Motorcycle Glove Sizing
Do You Size Up for Winter Glove Liners?
Sizing for glove liners: when a half size up helps, how to check room with the liner on, and where seller advice runs thin.
Sometimes, but only if you will wear the liner most of the time. A glove that fits your bare hand well usually gets tight once a liner goes underneath, and one seller of gloves and liners advises about a half size up for a dedicated liner glove. That is seller opinion, not a test, so use the room check below instead of trusting any fixed rule. This page covers only the size decision; for the rest of the topic see how to wear glove liners under your gloves and the cold-weather riding hub. The wider sizing picture is in the glove sizing hub.
The short answer by situation
| Your situation | What sources suggest |
|---|---|
| You wear the liner on most rides | Size the outer glove for the liner: about a half size up, or a loose glove you already own |
| You wear the glove bare-handed most of the time | Size for your bare hand and treat a liner as an occasional extra; the seller says to decide which job each pair does |
| You are between two sizes and want a liner | Customer reviews of one liner product say to size up, a weak signal; see between two glove sizes for the wider disagreement |
| The glove is already lined | The lining takes space too; one store says to take the larger size between sizes on its lined gloves |
Why a liner changes the fit
A glove maker says a small gap between hand and material lets trapped air insulate, and that a glove that is too tight may feel cold. Another glove maker says gloves worn with liners need to be a little roomier. A seller adds that a tight glove squeezes the air layer and restricts circulation, but gives no medical source for the circulation claim, so treat it as unproven.
Check the room with the liner on
Do not guess from the size letter. Put the liner on, then the glove, then close your hand around a bar-sized object. The seller's warning signs are fingertips pressing hard into the ends of the glove, or leather pulling taut across the back of the hand. If either shows up, the glove is too small for use with that liner.
Two more checks from a UK retailer's guide apply with or without a liner: fasten the wrist strap and try to pull the glove off, and grip the bars to see whether over-long fingers catch the brake lever. The same guide notes that hands swell in heat, so a pair that fits snugly in cold weather may be too tight in summer.
Do not size the liner like the glove
The same seller says liners should sit close to the skin without bunching, and that a liner bought in the glove's size can fold and make pressure points on long rides. So the extra room belongs in the outer glove, not the liner. If you are unsure what your base size is, start from a measurement guide with brand size charts and measure before you add anything underneath.
Where sources disagree or run thin
Sizing up for liners is not a settled rule. The maker and seller statements above are advice from companies that sell gloves, none is a test, and I found no independent measurement of how much room a liner takes up. The same store that tells you to take the larger size between sizes also says a loose leather glove stays loose, which is why a bigger size bought "to be safe" can leave you with too much glove on days without a liner. See how motorcycle gloves should fit for what a glove that is too loose looks like.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to size up or down for gloves? There is no single rule. Makers and sellers disagree, so use the checks in between two glove sizes before deciding.
If you are shopping
If you want to compare cowhide riding gloves before choosing a size, see Leather Collection's motorcycle gloves, and check any glove with your liner on before you rely on it.
The Motorcycle Gloves Editorial Team
The Motorcycle Gloves articles are researched from published sources, cited in the text, and reviewed before publication.