Summer Motorcycle Gloves for Men

Joanne,

I came across your GearChic blog & Moterrific podcast after listening to either the Wheelnerds or (more likely) The Pace Podcast.  I've caught up on all the podcasts & really appreciate all the great info & engaging interviews you & Christi have with people in the industry.  I listen quite a bit through my Sena while commuting to & from work & often on rides elsewhere (I'm a podcast addict, so I have something playing just about anytime).  

I have a gear question I've been trying to nail down for a while, since I ride mostly Kawasaki bikes - an '02 KLR650 (now 685) and an '09 Versys - both green.  I'm trying to find a comfortable summer-oriented glove for riding in the usual 80-100 degree summers we have here, and it would be a real bonus to find something in a Kawasaki green.  I currently wear a Sedici medium gauntlet style glove in the spring & fall, as well as some insulated Joe Rocket gauntlet gloves or Tourmaster heated gauntlets for winter.  During the summer, I will usually wear the Sedici gloves to work, but on the hot ride home, I will either wear some cheap dirt gloves or Mechanix gloves.  I know these won't give me the same protection as good street gloves in the event of a crash, so I'm hoping you can steer me in the right direction.

Thanks & I hope to boost your email count just a little :)

Cheers,

Aaron in Yuba City, CA

Hi Aaron!

Thanks for breaking my email record and making it 6 emails in the last week. I'm stoked to help you out. I'm going to warn you, these will all cost more than your budget gloves, but they are going to offer lots of protection, ventilation and comfort.

As far as Kawi Green, that's a tough one. As most of my recommendations aren't available in that color. Try not to think about that too much, you're not looking down at your hands while you're riding, right? :D But I found you one option below that is offered in green, just in case.

Here are my favorite men's summer gloves which also offer plenty of abrasion protection on the palms for street riding. They look like dual sport gloves, and they definitely work well for that but the protection on these are sweet for street riding.

1/ Rev'it Dirt 2 (my fave)

$109.99. These are extremely well ventilated and have a strong goatskin palm, reinforced palms and hard knuckle protection just in case. Like all Rev'it gloves, the fingers tend to run a tad longer.  A really neat feature about these gloves is that there is mesh above the thumbs, so if you have trouble with gloves that are too short over the thumb, these may work better. They're also touchscreen friendly, but please no texting and driving~!

Fitwise, they are a bit narrow at the wrist so if you have really wide hands/palms, go up a size. But they will stretch out in the palms after you break them in.

2/ Held Sambia

$108.00. The Sambias are very similar to the Rev'it, with different construction but the same general purpose/features. Lots of abrasion resistance in the palms for street protection, and ventilation for summer. They also have my favorite, kangaroo palms!

Fitwise, they're also a bit on the narrow side so if you have really wide hands then order a size up. Finger lengths are average, not too short, not too long.

3/ Alpinestars SMX-2 Air Carbon

$79.95 These were actually on my mind as I read through your email. What a coincidence they come in kawi green! These also have a nice leather/mesh construction with carbon fiber hard protections. Lots of air flow with lots of protection. They also happen to be touch screen friendly.

Fitwise, I have found that these will have slightly shorter fingers and accommodate a wide palm without going up a size.

Recommendations for Gauntlet Style Women's Motorcycle Gloves

Reader Aya posted this question on my Facebook page, expressing how unhappy she was when she walked into a certain motorcycle store and found one of the worst selections of real motorcycle gear for women. More specifically, real gloves for year round riding (think temps between 60F-80F) with actual protection! So I've put together a list for her and every other woman who's shopping for actual gloves, not just ones that are hiding behind the pink. 

I only wish these gloves in the photo above still existed. They were hands down, the most protective, amazing women's glove on the market. Then Racer (the Austrian company, NOT the US distributor) decided we weren't important anymore and discontinued them. Very, very sad. But if you ever stumble upon these on eBay or on Craigslist, do NOT pass these up.

In the meantime, here are some suggestions by brand with fit descriptions for each one.

Alpinestars Stella GP Plus

MSRP $189.95, Size XS-XL, 2 colors

I have to give a shoutout to Alpinestars, not only for offering a full size run of XS-XL, but 3 different gauntlet glove options including this one. The other two gloves are less expensive with fewer features, the SP-2 and the SP-8. If you want a lighter glove without the extra reinforcements, then you may like those options instead. The GP Plus gloves have additional protection like DuPont™ KEVLAR® fiber, Schoeller Keprotec and 3rd/4th finger stitched together to prevent separation. These offer the same features as the men's version for race level glove. I like the fit on Alpinestars, not too narrow, not too wide, a little better for shorter fingers. 

Alpinestars Stella SP-2

MSRP $119.95, Sizes XS-LG, 4 colors

The SP-2's are a great street glove, less aggressive fit than the GP Plus and a few less features which bring the cost of the glove down a bit. The gauntlet is a little lighter and you'll notice the lack of accordion panel above the thumb. These also have a lot less carbon fiber, with EVA foam on the fingers instead.

