New Gloves & Jacket

It's been a while. No surprise, what with the nasty weather and all. The most riding I've done since my last post was to take the Boulevard into the dealer for the 600 mile / 2 month service. Sadly, I hit two months before hitting 600 miles. I'll even that ratio out more once spring hits.

In preparation for the winter, I picked up some of the new Tour Master Synergy heated gloves, and finally got a chance to pick them up while riding back from the dealer. They're definitely a mixed bag. They're quite warm in certain temperatures, but fail when used in the cold stuff. Really sad, too, because the fit and finish are exceptional.

When I rode back from the dealer, it was probably right around 30 degrees. Plugged in the gloves and fired them up, and they did provide heat fast. Unfortunately, while most of my hands were perfectly comfortable, my thumbs still froze. Specifically, the entire bottom side of your thumbs when making a fist take the brunt of the chill. It went pretty rapidly from chilly, to almost painful, too. I was really disappointed. I'm considering trying with some liners next to see if that helps. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'm going to have to look elsewhere for sub-freezing hand warmth.

For Christmas, I got a Tour Master Coaster II leather jacket. I took out the jacket on a 50 or so degree day and it worked perfectly. The center of my chest got slightly chilled (where the inner liner doesn't cover) but other than that, it was great. The leather is quite thick and stiff, but it'll break in. The armor in the shoulders/elbows is good quality stuff. The back armor is the standard foam padding you'll find in many riding jackets. It looks great, and I'm sure it'll wear as nicely. I'm really happy with it. I looked at quite a few jackets, and while I didn't really "settle" on this one (the dealer only had this model in stock, and I like being able to try things on first) it was in the top 3 or so of the ones I was choosing from online. Was about $200, and I'm looking forward to spring when I can use it fully.