While browsing online parts houses the other day I ran across these gloves on closeout. They are last years (2005) models and were selling for $29 dollars. I decided to buy them as I don't have any "armored" gloves and the price was right. They arrived yesterday and I took the for a little ride tonight. I hopped on the St, rode up to Kaycee and back for a total of 173 miles. The temp was 85 when I left and 64 when I arrived back at home.
The gloves, at first I was concerned with the looks of them , but I actually like them now (I'll post a photo at the bottom) and I was impressed with the construction. They have a hard palstic armour across the top, and small patches of the hard plastic on all the knuckles(sp?) The gloves are insulated somewhat and have a support for the wrist as well as soft armour on the outside of the wrist section. The primary construction is Stretch Schoeller (I don't know what that is) with leather on the outer shell as mosre skip protection. The pams are leather with some kind of anti-slip material on top of it. All the stitching is aramid chord and appears to be very solid and durable.
The fit, I ordered large, just as I do with all gloves and they fit very well, like...a glove
The elastic part that tightens around my wrist is a tad small, but my wrists aren't very big so they would fit tighter on most people, still there was enough adjustability that they fit very well and I was pleased with the fitment.
The ride, well these gloves are designed for cool weather, not really cold, but not hot either. They were very comfortable at 64, and would probably be good to about 45 on me. The hottest I would feel comfortable wearing them is probably around 85, as they seemed a little hot when I left out, maybe I could get by at 90, but only if I were moving all the time. Note, my St has the upper fairing/mirror deflectorrs and so I don't get a lot of air across my hands, used on an open bike they would probably be better in heat. The first thing I noticed when I started riding with them was how stiff they were. This did loosen up during the ride, and they did not prhibit emergnecy stops, as one particular stretch of the trip required 7 panic stops in 18 miles to keep from hitting natures really big speed bumps (KILL BAMBI!!) I did find it tiring to try to grip the bars tight, but my fingers are weak from lack of use over the last couple months as I have been recovering from ym accident and not at work. They do provide incredible grip and I found that just laying my palms on the bars I can hold the throttle at 90mph easily while letting my fingers curl over the brake and clutch levers. I did ride with mt hands gripping the bars for about 20 miles and it was not terrible, just the gloves are a tad stiff for closing extra tight on the small bars of this bike with my weak hands. They were plent comfortable and were easy to remove at the end of my ride. I found the dexterity to be OK for using my hands to undo my helmet, fish in my wallet for credit cards and pretty much evrything else while wearing the gloves. Any stiffer and they would not be wearable, any lighter and they would not be friendly for cold weather. I guess they are great for the majority of my riding, but I'll still be buying a pair of winter gloves soon enough.
Overview, All in all I would buy them again for the $29 price tag. I would not give the suggested retail of nearly $80 for them, but I probably wouldn't pay that for any gloves
Pros:
Good in cool weather
Good in moderate weather (sub 90degree)
Very good grip
Nice armour well placed
Wrist support is a plus, eases tired wrists on long rides
Price (closeout of $29 from motorcycle-superstore.com)
Cons:
A tad stiff for tight gripping
Too much insulation for most summer riding
Not enough insulation for deep winter riding
All around a good glove that I would recommend. Here is a picture:
I hope this can be of use to someone,
George
The gloves, at first I was concerned with the looks of them , but I actually like them now (I'll post a photo at the bottom) and I was impressed with the construction. They have a hard palstic armour across the top, and small patches of the hard plastic on all the knuckles(sp?) The gloves are insulated somewhat and have a support for the wrist as well as soft armour on the outside of the wrist section. The primary construction is Stretch Schoeller (I don't know what that is) with leather on the outer shell as mosre skip protection. The pams are leather with some kind of anti-slip material on top of it. All the stitching is aramid chord and appears to be very solid and durable.
The fit, I ordered large, just as I do with all gloves and they fit very well, like...a glove
The elastic part that tightens around my wrist is a tad small, but my wrists aren't very big so they would fit tighter on most people, still there was enough adjustability that they fit very well and I was pleased with the fitment.The ride, well these gloves are designed for cool weather, not really cold, but not hot either. They were very comfortable at 64, and would probably be good to about 45 on me. The hottest I would feel comfortable wearing them is probably around 85, as they seemed a little hot when I left out, maybe I could get by at 90, but only if I were moving all the time. Note, my St has the upper fairing/mirror deflectorrs and so I don't get a lot of air across my hands, used on an open bike they would probably be better in heat. The first thing I noticed when I started riding with them was how stiff they were. This did loosen up during the ride, and they did not prhibit emergnecy stops, as one particular stretch of the trip required 7 panic stops in 18 miles
to keep from hitting natures really big speed bumps (KILL BAMBI!!) I did find it tiring to try to grip the bars tight, but my fingers are weak from lack of use over the last couple months as I have been recovering from ym accident and not at work. They do provide incredible grip and I found that just laying my palms on the bars I can hold the throttle at 90mph easily while letting my fingers curl over the brake and clutch levers. I did ride with mt hands gripping the bars for about 20 miles and it was not terrible, just the gloves are a tad stiff for closing extra tight on the small bars of this bike with my weak hands. They were plent comfortable and were easy to remove at the end of my ride. I found the dexterity to be OK for using my hands to undo my helmet, fish in my wallet for credit cards and pretty much evrything else while wearing the gloves. Any stiffer and they would not be wearable, any lighter and they would not be friendly for cold weather. I guess they are great for the majority of my riding, but I'll still be buying a pair of winter gloves soon enough.Overview, All in all I would buy them again for the $29 price tag. I would not give the suggested retail of nearly $80 for them, but I probably wouldn't pay that for any gloves
Pros:
Good in cool weather
Good in moderate weather (sub 90degree)
Very good grip
Nice armour well placed
Wrist support is a plus, eases tired wrists on long rides
Price (closeout of $29 from motorcycle-superstore.com)
Cons:
A tad stiff for tight gripping
Too much insulation for most summer riding
Not enough insulation for deep winter riding
All around a good glove that I would recommend. Here is a picture:
I hope this can be of use to someone,
George
