Gloves

[JulianHJ]

I'm looking for some glove recommendations. I've been using a pair of Held Air'N'Dry for the last four and a half years, and they're starting to show signs of wear. I have some heated gloves for rides below 5C, but for everything else it's the Helds. I commute year-round in all weathers and temperatures, and I'm willing to consider buying two pairs if it makes more sense. I was going to buy another pair of Air'N'Drys, but the price at Sportsbikeshop has just been raised from £138 to £176, so I thought I'd see if there were better alternatives. I'm happy to spend up to £200 for the right pair(s).

[Birky_41]

I listened to these lot for both my replacement summer and winter gloves having been a bit of a dainese fan boy when I first got back into road bikes

I went with knox as my road summer glove... Been bloody brilliant

I think it's one down from the top model that looks like something out of a terminator movie. Handroid? It's the model down from that but been excellent over the last 2 years

[Salted_Peanut]

Check out Five's WFX Max GTX and Belstaff's Hesketh waterproof gloves, both of which achieve the CE Level 2 rating for gloves (the highest rating). At this price, I'd be reluctant to pay for gloves that only meet the basic CE Level 1 standard of protection.

Five's WFX Max GTX gloves look and feel terrific, but Five makes several WFX Max gloves and it's not always easy to track down the GTX version. The Hesketh gloves are easy to find because Motolegends sells them.

[JulianHJ]

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll check them out.

[CAPP0]

I've got a pair of Handroids, love 'em. Not this time of year though. They take a while to break in but once that's done they're great.

[shoestring7]

I've used Racer for my mid-season glove for a decade, just replaced it with a Multitop - protective, waterproof and with great feel.
https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/...

However, these fit my handshake, so its worth trying a few pairs, each manufacturer uses a slightly different model for the hand so find one that works for you and stick to it.

PS Those Belstaff gloves are rubbish, sheepskin isn't a sensible leather for gloves

[BowieMS]

Stick with Held - get some Race-Tex, in a size you can put silk under-gloves on underneath. Cheaper and better than Air&Dry. Job done.

[Speed addicted]

Have a look on FC moto for Held gear, they can be quite a bit cheaper depending on exchange rates.

[Salted_Peanut]

I was impressed by Five's WFX Max GTX and think CE Level 2 is worthwhile, but you can't go wrong with Held gloves either.

Another option worth considering is gloves from the likes of BKS Leather or Scott Leathers. I tried on Scott Leathers' race gloves at the London bike show and they seemed high quality as you'd expect from Scott. I've never tried BKS Leather's gloves, but image they have got to be top quality. Scott and BKS should be made in the UK too.

[shoestring7]

Salted_Peanut said:

I was impressed by Five's WFX Max GTX and think CE Level 2 is worthwhile, but you can't go wrong with Held gloves either.

Another option worth considering is gloves from the likes of BKS Leather or Scott Leathers. I tried on Scott Leathers' race gloves at the London bike show and they seemed high quality as you'd expect from Scott. I've never tried BKS Leather's gloves, but image they have got to be top quality. Scott and BKS should be made in the UK too.

Very few 'BKS' gloves are any good - the brand was sold a few years ago to a company that sticks it on cheap ste.

[boyse7en]

shoestring7 said:

Very few 'BKS' gloves are any good - the brand was sold a few years ago to a company that sticks it on cheap ste.

The BKS brand was sold to Frank Thomas Group, although the made to measure leathers business was kept on by the original owner. FT widened the brand from handmade suits to off-the-peg suits, gloves and boots. When FT when bust all stock (and brand names) were sold to J&S Accessories, so they now get BKS-branded stuff made for them.

[smithyithy]

I'll throw a vote in for Knox.

Mine aren't the Handroid', they're the model below them? So they have a lot of the same features but without the 'connection' across the hand and fingers. Still fantastic though.

A bit stiff, compared to, say, some cheaper RST ones I have for shorter / casual rides.. But I suppose they're similar to sports-fit jackets and suits in the way that they're fitted for the position they'll be in when on the bike, rather than lounging around.

[Biker 1]

I've got some Furygan summer gloves. Excellent quality & fit like a glove(!!)
Mid-price, & I'm guessing their winter stuff is similar quality/VFM.

[anonymous-user]

And another recommendation for Handroids, I have a pair and absolutely love them

[Salted_Peanut]

I know BKS branding is confusing, but my link was to the gloves made by the original BKS (Made-to-Measure) Ltd. These gloves are still made by the original BKS, so I'd expect the quality to be peerless.

boyse7en said:

The BKS brand was sold to Frank Thomas Group, although the made to measure leathers business was kept on by the original owner.

Yes, Brian Sampson's the original owner of BKS and still making top quality leathers, etc. As well as made-to-measure leathers, he does gloves too.