Of all your appendages, the ones you want to care for the most are your hands. Without them, you won’t be able to drink your morning coffee, hold your partner’s hand, wipe your bum, or worse still, pilot a motorcycle. With that in mind, it makes a lot of sense to invest in a decent pair of motorcycle gloves. There are of course countless gloves to choose from. For us, a decent pair of gloves offers a good balance of style and safety. So here are 5 of the latest gloves to hit the market that have our tick of approval.
Best Comfort Focused Moto Gloves: Saint Inside Out Glove
Saint has played an integral role in riding gear design and safety advancement with their Dyneema-infused denim motorcycle pants. To complement its jeans offering the brand now has its own range of outerwear and accessories which includes the new Inside Out Gloves.
The Inside Out Gloves were designed in collaboration with Saint brand ambassador, MX, flat track, and Baja racer, Terry Madden. As the name suggests they feature a design that locates all of the gloves seams on the exterior. Along with creating a unique look, this increases the glove’s comfort dramatically since there are no seams pressing into the hands or fingers. Further adding to the comfort of these gloves is the use of supple, black-dyed goat leather that has a pre-worn feel straight out of the box.
Along with the safety benefits goat leather offers, the Saint Inside Out Gloves utilize armour inserts in the knuckle and palm. In combination, these features have earned them a CE safety garment certification for added peace of mind. The gloves are secured in place using a hook and loop fastener, and they feature touchscreen-sensitive thumb and index fingertips.
On the inside of these gloves, you get a soft liner that aides with moisture wicking. An elasticated panel on the wrist and the back of the hand ensures a pressure-less fit. And to complete the look, the Inside Out gloves wear Saint’s winged emblems on the wrists.
RRP: $76.66 USD
Best Feature Packed Moto Gloves: Dainese Tempest 2 D-Dry Short Gloves
In the world of motorcycling Dainese needs no introduction. The Italian riding gear manufacturer offers a vast range of motorcycling products developed through years of real-world testing. Most of their gear is tailored towards sports riding so you can rest assured they offer optimum levels of protection.
Despite being a short cuff, commuter glove the Dainese Tempest 2 D-Dry gloves are packed with impressive features. These include convenience-focused details such as touch-sensitive fingertips and a visor wiper on the left index finger. The fingers are also pre-curved and they’ve added elasticated concertina panels to the lever fingers for ease of movement. They also made fitment and removal of these gloves fuss free with the addition of a hook and loop fastener on each cuff.
The Dianese Tempest 2 D-Dry gloves are constructed using a mix of 4-way stretch fabric for ease of movement and leather reinforcements for safety. Additional protection comes from Comf-tek soft PU viscoelastic armour which flexes to match the shape of your hand. A suede palm helps to improve your grip on the bars and the cuff is designed to prevent the gloves from coming off during a fall.
Designed with winter riding in mind these feature packed gloves will keep your hands dry and warm. Waterproofing comes courtesy of Dasinese’s own D-Dry internal breathable membrane. When temperatures drop, a thermal insulation layer within the lining keeps out the cold so you can continue to ride unfazed by inclement conditions.
RRP: $129.95
Best Waterproof Moto Gloves: REAX Ridge WP Gloves
REAX is an offshoot of Revzilla’s parent company Comoto. So considering their in-depth knowledge of everything riding gear related you’d expect their products to be top-notch, and the Reax Ridge WP gloves set out to prove that point.
The Reax Ridge WP gloves are no-nonsense riding gloves designed to keep your hands both safe and dry. The styling of these gloves is purpose-driven so everything you see is essentially there for a reason. Starting with the outer shell the Ridge WP gloves are constructed from a 0.8mm to 0.9mm cowhide across the back of the hand. The palm is durable goat leather with double layers in heavy-duty zones. The gauntlet cuff uses a mix of leather and a stretch poly fabric and secures with a large velcro panel that permits easy adjustment to either fit within a sleeve or over it.
The Ridge WP gloves come in a single colorway of black with a splash of red stitching on the palms. You will also find 3 silver panels on the index, middle, and ring fingers which are a reflective coated stretch fabric that offers both safety and ease of movement. There’s also a strip of reflective detail along the outside edge of each hand.
