Just in time for Spring and Summer 2018, Held GmbH is releasing more gloves to the American market through Held USA and giving us Moar Gloves!
These are especially awesome because they are higher performance gloves for women who WANT BETTER GEAR.
First up is the Air N Dry, $250 for a GoreTex XtraFit glove that features 2 pockets. One is where your hand will be totally dry, surrounded in the most breathable waterproof membrane.
Palms are perforated and feature grey Kangaroo leather
Held Air N Dry Gloves for Women, Black
The other pocket allows the palm of your hand to feel airflow right through to the full palm of your hand and the full underside of your fingers.
So this means if you're getting air, your hands aren't staying completely dry.
Why is this useful? Well in mild winter climates like San Francisco, where you rarely get weather below 45F even in Winter, the glove provides plenty of wind resistance to keep cold air out for the most part.
And then for the 2-3 weeks a year where the temperatures climb above 80F, you have a lower pocket that is fully perforated in case you need some airflow.
Evo Thrux, top side
However, for those of us who've decided to migrate over to the East Coast where it starts to get fully tropical in the summer months, these gloves are the perfect summer/wet weather companion. Here, it's hot and wet in the summer so your temperature range is constantly changing and you may need something waterproof (but not insulated/warm for winter) when it's 85F, Raining and Humid.
As long as your hand is in the upper chamber, you'll stay nice and dry but not insulated or warm. Notice these gloves offer the *exact same* protection as the Mens Version :D
The next glove they released is the Evo Thrux, $170. These are a track worthy glove, but also very much street friendly as well. The reason the palms are grey? You guessed it, Kangaroo leather.
Evo Thrux, Palm side
If you've been following along, you know that I only wear my Racer Gloves when I ride unless it's too cold out. I love the feel of Kangaroo leather, it's unlike any other on your handgrips.
These are pretty comparable to my Racers, in protection and function. Instead of carbon fiber bits, they're using SuperFabric to accomplish similar protections in the form of abrasion resistance. I think they're going to give my friends at Racer a run for their money. But I wouldn't trade these in for my Racers yet. ;)
If these ladies gloves follow the profile of the mens versions, then I'll say that they might have wider palms and slightly longer fingers than other Europeans including Revit, Alpinestars and Dainese.
The last glove in their Spring lineup is the Sereena, $165.
They're a solid leather glove for year roundish riding. They're not waterproof, not warm, just a middle weight glove that you would wear when it's not extremely hot or extremely cold.
The perfect GoTo, as I like to call the one you wear the most. For the price, there's a lot of technical features going on here like Schoeller Keprotec, Sas-Tec Armor and Outlast. Those are awesome, but can't a woman at least get a Palm Slider for that much money? I would've skipped the Outlast and made sure there was at least SuperFabric on the palms (like the Evo Thrux) because you almost always need your gloves to perform right there.
If I didn't have my palm sliders I probably wouldn't have a glove or palm left.
Overall, I'm happy to see that more brands are bringing on better gear for us. There are a LOT of options for women right now but sadly, most of them are more average in protection and seem to be catering heavily to the casual/fashion based crowd.
I hope to see more women look at better gear options so that they aren't asking themselves "What If" later.
