Everyday Cold Weather Glove
The Fleece-Lined Deerskin Gloves are the ones I reach for from late October onward. Deerskin is windproof in a way knit and softshell gloves are not, and the 3M fleece lining adds loft without turning your hand into a mitten you cannot work a clutch with. The reason this sits at the top rather than a heavier glove is that it keeps enough dexterity to run switchgear cold, which is exactly when fumbling for a turn signal is most likely to cost you. Sized with a little room, it takes a thin liner underneath and gets noticeably warmer. Sized tight, it will not, so buy accordingly.
Price: $120
Score: 8.7 out of 10
Best for: everyday riding from roughly 40F to 55F, or colder with a liner and heated grips
2. Deerskin Insulated Mittens, Warmest Thing Here Without Wiring
Mittens are warmer than gloves for one reason that has nothing to do with the insulation: your fingers share heat instead of each radiating on their own. The Deerskin Insulated Mittens are the coldest weather option in the catalog that does not need a battery, and on a short commute below 40F they will beat a glove that costs twice as much. The cost is obvious the first time you need the horn in a hurry. I treat these as a commuter and errand tool rather than a canyon glove, and I would not hand them to a new rider still building muscle memory on the controls.
Price: $120
Score: 8.6 out of 10
Best for: short cold rides where warmth matters more than fine control
3. Rev'It Insulated Touring Gloves, If You Ride Below Freezing Regularly
We do not sell these and we will not pretend otherwise. If your winter means sustained riding under freezing with rain in the mix, a purpose built insulated touring glove from Rev'It, or something comparable from Held, does two things no unlined or fleece lined leather glove can: it puts a waterproof breathable membrane between you and the weather, and it is sold with CE certification under the European motorcycle glove standard. You pay for it, and you give up a lot of bar feel. But an honest ranking of winter hand warmth cannot leave out the category that was designed from scratch for exactly this, and if you commute year round in the north it is the right money.
Price: sold elsewhere, we do not stock it
Score: 8.5 out of 10
Best for: year round riders in genuinely cold, wet climates
4. Classic Deerskin Gauntlets, Best at Sealing the Wrist
Most riders lose the argument at the cuff. A short glove leaves a gap between the sleeve and the wrist that acts like a scoop at speed, and cold air funnelled up your forearm makes your fingers cold from the inside. The Classic Deerskin Gauntlets close that gap by going over the jacket sleeve instead of under it, and on a long highway run that single change does more for comfort than another millimetre of lining would. They are unlined, so on their own they are a wind glove rather than an insulated one. Pair them with a liner and they cover a surprisingly wide temperature band.
Price: $145
Score: 8.3 out of 10
Best for: highway miles, wind, and anyone whose sleeves ride up
5. Gators Skin Glove Liners, The Cheapest Real Upgrade
Before you spend $300 on a warmer glove, spend $25. The Gators Skin Glove Liners go under whatever you already own and add a trapped air layer without much bulk, which is the whole mechanism behind insulation in the first place. Two conditions apply. Your outer glove needs room to accept them, and your hands need to be dry going in, because a liner will hold sweat against your skin and sweat is how a warm ride turns cold at the halfway point. For most riders this is the highest return per dollar in the entire winter kit.
Price: $25
Score: 8.0 out of 10
Best for: stretching gloves you already own into colder weather
Build the System, Not the Glove
Warm hands on a motorcycle come from a stack of small decisions, and the glove is only one of them. Run through this list before you buy anything.
Heated grips first. Heat applied at the palm, where the blood is moving, does more per dollar than any glove upgrade, and it works with gear you already own.
Fit for loft, not for looks. If the glove is snug enough to show your knuckles, there is no still air left inside it to insulate you. Check a glove size chart rather than guessing.
Seal the cuff. Gauntlet over the sleeve, or a short glove with a closure you can actually cinch. A loose cuff undoes good insulation.
Block the wind before you add insulation. Handguards or a taller screen change the temperature at your hands more than a thicker lining does.
Plan for wet separately. Leather handles cold well and soaking rain poorly. If your winter is wet, you need a membrane glove, not a warmer one.
Keep your core warm. Your body pulls blood from your fingers to protect your chest. A better base layer often shows up as warmer hands.
Prices verified August 2026.
Common Questions
How do I keep my hands warm when riding a motorcycle in winter?
Block the wind first, add heat at the grips second, and only then buy a thicker glove. A windproof leather glove with a fleece lining plus heated grips covers most riders down into the 30s, and a thin liner underneath extends it further. Sizing matters as much as material, because a glove crushed tight around your hand has no trapped air left to insulate with.
What insulation works best inside winter motorcycle gloves?
Loose loft beats thickness, and a windproof outer shell beats both. Fleece linings like the 3M fleece in our lined deerskin work well because they hold air without packing down under grip pressure, and a separate thin liner adds a second air layer you can remove when the afternoon warms up. Wet insulation of any kind stops working, so keeping water out matters more than what the lining is made from.
Are mittens actually warmer than gloves for riding?
Yes, and the reason is anatomy rather than materials. Fingers grouped together share heat instead of each losing it separately, so an insulated mitten will usually run warmer than a glove of the same construction. The trade is control, which is why I would keep mittens for short cold trips and stay with gloves for anything that involves traffic or twisty roads.
The Short Answer
Buy the Fleece-Lined Deerskin Gloves at $120, order them with enough room for a liner, and put heated grips on the bike before you consider anything more expensive. That setup handles the temperature range most riders actually face in winter, and it does it without giving up the control feel that makes a cold ride safe.
The runner up is the Deerskin Insulated Mittens at $120 if your winter riding is short and genuinely cold, and if the temperature keeps dropping there is a deerskin glove temperature guide worth reading before you spend more. The rest of the range sits in the USA made glove collection if you want to compare cuff lengths side by side.