Impact and abrasion resistance comes from a combination of the gloves’ comprehensive leather construction and integrated armor. The main armor component sits over the knuckles beneath a leather panel. Reax has also added protection to the underside of the hand with the use of Axial super fabric which is a ceramic bonded material with abrasion resistance far superior to leather and it’s backed with impact-absorbing padding.
The Reax Ridge WP gloves waterproofing comes courtesy of a poly tricot liner that is also breathable and the liner is fully bonded which prevents annoying bunching. Additional features of these well-thought-out gloves include a comfort-focused pre-curved design and touch screen capable finger and thumb tips for on-the-go convenience.
RRP: $129.99
Best Lightweight Moto Gloves: Akin Moto Diamond 2.0 Gloves
Aussie riding gear outfit Akin Moto has been impressing us with its great-looking, top-performing motorcycle garb for years now. Launched by moto enthusiast Max Duff, the brand seamlessly merges streetwear style with tried and tested safety tech. Amongst their latest raft of new product releases, you’ll find the Akin Moto Diamond 2.0 Gloves, and as far as looks go, these gloves rate very highly.
The Diamond 2.0 gloves boast a svelte silhouette and a short/mid-cut cuff design. Although they lack armor, the gloves are constructed from goat’s leather. Benefits of goat leather include being lightweight, water-resistant, durable, and an impressive resistance to abrasion. Goat leather is also very comfortable with little to no break-in period and according to Akin, the Diamond 2.0 gloves wear like a second skin.
As the name implies, the finish on the top of each hand uses a classic diamond stitch pattern. The fingers are wrapped in more goat leather with the exception of a 4-way stretch spandex on the outer edge of the thumb and between the base of the fingers. Each palm is made from a single piece of leather which eliminates the risk of seam bursts and optimises comfort.
Like most of Akin’s gear, the Diamond 2.0 gloves come in one colorway of black. Branding is limited to an embroidered tag on the outer wrist of each glove. For ease of fitment, the gloves feature quilted leather pull tabs and they secure using a velcro fastener. Akin has also leveraged AX materials industry-leading AX Connect touchscreen compatible fabric on the tip of the thumb and forefinger so you can use your smartphone without having to remove the gloves.
RRP: $49 USD
Best Heated Moto Gloves: Merlin Finchley Heated D3O Gloves
Cold fingers on a long ride aren’t just uncomfortable, they can be downright dangerous. Prolonged exposure to the cold can cause your hands and fingers to cramp and lose feeling, which is precisely what you don’t want to happen on a motorcycle. One of the best solutions for this issue is electronically heated gear, like these Merlin Finchley Heated D3O Gloves.
These well-priced, heated gloves by UK outfit Merlin Riding Gear will keep your fingers toasty on your next winter commute. In the past gloves like these would require you to be wired to the battery of your motorcycle, but thanks to advancements in battery technology, the Finchley Heated Gloves are cordless. Powered by 2 rechargeable 1100mah lithium Ion batteries that are included in the glove’s purchase price. On the medium setting Merlin says the batteries can provide 3 hours of continuous heating.The batteries are stowed neatly within the cuff of each glove and the gloves are operated using push-button controls on the top of each hand. Three different heat settings are available and indicated by a corresponding color from the backlit control button.
Merlin pitches the Finchley as a glove for urban riders. This is due to the more compact design, which is better suited to commuting or weekend blasts than adventure touring. To further bolster the Finchley’s offering, Merlin has lined each glove with thermal Thinsulate fabric and a Hipora waterproof membrane. Other innovative design features include touchscreen-friendly index and thumb tips, a silicone palm print for grip, and stretch panels to reduce fatigue.
Constructed from a mix of a stretchy textile fabric, leather panels, and low-profile D30 armor inserts these gloves are also designed to keep your hands safe. The Merlin Finchley Heated Gloves come with a dual USB charger so both gloves can be recharged simultaneously.
RRP: $249 USD