Rain-Off Waterproof Motorcycle Gloves

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by "Burn" for webBikeWorld

You'd think the word "waterproof" would mean, uh...waterproof?  As in no water gets through, never?  I mean, how many definitions of the word "waterproof" do we need?  Seems like there shouldn't be much controversy over its definition...

But in Motorcycle World, things are different.  How many "waterproof" jackets, pants and gloves have you tried that are, well...not?

Now I have to admit, our (latest) favorite winter motorcycle gloves are Roadgear's Waterproof Gloves, and they really do seem to live up to the definition in its most basic form. 

I'm not sure how they do it, because they're made from leather, but my mitts do seem to stay dry in the dampest of climates when I'm wearing them. 

Although I will admit that it does seem to take a few days for the leather to get back to normal after the gloves have been exposed to a real downpour.

So what's a motorcyclist to do?  Well here's an interesting solution: the Rain-Off waterproof over-gloves.  They will definitely keep your hands dry and the best part about them is that you can wear any old favorite gloves underneath.

In fact, you could wear the Rain-Off gloves over your best motorcycle gloves and stick your hand in a bucket of water and sit there all day or all week or all month and you simply will not get wet.

If that doesn't meet every criteria for the definition of "waterproof", then I don't know what does.

And even if your motorcycle gloves are semi-you-know-what-proof, the Rain-Off over-gloves will still help keep the leather in good shape.

A side benefit of the Rain-Off over-gloves is that they act as a perfect windbreaker, which helps to keep hands warmer in cold (and/or wet) weather.

Rain-Off gloves are available in four sizes: XS, S, M, L and XL.  The Rain-Off folks have a sizing chart that shows how to measure your hand from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger. 

We followed the chart and ordered a size medium to fit over a men's size large hand and gloves, but the Rain-Off over-gloves seem to be about one size too big.  So based on our admittedly small sample size of one, I'd say that it might be a good idea to either order one size smaller or to choose the smaller size if your hand measurements are borderline?

One problem that I didn't anticipate is caused by the elastic string and friction style keeper that's used inside the cuff of the Rain-Off gloves to secure them on the rider's arm (see bottom photo).  The keeper has a button that's supposed to be pressed to release the friction, then the keeper can be pushed up to tighten up the cuff.

However, I find it nearly impossible to work the keeper with my other (gloved) hand, so I have to grab the elastic string in my teeth and then press the button on the friction keeper and slide it down so the cuff is tight.  Think about it -- since you need one hand to pull the elastic tight while cinching up the keeper with the other hand, that sort of means you'd need three hands to work the thing!  Kind of strange (see note below on other methods).

I guess one could get used to tightening up a pair of gloves with one's teeth, but there must be a better design?

Other than that, the three-fingered Rain-Off gloves feel slightly clumsy when operating the controls, but I've become used to them.  One thing can definitely be said about them -- they're waterproof!

UPDATE:  Rain-Off gloves are now available in the U.S.A. through Farklemasters, the U.S. distributor.

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