Touchscreen Gloves
Touchscreen Motorcycle Gloves and Compatibility: How Phone-Friendly Riding Gloves Work
Why riding gloves block phone screens, five ways to fix it (built-in tips, thread, liquid, stickers, phone settings) and what to check before you buy.
Touchscreen motorcycle gloves work because their fingertips carry a conductive material that passes your finger's charge to the phone's screen. Ordinary leather riding gloves usually block it, since a phone's capacitive screen needs a conductor to register a touch. You can buy gloves with conductive tips or add them yourself, and either way you should stop before you use the phone.
This hub sums up each part of the topic and links to the page that covers it in depth. For the wider choice of protection, fit and cuff, start with our motorcycle glove buying guide.
Key takeaways- Phones and tablets use capacitive screens that sense the body's conductivity; most gloves block that partly or fully.- Touchscreen gloves put a conductive material at the touchpoint, usually on the index finger and thumb.- Glove thickness and material decide whether a touch gets through.- Some Android phones have a setting that raises touch sensitivity for gloves or screen protectors.- Our store partner lists no glove with touchscreen fingertips.
Why your riding gloves don't work on your phone
A phone uses a capacitive touchscreen: glass coated with a thin transparent conductor, as the touchscreen entry on Wikipedia explains. Your finger, which conducts electricity, changes the screen's electrostatic field, and the phone reads that change as a touch.
Leather, foam and lining are poor conductors, so some screens cannot sense a finger through them. The thicker the glove, the less likely a touch gets through.
Older pressure-based (resistive) screens did work with gloves, but modern phones and tablets don't use them.
Read the full answer in do leather gloves work on touchscreens?
Ways to make gloves work with a phone
Our step-by-step guide to making gloves work on a touchscreen covers each method, with tools and common mistakes.
| Option | How it works | Points to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Gloves with conductive tips | Conductive leather, fabric or print at the fingertip | Built in; check which fingers have it |
| Sewn conductive thread | A few stitches of metal thread carry the charge | Cheap; needs a needle and patience |
| Conductive liquid | Soaks into the fingertip to form a path | Maker warns results vary on leather |
| Conductive stickers | Thin adhesive pads on the fingertip | Film can wear out |
| Phone glove setting | Raises screen sensitivity, as on Samsung Galaxy phones | Not on every model; can cause false touches |
Choosing touchscreen riding gloves
A touchscreen tip is a convenience, not protection. Choose the glove for the road first: knuckle and palm cover, a wrist closure and a fit that lets you work the levers. Then check the fingertips.
Our best touchscreen motorcycle gloves page compares fingertip technologies and the criteria that matter for riders, without a ranked list until we have tested gloves. For protection basics, see our motorcycle glove safety guide.
What to look for in the fingertips
Fit and well-formed fingertips matter as much as the conductive material. Look at which fingers carry the conductive area and whether it adds seams or bulk at the tip.
The details get their own page: what to look for in touchscreen glove fingertips.
Phones, liners and cold hands
In cold weather a thin liner with a conductive print can sit under a riding glove. Our best merino wool glove liners page reads liner labels, and our winter riding gloves hub covers warm and heated gloves.
Use the phone when you stop
The Governors Highway Safety Association says reading a text takes a driver's eyes off the road for about five seconds. Its advice is to leave phones alone while driving, whatever the local law says.
Touchscreen gloves are for stops: checking a route once you've pulled over, or answering a message at a fuel stop. Set your navigation before you ride.
What our store partner sells
Leather Collection leather motorcycle gloves are hand-stitched cowhide, 0.8-0.9 mm (0.03-0.04 in) thick. None of the store's glove pages mention touchscreen or conductive fingertips, and a store search for those terms finds nothing.
So treat these as riding gloves without phone tips. If you want phone use, add one of the DIY options above and test it before you ride.
FAQ
Do touchscreen gloves really work?
They can, if the conductive area touches the screen and the glove isn't too thick. How well a given riding glove works is something we plan to test.
Are there touchscreen motorcycle gloves for women?
Yes. At least one riding-glove maker lists a women's style with the same touchscreen fingertips as its men's style. Check the size chart of the glove you buy.
Can I use my phone with any gloves?
Not with most. Thin gloves such as medical gloves usually work, but thicker gloves need conductive tips or a phone sensitivity setting.
Motorcycle Leather Gloves Editorial Team
Motorcycle Leather Gloves articles are researched from published sources, cited in the text, and reviewed before publication.