Guide to buying the right set of riding gloves

So identify what your riding style and your use case is and then look around for the most affordable glove.

BHPian deepfreak15 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Let me see if I can help you select the gloves that you deem fit for your use. This comes from me buying a bunch of gear and learning about them after having bought it, so maybe I can save you some time and money.

First identify your use case city riding, highway riding, track days etc. Each type of gloves (or for that matter any gear) might be specific for one use case or could be ok for "most use cases". So best is to see what features are there in the gloves you have shortlisted and then buy accordingly. For eg: City use only

The only protection you will get is in case of a slow speed tumble where instinctively we all stretch our hands out to break our fall. You will only save your skin from sliding off your palm and exposing the flesh below but that is the most common scenario within the city.

You might be alarmed that there are no hard parts on the fingers but that is the norm with city gloves very rarely do you end up with broken finger bones (not saying it can't happen), but if you think your riding style in the city warrants more protection go ahead. Also on a hot summers day these are much easier to put on and take off multiple times and that is another common city use case. Just note if you are going for a glove that's not fully leather especially around the fingers it HAS to fit like a glove (pun intended) right on the shop floor. There is no break in period.

If you have mix of City and Highway use (also, if you think you will be riding most of the time at a good pace):

Consider something like this, the bridge between the little finger and the ring finger ensures your little finger doesn't detach itself (most common in high speed slides).

Also you have extra padding (some have hard protection) to protect your wrist from smashing into pieces.

If you have a lot of high speed riding, this is another useful must-have feature. Makes sure your palm does not slam into the concrete but instead slips away, saving you from a fracture

Or at least has some reinforcement (this has slide and reinforcement baked into one)

Notice how I have thrown in words like "smashing your wrist", "Skin sliding off your palm" etc.... Yeah that's how critical these are so identify what your riding style and your use case is and then look around for the most affordable glove. Do NOT fix a budget in mind and buy what fits in that.

Now about water proof gear **My Humble Opinion**. Many years ago I remember when someone was going to the USA for higher studies the first thing every parent (ok maybe most) went hunting for was thermal underwear for their kids. Much later in life when I went to the USA I was scratching my head, unless you were living in a tent/cabin in the woods you had no need for thermal underwear, even during the coldest winters. So back to the topic of wet weather gear. I don't own a single item, sorry my ADV boots have Goretex but I didn't have an option as I wanted those boots for the hard protection it offered. I hate riding in the rain but that does not mean I have not been caught out in a torrential downpour. The first gear that gives up is my helmet visor. If I cannot see I will not ride and park on the side of the road, simple! If it is raining and I can still see through my visor I have noticed my gloves, boots (perforated), jacket (leather and textile) and pants (leather and textile) do get wet but if I continue riding after 20 minutes they are bone dry. If you are riding in jeans and t-shirts then you should not be thinking about safety gear. Most important, if I go on 100 rides I might get caught in a downpour maybe on 2 rides, in my use case it's not worth paying a premium for a feature I will rarely use.

What I am trying to say is, look for wet weather riding gear only if your livelihood depends on it (if you have to deliver parcels come hail or snow etc) or you are going to a place where you will have to constantly cross streams etc. They are very uncomfortable, frightfully expensive and no matter what the brochure says, fancy tech like Goretex deteriorate over time. Specifically with respect to gloves the more tactile feel you have the better and any weather proofing will rob you of some sensation! If I have confused more than helping I am extremely sorry but its easy to be swayed into thinking you need one feature at the expense of a hospital trip saving feature.

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