I just got these and I really like them. No way I can test them on the bike at this time of year but should be able to try them in a month. They sure look cool and they feel good which was a bit of a surprise. Those knobby looking armored gauntlets always looked like they would fee clumsy as heck but not at all.
Here is the velcro clasp open. Two flaps to close down to any size arm over jacket sleave or under. Plenty of velcro and very strong.
The arm clasp open from the top. You can see that there is also a small strap that circles the wrist and fastens with velcro. Seems like a metal buckle would be nicer but then you would need to have someone help you put them on and buckles are prolly more apt to cause injury than velcro.
The clasp is closed. The palm is kangaroo skin and the two pads on the heel of my palm are soft, roo covered cushions. Prolly for comfort against the grips as much as added protection from abrasion in a fall. The grey insignia on the palm is a sticky material to improve grip.
Plenty of armor on the knuckles and fingers. The finger knobs are a hard rubber surrounded by extra layer of leather. The knuckle armor is hard plastic.
Outer aspect armored all the way up edge to the finger tip. Also a small hard rubber armor knob on the wrist. Hard plastic armored closure above wrist.
Inner aspect armored with hard leather covered piece on closure above wrist.
Front. accordion stitching allows for easy flexion of fingers and thumb. Vent holes in knuckle plate.
Screened vents on back of hand.
The gloves are remarkably facile even with all the armor. The leather construction is pre curved. There is some stress in closing my fingers but the accordion stitching seems to work well and will probably only get better after the gloves break in a bit. The palms are not as well armored as the back. In a fall, I would think the palms might well require the most protection but that would make them poor gloves for feeling the controls. My old gloves have a plastic plate across the heel of the palm and I always felt safe with that. Not the most comfortable to ride with however. The ventilation...well I guess we will have to wait to see how that works. Perhaps better than no ventilation but I doubt the ram air effect of the knuckle plate is going to do much unless you are moving at a very high rate of speed. The screened vents may let air in/heat out but these are not insulated gloves that are going to be uncomfortable in hot weather. The sizing is perfect for me. Size medium is just a tiny bit long in the fingers and the fit is close all around the fingers and hand. The wrist and forarm are adjustable as mentioned earlier.
Really cool glove for a Very low price. Too early to tell how well they hold up but the stitching looks every bit as good as my last gloves and they are all still in one oiece after 3 years of use.
* Last updated by: Rook on 2/17/2011 @ 8:14 PM *
