Tried and tested: T.ur G-Zero winter gloves review

On the other hand the T.ur G-Zero promises maximum warmth in even the most extreme weather, with a clever double glove structure than keeps unnecessary padding to a minimum too. Passive gloves that do away with the bulk of their rivals and the faff of a heated pair? Surely too good to be true…

Cold hands on a motorbike are uncomfortable and distracting, making it hard to concentrate, and adding a layer of difficulty to even simple tasks like cancelling your indicator.

The obvious solution is to buy some weatherproof gauntlets, but often these are like riding in oven gloves, so you still can’t feel the controls properly. A popular option is to invest in heated gear – either hard-wired gloves or some Oxford Hotgrips, which keep you warm without sacrificing dexterity to layers of padding.

What safety rating do the T.ur G-Zero gloves have?

They are rated at CE Level 1 (a basic pass, Level 2 offers more protection) with a separate KP certification for the impact protection provided by the knuckle armour.

An important caveat though – this rating only applies if you wear the inner and outer glove together.

What are they like to wear?

If you’ve read my review of T.ur’s matching J-Zero jacket and P-Zero trousers then much of what I said there applies to these gloves – they have a level of comfort and flexibility that belies their weatherproofing. The outer layer is soft and pliable in shielded areas and padded where your hands are at risk in a crash, so you get a good balance of wearability and protection.

I said the T.ur suit felt more like summer gear than winter and in truth the same can’t be said about the G-Zero gloves, but that’s not an entirely fair comparison. A textile suit has to simply sit nicely on your torso or legs and keep you warm while gloves have to be able to do that and allow you to feel the often small and fiddly controls on your bars.

That said, the T.ur G-Zero gloves have roughly the same padding and bulk as my old RST winter gloves but with significantly better protection from the cold and rain. The outer glove feels like a forcefield, while the inner liners are toasty warm and lined with a very soft and comfortable fleece. I quite like wearing the latter off the bike too, they’re just a nice pair of gloves.

I’ve got a size XL and the fingers are slightly on the long side, but I’m an awkward fit for gloves and suspect a large would be tight. The cuffs are very long and that can make them tricky to wear with bulky sleeves, but they’re very compatible with T.ur’s J-Zero jacket.

The elephant in the room is the single digit for the little- and ring-fingers. I didn’t mind this at all, those fingers often get cold before the others and having their own single ecosystem helps combat this, but it’s worth trying them to see if it’s for you or not.

What are the T.ur G-Zero gloves made from?

The inner layer has a fleecey lining while the outside is a soft-shell material on the back and microfibre on the palm. These aren’t designed to be worn by themselves and as such have no additional armour or abrasion protection.

The outer (main) glove is about 50/50 textile and goatskin leather so it’s flexible but protective. It has three finger holes and a thumb with silicon prints to improve grip, plus some ballistic textile inserts and accordion stretch panels on the wrist.

What about weatherproofing?

T.ur’s protective later is called HDry, and it’s effectively a waterproof but breathable membrane that gets bonded between the layers of the outer glove. The manufacturer says it uses 3D tech to make sure there are no gaps for wind or rain to penetrate. Compared to my old winter gloves where the wind whistles straight through, these are warm and dry even without the inner liners.

This is actually the most impressive bit – especially given that this layer feels about the same thickness as a pair of summer gloves. I wore them by themselves in cold rain and my hands were fine. That said, the Triumph Tiger 900 I was on has handguards to block some of the wind, so that probably helped.

They are slightly more padded on the back than the palm to help keep cold at bay while maintaining good feel for the controls, and a segmented visor wipe is very effective at clearing rain from your helmet but also bends easily with your thumb.

The inner glove uses the same Thermore insulation as the J-Zero jacket and P-Zero trousers and it works extremely well in cold weather, without adding layer after layer of bulk. They Velcro into the outer gloves and have grippy silicone patches so there’s no risk of them sliding around inside.

What protection features do they come with?

Quite a mix of things, in truth, adding up to that CE rating mentioned previously. Tough fabrics and leather make up the bulk of the outer glove, plus there are impact absorbing patches and a long rubber protector on the ring finger.

Joining that together with the little finger not only helps keep your hands warm, but T.ur says it avoids the chance of catching your fifth digit in a crash, which is making me wince just thinking about it.

The rigid knuckle protector sticks out quite a long way so doesn’t interfere with flex, and in terms of coverage it’s wide enough to span the width of my hand, which isn’t always the case. Perforations in the leather by the wrist cover a reflective insert, which bounces back light from other vehicles.

What about colours and matching kit?

Like the Ford Model T, these gloves are available in any colour you want, so long as it’s black. They match the rest of the T.ur Zero range (read my J-Zero and P-Zero jacket and trousers review here) and the long cuff of the gloves interfaces with the jacket sleeves well.

Verdict

Some motorbike kit you wear because you want to, but for me winter gloves (and to a lesser extent, gloves in general) I wear because I have to. They’re generally a bit bulky or have to be plugged in and all of these things detract from the freedom of getting on a motorbike and riding off somewhere.

These G-Zero gloves feel like a nice compromise – they’re protective enough from the elements to not need a power supply but thin enough to still have a good feeling of the controls in your hands. The inner linings also work really well as a general pair of gloves for cold walks, so you can get your money’s worth that way.

Much like the Zero jacket and trousers, I think they’re capable of surviving much colder weather than I am, but there’s a great deal of reassurance that comes with your kit having seemingly endless capability in reserve. I doubt there’s anything the UK weather can throw at you that these gloves can’t catch.

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