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When I left Brad’s for the ride home last night it was 15°F with 25mph winds from the west (gusting to 35mph). Although it wasn’t snowing, it was still a dry, rather painful kind of cold. 
The exposed skin on my forehead burned and my eyes stung from the cold. But my hands were as comfortable as ever, because I was smart enough to leave the house with my trusty Burton snowboard gloves. Unfortunately, Burton seems to have discontinued this specific model from their Ronin line of gloves, but if you’re lucky enough to locate a pair of these “pipe” gloves, you won’t regret picking them up.
They’re actually two-pair of gloves in one, the inner gloves are relatively light for snowboard gloves, intended to give the rider a maximum amount of dexterity. They’re polyester-fleece lined with a nylon/spandex shell and a polyurethane textured pattern on the palm and fingers for improved grip on slippery surfaces.
The outer gloves are meant to provide maximum weather protection, whether you’re riding a lift, standing around on the deck of a halfpipe, or enduring -1° wind chill factors on your bicycle. The shell is made from teflon, rayon, nylon and neoprene. They also feature polyester-fleece lining. The gloves can be cinched around your forearms for maximum insulation, and although it’s not likely to come in handy for cycling, the gloves feature wrist leashes so you won’t drop your should you peel them off while riding the chairlift.
Because snowboarders are prone to crashing, these gloves are seriously built to last. After several years of multi-sport use (snowboarding, commuting and mountain biking) I don’t see a single stitch popped, let alone any rips, tears or even scratches. On the negative side, when worn together, these gloves are extremely bulky. It’s rather tough to shift STI road bike levers with them on, and it’s even a little difficult operating the brakes. But it’s no easier to do either of these things with frozen, numb fingers, either. Personally, I’m happy to accept this minor downfall in exchange for the incredible comfort level they provide.
Although this particular model is no longer available, I have every reason to believe Burton’s other offerings should be of the same high quality. Visit www.burton.com for more info.
Sounds like you were in DC! Had burning hot pins and needles through my gloves the trek home from the ‘winter biking gloves’ I was wearing…thought about hockey gloves. thanks for the tip (and the tips about pgh; August is looking likely).
I’ve been (incidently) wearing my Burton snowboard gloves for years ! Pip gloves are good, but I also wear the fleece inners from my regular board gloves, once the outer wears through.
I commute 11 miles a day for work and having grown up a Michigan snowboarder, I was always partial to mittens as opposed to gloves. For the last two seasons I’ve been using a pair of Bonfire snowboard mitts with a similar kind of construction. Funny thing is I was also gifted with a pair of Fox cold weather gloves which don’t do shit. The 50 or so bucks for well made snowboard mitts/gloves is well worth not having frostbite.