Alpinestars SP-8

MSRP $89.95, Sizes XS-XL, 3 colors

The SP-8's are an entry level glove, with lighter protection reinforcements and an even more relaxed fit. Instead of a combination of goatskin and cowhide, these are only made of cowhide. They aren't as soft as the SP-2 or GP Plus, and less restrictive.

Dainese Carbon Cover ST

MSRP $149.99, Size XS-L, 2 colors

The Carbon Covers are a fantastic glove with Distortion Control on the pinky finger (meant to keep your pinky from separating away from your hand) and a really nice fit. The finger lengths are average, the construction consists of a goatskin palm and cowhide chassis, with kevlar stitching and reinforced palm sliders. These have a strong precurve, with a rather aggressive fit.

REV'IT Summit H2O Waterproof Gloves

MSRP $134.99, Sizes S-XL (as of this post, Revzilla still has XL's of the non waterproof versions available)

The Summits are only available in the waterproof version, but you may still find the non waterproof ones on various websites if they have inventory available. The non waterproof versions were discontinued as of last year. I love these because they offer an incredible amount of protection for a street glove. You can read my review of both versions here. These gloves don't have a really strong precurve, so they'd work well on any kind of bike, for any kind of rider.

These also make for great year round gloves since they're not warm, just lined with a waterproof membrane.

 

REV'IT Xena Gloves

MSRP $159.99, Sizes S-XL, 3 colors

The Xena Gloves are REV'IT's answer to the sport / race glove for women. These are the replacements for the previous version, the Raven. They fit the same as the Raven with some minor design changes. Given the lack of protection on top of the fingers, I don't count these as a full race glove if you compare them to something like the SLR or Stellar. However, they make for an excellent, all around street glove. In general, Rev'it gloves are going to run longer in the fingers and narrower in the wrist. Since they're supposed to be a race glove, they will have a very strong precurve fit to them.

Rukka Vilma Gore-Tex Xtrafit

MSRP $189, Sizes 6-10 (XS-XL)

You're probably wondering why these are so expensive. Well, aside from being a well made glove by Rukka, these are also completely waterproof and windproof with the Gore-Tex membrane. Also, the membrane is bonded to the leather ("Xtrafit") so it'll never separate. You know what's it's like to try and slip a wet or sweaty hand into a lined glove. These will definitely work better in that regard, but in addition to that they will be the lightest, waterproof glove you'll ever wear. As a result, they aren't good gloves for really cold temperatures (unless you have heated grips) since they don't have any kind of thermal/insulated membrane.

If you're looking for even more protection, and want to explore men's glove options, I would recommend any of the men's race gloves among REV'IT, Dainese and Alpinestars. I would say the most slender, smallest fit among all three brands is REV'IT. I have very small hands (XS, 6) and I can almost fit into a pair of Jerez Pro's. The main fit difference with men's gloves will be wider wrists, palms, bigger thumbs and longer fingers.

I also recommend REV'IT men's gloves for women since they tend to fit fairly narrow as well. But you need to be at least a women's Medium or Large to fit into a Small/Medium on the men's side.

Custom 1 and 2 Piece Gear / Suits

I've updated my directory with companies that offer a variety of custom motorcycle gear options. Everything from Kevlar pants to racing suits, to touring suits. Check it out! http://gearchic.com/geardirectory/1-and-2-piece-suits/

Breaking in new Motorcycle Boots

 

I recently acquired these cute TCX X-Street Waterproof Motorcycle Shoes so I could have something stylish in this horrible snowy, cold winter we've been having.

I don't plan to ride in them, they're definitely a casual shoe for me. But, I wanted to share my experience breaking these in! It wasn't easy and definitely a little painful along the way. I tried them on and they felt pretty good. A little pressure across the toebox (width wise) but not too bad. I only wore them in the store for a few minutes. But as soon as I put them on the next day to wear to work, I completely forgot about this whole break in thing. (It's been a couple years since I've had to go through this).

And my feet were SCREAMING at me the whole time. 'WHY DID YOU BUY THESE? YOU'RE KILLING US?!' I was worried, a little worried. Okay, *really* worried. But, I knew I had to stick it out. The pressure wasn't so bad that I got bunions or anything, but they were just uncomfortable after 2-3 hours of wearing them. I just assumed that I wouldn't be able to wear them all day and would have to use them as cute, going out shoes. A dinner... a movie.. maybe some shopping.

But after a few weeks (not wearing them every day to work, but at least every couple), they fully broke in and I realized one day that my feet weren't killing me like they used to. These particular shoes were also very very wide in the heel and ran a full size large. I'm normally a Euro 37, US 6.5 but I had to go down to a Euro 36. With such a loose ankle, I realized that I needed to lace them very snug around the ankles. Otherwise my feet would slide forward and smush my foot into the toe box.

As soon as I laced them up nice and tight, it made a Huge difference because my ankles were sitting right where they should be so my feet weren't moving back and forth inside the boots. Remember, you don't want any forward and backward movement of your foot when it's inside the boot. And it's totally normal for your toe to be close to the edge of the toebox as long as it's not pushing forward into the very end as you walk.

I know breaking in gear is a b*tch, but it's SO worth it in the end. Try not to size yourself in the store (when it comes to leather), but size yourself the way you want it to fit a month from now.