Getting On the Track
More Options for Women's Gear from Held USA
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.
New Gear for Spring/Summer 2018 from REV'IT
There are so many new products for us this Spring, I'm going to keep this limited to my top 4 favorites.
If you follow my Instagram feed, you know I practically live in my Gear 2 Leather Pants almost year round. As long as it isn't below 60F, I'll pretty much live in them because they're so comfortable.
This Spring, Rev'it is updating the Gear 2 with a new name but basically the same pant with a couple nice armor upgrades.
The new Ignition 3 Pants (right) is pretty much the same pant as it's predecessor, the Gear 2's but with upgraded Level 2 Seeflex Knee Armor and Seesmart Level 1 Hips. Unfortunately this also means a price upgrade to $429 for the pants (previously $399). But worth $29 extra in my opinion for softer and more protective armor.
The matching Ignition 3 Jacket is pretty much the same as the 2 with the same armor upgrades for elbows and shoulders for $30 more:
Another new pant for us is the Varenne.
The Varenne is a ladies version of the popular Axis Unisex Waterproof Overpants which are now discontinued.
These feature full hip to knee full length, two way zippers on each leg for those of you looking for easy commute wear.
Instead of riding in your skinny jeans, tights, shorts, chinos, and anything else that's not worthy of abrasion, check out these overpants.
They're waterproof all the time and offer Seesoft Level 2 Knees and soft Seesmart Level 1 Hip protectors.
They're simple, black and easy to wear and less than $200. And as always, available in (some) short and tall sizes for women (and the mens versions too).
There are quite a few new additions to the rider looking for modern classic leather jackets.
Three new jackets; the Clare, Rosa and Erin offer slightly different leathers, styles and colors. I want to see someone in that gorgeous red Clare.
Softer Seesoft Level 1 armor is included (except the back) to make them even more comfortable while riding.
I think this Spring is going to be awfully cool and protected....
Stay tuned for a review of my Rev'it Neptune GoreTex Suit !
Speaking Event: Beautiful Bikers Conference
I'm excited to announce another event that I'll be attending and speaking at!
The 5th Annual Beautiful Bikers Conference is taking place in Dallas, TX. I'll be participating on a special industry panel with my fellow female industry professionals. I'll also help with hosting the fashion show that showcases a variety of women's motorcycle gear available on the market.
If you're going to be in town for the motorcycle show, then carve out a few hours to attend this event. It's going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear such a unique variety of female industry professionals speak in one place.
And a Special Discount for GearChic.com readers: visit www.beautifulbikers.com to register and use code: GEARCHIC to save $15 off of registration.
