Are all neoprene gloves just the same?

[Time Waster]

I've been looking at gloves for winter, my son needs some for watersports, cycling and other outdoor activities. Neoprene gloves are best for watersports but seem to be popular for cycling too. That makes me wonder about the differences.

Both have similar neoprene I guess, 1.5 to 5mm I think for watersports but I'm guessing lower end for cycling, say 2mm. Both have grippy palms and fingers, because they're used to grip wet bar. Cycling ones are perhaps featured differently with features like reflective.

Just what really makes them different? Buy one is it good for the other uses?

Reason for enquiry is that I've just bought our son watersports neoprene gloves and need to buy cycling gloves for him. I reckon I'll get him to try these gloves. I just wondered if anyone has tried using their gloves for the other activity?

 

[T4tomo]

probably. they are quite sweaty for cycling if it isn't mega cold.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

I'm no expert, but I think they differ, as some are for the right hand, and others for the left.

 

[Time Waster]

Pedantry moment. I said gloves not glove. Technically you can only say that if you assume I've bought two individual gloves for the left or the right not one of each. As yet I've not found anywhere selling just one handed gloves set.

I'm sorry but I do pedantry a bit better than humour. 😊

 

[FishFright]

I bought a pair a couple of years back and used them once. I still have them 'just in case' I ever go caving again.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

Pedantry moment. I said gloves not glove. Technically you can only say that if you assume I've bought two individual gloves for the left or the right not one of each. As yet I've not found anywhere selling just one handed gloves set.

I'm sorry but I do pedantry a bit better than humour. 😊

No such thing as one handed gloves? I give you mittens.

"Ah", I hear you cry, "If they've only a thumb and a hand section they're not gloves" then I'll leave you to tell the boxers they're wearing mittens.

 

[Alex321]

Cycling gloves will usually (but not always) have extra padding on the parts of the palms that are most often resting on the bars, which is unlikely to be present in swimming gloves. If no padding, they will usually have some reinforcement at least.

But of course even within one discipline, there will be quite wide variation between brands and models.

 

[cougie uk]

If just try the neoprene water sports ones and see how you go.
I think it was BMC that issued riders with 7 types of winter gloves so there's not one perfect winter cycling glove.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

If you want quality gloves at cheaper prices than cycling gloves you won’t go far wrong looking at mountaineering or water sports gloves.

I had some neoprene gloves I used on the bike, not cycling branded. Brilliant for extended periods of cold wet riding. Then I lost one of them on a wet night ride. The remaining solo gloves sits upstairs pining for the fiords. Least I think it does, I might have chucked it by now.

As for the padding in cycling gloves, not really needed unless you have a poor bike fit.

 

[Big John]

I bought some neoprene from Aldi many moons ago. I'd never had neoprene gloves before but for £10 I thought I'd give them a go. Not sure what thickness they are but they're good down to about 4C. I absolutely love them. They're beginning to show signs of wear and I'm gutted but I'd definitely buy another pair should I come across some going cheap.

 

[RoubaixCube]

I have an older Castelli pair of neoprene gloves. I use non cycling softshell gloves with a merino glove liner in winter and that seem to work for me. The castelli's however are mainly used for fishing in winter. Once your hand gets wet, windchill can be pretty nasty especially if youre a waterway wanderer like me

 

[roley poley]

mr .cheap boy me has found that a pair of wool gloves with marigold rubber gloves as an outer has seen him to work at 4 am in winter commute as a postie but that's only for 45 mins and no one saw my fashion faux pas at those hours

 

[HLaB]

I've got a couple of pairs. I used to commute in a pair often as they were useful for keeping my fingers warm during my chemotherapy a few years back but I got sick off taking them off with my teeth because they were stuck and getting a whiff off something which felt worse than my armpits and sometimes even after a shower and you'd be reminded when you scratched your face

 

[Blue Hills]

mr .cheap boy me has found that a pair of wool gloves with marigold rubber gloves as an outer has seen him to work at 4 am in winter commute as a postie but that's only for 45 mins and no one saw my fashion faux pas at those hours

Might actually try this as am a great believer in layering and have had some awful experiences with wonder cycling gloves that claim to be all things - my worst ones are Polaris things which are just so damn sweaty I would rather just get wet from rain.
Can you get black marigolds (even if just sold to kinksters)?
How do marigolds stand up to riding wear?

 

[ColinJ]

How do marigolds stand up to riding wear?

I don't know about riding wear; they certainly don't like chainrings much!

(I wore some to change the chain on my bike once and they did not survive the job... )