habitual crashers - your glove experiences please

[Mr Skid]

Yep, im a big fan of my Spidi H20ut Race gloves.... Handled crashes at 60 upto 150-160kmh, i think i have crashed in them about 3-4 times now, and are only now getting to the stage of needing replacement.... Only problem is the get smelly in summer due to being so warm.

A must is knuckle protection... I had a crash, and no knuckle protection, dislocated finger but i had knuckle protection it would have been fine.....

I saw you can get an unlined version of your glove - $199 v. $249 for the h2out model at motomail.. It's definitely a consideration at the moment.

Whatever I choose will definitely need to have knucle protection.
External armour is becoming the way to go - alpinestars, spyke, dainese are or have started to incorporate it into their suits.

WINJA'S comment about metal inserts is also a good point.

They have little vent thingys on them as well and a padded area on the outside of the forearm,I'm also using these as my road gloves

I've noticed that padded bit when looking at gloves, it's to protect the Ulna head (knobly bit on the outside of wrist) which seems like a damn good idea. In fact i wished I had have had it in my first bin when I chipped part of the bone off

[Mr Skid]

What about this type of thing? http://www.foxcreekleather.com/128.html (probably not everybody’s cup of tea I know). Has anyone tried this type of product? Interesting to see in the list of features: “Dual-duty thread provides the strongest seams and won't cut through leather like Kevlar thread.” – didn’t know that about Kevlar thread…

And for your convenience…


Four Dirty Secrets Glove Manufacturers Don't Want You to Know
/snip

Thanks for that information. I do wonder how much of those 'dirty secrets' is marketing spiel on behalf of that manufacturer.

I often hear the argument about 3rd world workmanship being inferior, but I think it comes down to the quality assurance processes in a factory.

I did come across this company in China http://www.s-gloves.com/about1.htm
They make gloves for Dainese, Spidi and Nankai (never heard of the last one), and claim ISO9002 acreditation. So maybe a point in favor of Spidi gloves based on that.


Regarding the stitching, I came across an australian site. http://www.roadsafety.mccofnsw.org.au/a/88.html
It had some useful information about construction of safety gear. In particular it discussed the optimum stitches per cm to use in construction of a item. The optimum stitch/cm value differs between leather (11-14stitches/5cm) and fabric (13-16stitches/5 cm) I suspect the risk of stitching cutting through leather/fabric would revolve more around the stitches/cm than the actual thread used.

[onearmedbandit]

Nankai are a Japanese brand, and from what I've heard they make quite a good product. You should be able to find info on them on the web.

[andy1]

Hey, let me know i can normally get $150 off any gloves. Spidi i can get for good price 2. i got a spidi glove for my mate for $120 and here sale for $329.
Let me know.

Peace.

[Bonez]

Hey, let me know i can normally get $150 off any gloves. Spidi i can get for good price 2. i got a spidi glove for my mate for $120 and here sale for $329.
Let me know.

Peace.

Just goes to show the fucken markup thats been put on kit.

[Coyote]

Also ArmourTech - stitching failed under 6 mnths (without any bins)

!!!!!!!

Crap, I've got an ArmourTech 1 peice suit

[F5 Dave]

A low speed dump on the bucket resulted in me smacking knuckles on the ground & they swelled so in a fist they were flat. Took a week to go down. Hence make sure there is padding of some sort.

Kushitani gloves are my fav. Mine have held up perfect for about 6 years but road use only.

[scroter]

stay away from technics..., stitching fails

as most of you know i recently had a large crash at taupo race track. speed = dunno but somewhere near 150-200kph. i had teknics on and the stiching didnt fail but the leather wore right down but i got no marks on my hands at all. corse these gloves are about 5 or 6 years old and i dont know what they were like back then compared to now.

[vifferman]

While being a habitual crasher (hopefully only in the past), I've only ever had my hands down once that I can remember, when I locked up the front of the FahrtSturm and put my hand out as it turfed me off onto the road. I was wearing my Orina waterproof glubs and it ended up with a small hole through the suede bit on the butt of the palm (if that's the right term). It didn't go all the way through, but I think there's some kevlar or summat underneath the suede.
I'd never buy Orina stuff again, as these gloves came apart at the seams in fairly short order, just from normal riding. As I wore them as little as possible, they'd gone past any guarantee period they may have had.

When I crashed the VFR, I think I was wearing my Spidi Pro-1 glubs each time, but didn't get a mark on them. However, the last time, I ended up with some sore fingers, but I think they may have been pinched between the clutch and handlebar or summat. They (the glubs) now have holes worn through the ends of two fingers from 4 years of almost daily use, so I bought some Dri-Rider gloves for myself a couple of weeks ago. I'm quite happy with them so far, as they have good knuckle, wrist and finger protection, but compared to the Spidis, they're a little lacking in protection for the fleshy part of the thumb - where the Spidis had double leather+kevlar, these have a single layer of leather. Wish I'd noticed that before I bought them, but they fit well, and so I bought 'em.

[That Guy]

I'd recommend Spidi Carbo 1s if they weren't so damned expensive (nearly $500 I think). No wait, they're your hands, stuff the cost - Spidi Carbo 1s. If you can get 'em. Bullet proof. When I worked in GPs riders who weren't sponsored by Spidi used to wear Carbo 1s anyway and black out the logos. Can't get a better recommendation than that.

