I’ve done searches on this but most results seem to be opinions for motorcycles or bicycles.
I have a scooter and I want a pair of fingerless gloves. Why fingerless? Comfort mainly. I get they lack some protection but protection is not what I need. I find my hands get sweaty over time during a long ride gripping the handlebars and I want something to solve that problem.
I’ve tried gloves that cover the whole hand and mostly find them as annoying as no gloves. Trying to find a middle-ground. My riding is pretty tame (15-20 mph tops). No need for extreme protection (of course, I always have a helmet on…I know not to ignore it completely).
Those may be fine and are likely what they are called.
It just seemed everyone who rides a bike and want to use gloves are Tour-de-France wannabes with needs I don’t want. I do not need something for hyper-athletes but I want something better than crap sold at Walmart or Chinese knock-off-a-million on Amazon.
So I specified scooter to weed those people out (and I actually am riding a scooter).
ETA: Do I want pads in the palms? Do they make riding more comfy or are they for protection or just needless marketing?
Decent bike gloves can be had for $20 to 30. Pads are great for cushioning when you are putting body weight on the bars; you are not doing that on a scooter. No need. IMHO.
I like palm-padded bicycle gloves but that’s for riding a road bicycle with drop handlebars where I’m putting some of my weight on the handlebars for extended periods of time. I don’t think I’d find them particularly useful if I were just holding the handlebars rather than leaning on them. (On the other hand, in my rare experiments with riding electric scooters I sometimes seem to be leaning or pushing on the handlebars, so I guess YMMV.)
There are fingerless gloves for paddling (canoe or kayak) - I don’t think they are padded. I can’t say if they would work for scootering.
I also like my bicycling gloves with pads, but as mentioned putting some weight on my arms.
There are bike gloves without padding.
I have some Pearl Izumi “Elite Gel” fingerless gloves which are decent— I think the padding is worth it, as it does provide some comfort (it’s not about “extreme protection”)
Oh, awesome timing, I’ve been considering scooter gloves/handwear except more for wrist protection: I’m certain I’m going to eat shit hard on this scooter and, after head protection, want to protect my wrists. I found some Rollerblade wristguards and have been trying to use them on the scooter but it isn’t going to work. I simply can’t properly grip the bars the way the guard crosses my palm.
For casual cycling, these are the best gloves I’ve found. They’re the most comfortable and the gel pads have lasted the longest time without getting compressed.
I wear these on the handcycle. They fit closer than most gloves since they’re intended for construction type jobs and you don’t want wrinkles inside the glove. Also, if you do biff it, extending your hands to break your fall is a reflex. You want the full abrasion protection a full hand glove affords.
The Hi-Viz and reflective patches will aid your visibility especially when signaling (stern look). They breathe remarkably well even over 100 degrees
You can pick up a 3-pack of ventilated work gloves from Costco for pretty cheap. Take one pair and cut off the fingers. You’ll still have two pairs to use as work gloves, and probably end up paying less for all three than a decent pair of cycling gloves. Those gloves also work fairly well for Spring skiing, too.
One feature to look at: how slippery are the “active surfaces” when you are trying to break a fall?
When I was still running on city streets I always wore wrist protectors after a few too many falls. On the evening of my last outdoor run I tripped over a monster 8" curb and fell to the side (was turning a corner), and I naturally reached out to stop my fall.
The gloves protected my hands and wrists, but did me a disservice: the palm material proved way too slippery on the pavement and my arm flew outward as the glove skidded, resulting in a broken shoulder.
Wife forbade me to run outdoors, so these days all of my running is on the indoor track at the Y. No more need for me to find the perfect wrist protector.
Perhaps a palm with rubber or suede might actually grip. I think mine used plastic for the protective surface..
As others have said, cycling gloves have some padding to absorb some of the road bumps. Don’t get cheap crap from Wally World or Amazon; they’re going to look the same but be made of inferior materials. Personally, I’d go w/ full finger gloves; if you’re going down, you want that extra bit of protection on your finger tips.
As for some suggestions Primal Voler (both of which I’ve owned/used) or look at Wiggle (I have ordered from them before, just make sure to change to USD pricing)
If you want kayak style, I am both a member of REI & use NRS gloves in the rescue world
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