The more reviews I’ve written for Gibberish, the longer I’ve taken to waiting before issuing an opinion. Sometimes I label early write-ups as “first impressions” and leave the review for later days. In the case of the Synergy heated motorcycle gloves by Tourmaster, I waited almost sixteen months to write this up.

I try to ride my motorcycle to work as often as possible. I commuted on a motorcycle for almost eight straight months in 2009. There are two things that can disrupt your average motorcyclist: cold and rain. I tried a variety of insulated waterproof gloves but most weren’t up for the task of commuting at highway speeds. Gloves that kept my hands warm were often so bulky I had a hard time articulating the clutch and front brake levers. All waterproof gloves I tried lost most of their insulating properties once the non-waterproof outer layer became saturated with water.

I tried just about everything before turning to electric heated gloves. I had handguards on my Yamaha FZ6 and BMW R1150R. I had heated grips on the FZ6, R1150R, and BMW K1200LTE. I even have thin silk glove liners to help retain my body heat. If you’re on the bike at 25°F ambient and ride 70MPH that’s 2°F adjusted for wind chill. My commute is at least 40 minutes each way. I needed something else to keep my hands warm, so I turned to the Synergy electric heated gloves made by Tourmaster.

The Tourmaster Synergy heated clothing system

A lot has been written about the Synergy line since I purchased my gloves in 2008. The short story is that motorcyclists love the heated jacket and vest, like the heated pants, and like the way that the Synergy garments can connect to each other so that one controller can adjust the temperature of every garment. Opinions were mixed about the reliability of the controllers (something that appeared to be fixed by the time I got mine in October 2008) and the performance of the gloves.

The Synergy glove controller is on the right wrist, inside a plastic pocket with a clear face. You can manipulate the two buttons pretty easily with gloves on. A green button cycles through the heat settings, and a red button turns to gloves off. There are three status LEDs for each heat

Armor and protection

The Synergy gloves have your pretty standard (by now) armored knuckles and padded fingers. There is extra material on the palm, and the full-length gauntlets offer some abrasion protection for your wrists. I have not crash tested these gloves, but they seem sturdy. The seams are still in good shape after a season and a half of riding.

Heat performance

Some riders complained the Synergy gloves barely put out any perceived warmth, even when set to “high.” I totally agree with this sentiment. The gloves have three variable temperatures, and I have never used anything lower than high. Tourmaster should have just redesigned the glove with an on/off switch.

Where I disagree with some of the Internet write-ups is if the heat output level is acceptable at all. I have ridden down to the aforementioned 25°F ambient with the gloves on, and found that only the tips of my thumb and pinky got cold. Without the Tourmaster Synergy gloves I would have the same feeling at about 35°F. It appears that when stacked with heated grips and silk glove liners, the Synergy gloves are good for another 10 degrees of riding safety.

Safety. That’s the operative word here, and is distinctly different from comfort. When your fingers get really cold you lose the dexterity necessary to smoothly operate the throttle, front brake, and clutch. That smoothness might make the difference between a rider gliding to a stop or grabbing too much front brake and taking a spill. “Safe” helps you stave off frostbite. “Comfort” makes you forget you are riding in below-freezing temperatures.

The Synergy gloves aren’t warm enough to transport me to the idyllic riding temperatures of the spring and early fall, but they are warm enough to allow me to ride deeper into the winter season. I stop riding at about 25 here in Virginia mostly because it rains so much I don’t want to risk riding on ice or snow. However, my fingers could probably snuggle inside the Tourmasters safely for another five degrees ambient or so.

Rain performance

I have worn the Synergy gloves in the rain a few times, but nothing torrential. The gloves seem to do fine at keeping mild rainstorms out, and my hands have remained warm. It is important to note that I won’t ride in the rain below 35°F ambient in case there’s a freeze, so I am not challenging the gloves very much.

Summary

Aside from the pants, the gloves are the most expensive piece of heated apparel in the Synergy lineup. You can find the gloves at about $150 at several places on the Internet, including Iron Pony and Amazon. That’s pricey, but not as expensive as some non-heated alternatives out there.

However, $150USD isn’t cheap either, and I would feel a lot better about my purchase if the gloves put out some more heat. If the price was $100 or if the gloves current “high” setting was more like “medium” I would make these a strong recommend.

As-is, I can only give the Tourmaster Synergy electric heated gloves a base recommended.