Pearl Izumi PRO Softshell Lobster Glove

The Pearl Izumi Lobster Glove is an insulated, wind and waterproof split-fingered glove that combines the warmth of a mitt with the dexterity of a glove. After many years of use, primarily as a cyclist, I've found them to be a great piece of clothing for other uses.

Fourteen years ago I was an avid road biker, riding in all four seasons, as long as roads were passable. This caused me to ride many days in sub-freezing temperatures. Enter the Pearl Izumi Lobster Gloves. I would regularly ride using these gloves in temperatures in the low 20's. My self-made windchill would be anywhere from 11°F to 3°F. Cold hands were never an issue on these rides.

Kids and a career pretty much reduced my cycling to short family trips in nice weather. The Lobster Gloves have spent a lot of time in storage...until this winter. January-February 2014 in Illinois has seen record cold temperatures and winds of up to 50mph nearly every week (It's 6°F as I type). With major holes in my ragwool mitts, I came upon my lobster gloves and started wearing them again. In the past few weeks I have used them on my ATV at work, with recorded wind chills at -24°F. It recently occurred to me that they would work great with trekking poles.

I believe the windproof nature of these mitts are their top feature. I've tried many winter cycling gloves, but even the best insulation is useless in high winds, when you feel it whipping through the material.

Windproof material is great, but not very soft. Another nice feature of these gloves is a fleece strip on the thumb. This is delicately called a “Wiping Surface.” It is code for, “snot collector.” When you ride in cool-cold weather, your nose is going to get runny. Instead of having snot dripping down your chin and onto your jacket, the Wiping Surface gives you someplace to put it.

The dexterity of the mitt is ideal for squeezing the brake handles (see pictures below). It also allows me to place my hands in all of my favorite riding positions.

After 14 years and HUNDREDS of miles of riding (before put into storage for a decade), these gloves are in great repair. The reinforced palms have plenty of life left in them. The stitching is good. Warmth and windproofing have been recently tested and proven sufficient, even on a 30mph ATV ride in 10°F weather.

They have definitely proved their worth, and I'm glad to putting them to good use again (even if I can't say the same for my bike).