Summer gloves
Cool hands
Don’t you just love it when the bloke filling up the car next to you at the servo on a hot summer’s day looks over and says: “Great day to be out on the bike!”
You have three choices. Well, four. You can ignore him; you can grin and pretend that you’re enjoying the fact that you can’t get your gloves off (among other things) because they’re glued on with sweat; you can tell him the truth; or you can kill him.
Option 1 should be used sparingly because any positive response from a car driver is worth encouraging. Option 2 is out, of course, because motorcyclists never admit to anyone other than another motorcyclist that they are uncomfortable. Option 4 is not advised, because it’s probably a one-shot – unless you get a judge who’s also a rider you probably won’t get the chance to do this again. That leaves option 3, namely lying.
But you can be a little less uncomfortable in the heat if you get yourself a pair of vented gloves. Summer jackets and helmets have been written about quite a lot but so far gloves have been ignored. Well, it’s time to change that. Here’s a list of gloves that promise to keep your hands at least a little cooler under summer’s onslaught. Because there are always so many different claims about the materials and quality, we haven’t tried to describe the gloves in great detail – the point is more to show them to you so you can pick something you like.
We’ve sorted them into a few general categories to make life easier for you. “Fingerless” is reasonably obvious. Note that they are not missing the entire fingers, just the tips. “Light” means that lightness seems to have been the main aim of the designer, although many of these nevertheless offer a lot of protection. “Protective” describes a slightly heavier and more, well, protective glove, while “Long” means what we used to call gauntlets. I hope that’s helpful.
The important thing we hope to achieve with this is to show you how many relatively comfortable summer gloves are out there, so you won’t have to wear hot, uncomfortable ones or (shudder) go without completely. The actual choice is entirely yours.
Within each category the listing is by price. All prices are RRP. Oh, and when we say “hook & loop fastening” we mean what we might once have described as “Velcro”. We need to be careful with trade names, it seems, although many distributors still use them.
Fingerless fun
To be perfectly frank, none of us here can work out just what fingerless gloves are all about. Yes, they protect your palms from the hand grips on the bike but do you need protecting from your own grips? In the event of a crash they’re useless. Ah well, some boy loves them – and so we’ve included them.
RJays Fingerless Glove
$19.95
Sizes from S to XXXL
Leather, reinforced palm. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Cassons, (02) 9684 1210
RJays Daytona Fingerless Glove
$29.95
Sizes from XS to XXXL
Leather, reinforced palm, lots of venting. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Cassons, (02) 9684 1210
Dririder Fingerless Glove
$29.95
Sizes n/a
Leather, some ventilation holes. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by McLeod Accessories, 1300 300 191
Light and breezy
If all other things were equal, these would be the obvious choice for summer gloves. But it’s never ceteris paribus, is it; as Jimmy Durante used to say, “everybody’s a critic”.
RJays Air Perf Glove
$39.95
Sizes from XS to XXXXL
Soft leather with lots of perforations. A bit of light padding, elastic and hook & eye fastening at wrist.
Distributed by Cassons, (02) 9684 1210
RJays Mach 6 Glove
$39.95
Sizes from XS to XXXXL
Leather and fabric with lots of perforations. Stretch material, rubber finger protection and hard knuckle armour with vents. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Cassons, (02) 9684 1210
Thomas Cook Open Air Glove
$49.90
Sizes from S to XXXXL
Perforated leather, no protectors. Elastic fastening at wrist.
Distributed by Thomas Cook Boot & Clothing Co, (03) 8872 7272
Shift Hybrid X
$49.95
Sizes from S to XXXL
Fabric and suede, with lots of ventilation. Rubber knuckle protectors. Black; black/white. Hook and loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Monza Imports, (03) 8327 8888
RJays Pursuit 2 Glove
$59.95
Sizes from XS to XXXXL (men’s) and S to XL (women’s)
Leather and fabric with lots of perforations. Stretch material, rubber finger protection and Flexible moulded knuckle protection. Black. Hook & eye wrist fastening.
Distributed by Cassons, (02) 9684 1210
Harley-Davidson Airflow Glove
$64
Sizes from XS to XXL
Lightweight fabric upper, pigskin leather palms. Stretch side panels on fingers. No protectors. Black. Hook and loop fastening at wrist.
Available from Harley-Davidson dealers.
RJays Viper 2 Glove
$69.95
Sizes from XS to XXXXL
Ballistic nylon and leather with lots of venting. Stretch material, rubber reinforced knuckle protection. Reflective piping. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Cassons, (02) 9684 1210
Triumph Portland Glove
$89.95
Sizes from S to XXL
Vintage look two-tone yellow and black leather. Double palm section, ventilated fingers. Protective padding on knuckles. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Available in Triumph shops.
Spidi Cursor
$99
Sizes from S to XXXL
Suede, fabric and rubber protectors. Lots of ventilation and very light. Black, black and red, black and blue. Elastic closure at wrist.
Distributed by Ron Angel Wholesale, (03) 9464 3366
Dainese Stratoshort
$109.95
Sizes from XS to XXL
Leather with breathable fabric upper, no protectors but some shallow foam inserts. Reflective panels. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Monza Imports, (03) 8327 8888
Dainese Guanto Blackjack
$129.95
Sizes from XS to XXL
Goatskin leather with some perforations, foam knuckle and back of hand protectors. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Monza Imports, (03) 8327 8888
Spidi JAB-R
$139
Sizes from S to XXXL
Leather and ventilated fabric panels. Integrated hard protectors and quite a lot of venting. Variable density polyurethane. Black, black and red, black and blue. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Ron Angel Wholesale, (03) 9464 3366
Dainese Guanto M19
$189.95
Sizes from XS to XXL
Leather, fabric and suede with a lot of venting, hard composite knuckle protector and other padding. Reflective panels. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Monza Imports, (03) 8327 8888
Primarily protective
These gloves are a bit heavier than the previous category but they make up for it through more substantial protection.
RJays Sports Air Glove
$49.95
Sizes from XS to XXXXL
Leather with lots of perforations. Articulated hard knuckle protection with vents. Padded finger protection. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Cassons, (02) 9684 1210
RJays Bandit Glove
$59.95
Sizes from XS to XXXL
Leather with lots of perforations. Hard knuckle protection with aluminium mesh vents. Floating hard knuckle. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Cassons, (02) 9684 1210
Triumph Raptor Glove
$77.75
Sizes from S to XXL
Perforated mesh fabric and leather, ventilated hard knuckle panels and Kerprotec abrasion-resistant panels. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Available in Triumph shops.
Motoline Type-S
$79
Sizes from XS to XXXXL
Leather with dual layers in high wear areas, polyester on back, carbon/Kevlar knuckle and other protection. Lots of perforations, some vents. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Ron Angel Wholesale, (03) 9464 3366
Shift Fury
$79.95
Sizes from S to XXL
Leather and fabric, with lots of ventilation. Hard and soft protectors, reinforced leather palm. Black/white. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Monza Imports, (03) 8327 8888
Dririder Aero Mesh Glove
$89.95
Sizes XS to XXXXL
Fabric and leather, hard protection at knuckles and fingers. Lots of perforations, stretch panels. Cuffs somewhat longer than usual. UV protection. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by McLeod Accessories, 1300 300 191
Teknic Supervent Pro Glove
$169.95
Sizes from S to XXL
Several different fabrics, including Cordura and leather. Breathable upper. “Airblade” knuckle protector (replaceable) and finger vents. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by McLeod Accessories, 1300 300 191
Spidi RV Coupe
$189
Sizes from S to XXXL
Fabric and leather with padding and hard protectors including titanium, loops to make them easier to put on and lots of ventilation. Black, black and silver, black and red. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Ron Angel Wholesale, (03) 9464 3366
Dainese Guanto Blaster
$199.95
Sizes from XS to XXL
Leather with some perforation, hard carbon knuckle protector and other protectors. Elasticated inserts. Refelective panels. Black. Hook & loop wrist fastening.
Distributed by Monza Imports, (03) 8327 8888
Long arm
Once upon a time we would have called these “gauntlets”, probably, but there were never any gauntlets with venting for hot weather wear! We’ll just consider ourselves lucky that they’ve come along and offer a lot of protection all the way up our arms!
RJays Summer 2 Glove
$39.95
Sizes from XS to XXXL (Men’s)
Leather with lots of perforations, light padding and stretch panes. Elastic wrist fastening. Quite lightweight for a gauntlet.
Distributed by Cassons, (02) 9684 1210
Dririder Coolite
$49.95
Sizes S to XXL
Leather, fully perforated. No hard protection. Elastic wrist fastening.
Distributed by McLeod Accessories, 1300 300 191
Motoline Type-R
$99
Sizes from XS to XXXL
Leather with dual layers in high wear areas, carbon/Kevlar knuckle and other protection. Some vents and perforations. Black. Hook & loop wrist strap and cuff.
Distributed by Ron Angel Wholesale, (03) 9464 3366
Dririder Velocity
$99.95
Sizes XS to XXXXL
Leather, moulded hard protection at knuckles and fingers. Not much venting except on fingers. Articulated thumb, fingers and back of wrist for flexibility. Padded cuff. Hook & loop strap and wrist fastening.
Distributed by McLeod Accessories, 1300 300 191
Teknic Lightning
$169.95
Sizes from XS to XXXXL
Leather and fabric. Breathable Nylex upper. No perforation. Knuckle and vented finger protectors. Black, black and red, black and blue. Protected wrist strap. Double hook & loop underside wrist strap and cuff fastening.
Distributed by McLeod Accessories, 1300 300 191
Teknic Violator
$249.95
Sizes from S to XXXL
Leather and breathable Nylex upper. Lots of perforations. Carbon knuckle and finger protectors, scaphoid protector. Memory foam padding. Black or black and silver. Protected wrist strap. Double hook & eye cuff fastening.
Distributed by McLeod Accessories, 1300 300 191
Spidi Racevent
$299
Sizes from S to XXXL
Leather with titanium inserts and Keramide reinforcement panels. Double leather layers. Lots of ventilation. Black, white/black, black/red/white, black/white/blue. Hook & loop wrist strap and cuff.
Distributed by Ron Angel Wholesale, (03) 9464 3366
There are even more summer gloves on the market, of course, but these are the ones that were submitted when we asked the distributors for them. For all the cynics among you (you know who you are), please note that nobody paid for inclusion in this survey; we asked everyone we could think of who sells gloves to contribute; we did not demand that anyone advertise, or restrict it to existing advertisers; and we returned all the gloves. Okay?