[inlinefour]

I'm going to be purchasing a pair of race gloves shortly, and I'm keen to hear the opinions of people who have crash tested them.

I was originally looking at the Alpinestars GP Plus gloves, but talking to owners and reading reviews on the web, it appears that there may be some quality control issues on them. In particular seam bursting, and non-uniform quality of the leather on the gloves.

So what's your experiences of gloves?

I'm primarily interested in how well they hold up in a bin, but would like to know about build quality on what you choose to protect your hands with.

Any thoughts/feedback/suggestions appreciated!

Way back in my stupid days on a Yamaha RD250LC with a pair of fox motorcross gloves. Used to ride the RD pretty hard (generally within an inch of its life once disconnecting the rev cable) and every so often slide off the bike while going too fast around a courner and hitting something slippery. The gloves where great for protecting my hands, but poor at keeping them either warm or dry. I've got spool racing gloves and in crappy conditions my hands have stayed both dry and warm. I'm really hoping that I never get to crash test them though

[Zapf]

I've brought some KBC gloves not too long ago. They have double padded leather palms, Kevlar pads on the knuckles, padding across the top knuckles and upper forearm. They have double stitching in the palm area.

The only grump I have about them is the Velcro strap around the wrist started to fray from the seam it is sewn into on the side of the glove. I also had to unpick the Velcro patch and re-stitch it on the strap so I could tighten it around my wrist properly (seems to be a common design fault of most gloves). Unable to tell you how they hold up during a skate across bitumen however. Oh and I see the label inside says they are made in Pakistan (see Secret #1 below)!

What about this type of thing? http://www.foxcreekleather.com/128.html (probably not everybody’s cup of tea I know). Has anyone tried this type of product? Interesting to see in the list of features: “Dual-duty thread provides the strongest seams and won't cut through leather like Kevlar thread.” – didn’t know that about Kevlar thread…

And for your convenience…

“
Four Dirty Secrets Glove Manufacturers Don't Want You to Know

Secret #1: U.S. deerskin is superior to cowhide in comfort, protection & utility.
The reason most gloves are made of cowhide is because over 90% of motorcycle gloves (including Harley Davidson's) are made in China and Pakistan where labor is dirt cheap and deerskin is not readily available.

Secret #2: Most gloves fail at the seams.
With the majority of manufacturers more concerned with adding flashy features than real protection, they end up with overly complicated designs with too many seams. Each seam is a potential failure point. Count how many seams are in your own gloves. Most have as many as four seams on every finger, but Lee Parks Design gloves have only have four seams in the entire glove! Fewer seams mean real safety.

Secret #3: Thin Kevlar thread reduces seam strength.
Unlike textiles, more threads per inch in leather makes it weaker, not stronger. Kevlar is a ver strong aramid fiber made by DuPont but it makes a lousy thread for motorcycle gloves because it doesn't stretch when the gloves undergo stress. That makes it act like a cheese knive cutting through the leather and letting the gloves rip open. Lee Parks' gloves use a special "dual-duty" design that has two strong nylon threads perh hole, engineered with just enough elasticity to maximize the seam strength.

Secret #4: Hard carbon fiber shatters (not deforms), creating a safety hazard.
Popular carbon fiber knuckle guards turn into dangerously sharp shards of fiber-reinforced epoxy resin which can aggravate a wound.
“

these gloves do look good thou.

[Bonez]

these gloves do look good thou.

Back to basics, minimal stitching troughout, long kneck to keep those pesky insects at bay, offer weather protection and black of course (good for staining the hands when wet-the mark of a real biker I might add Thanks to JackRat for this enlightening essy - http://www.chopperhandbook.com/neatstuff/black.htm). I note they have a seam on the tips of the fingers. Could be a source of discomfort on this cold winter trips down south. Chill factor and all that. Mind you we all have heated handle bar grips these days don't we? Can also be used as an emergency drinking at a rally or a container to top up a leaky sports bike coolant system when the inevertable stone through the radiator event occurs.

[DEATH_INC.]

Ok so death says that bruce didnt use his brakes and you saw a guy crash at 180... hmm and i know a TL rider with Alpine star GP Gloves.
mebee i should be speeddetective. I see a picture here.
Do I need to go dig a TLS grave next to my TLR grave?

What is it with you and Suzuki's Chris..

Ummmm,I was talkin about him not stopping to wait when we did.......nothing else....
I've crashed a few times,the gloves that held up best were the then top of the line Spidi's.They've been superceded now though...

[Quasievil]

Thanks for that information. I do wonder how much of those 'dirty secrets' is marketing spiel on behalf of that manufacturer.

I often hear the argument about 3rd world workmanship being inferior, but I think it comes down to the quality assurance processes in a factory.

I did come across this company in China http://www.s-gloves.com/about1.htm
They make gloves for Dainese, Spidi and Nankai (never heard of the last one), and claim ISO9002 acreditation. So maybe a point in favor of Spidi gloves based on that.


Regarding the stitching, I came across an australian site. http://www.roadsafety.mccofnsw.org.au/a/88.html
It had some useful information about construction of safety gear. In particular it discussed the optimum stitches per cm to use in construction of a item. The optimum stitch/cm value differs between leather (11-14stitches/5cm) and fabric (13-16stitches/5 cm) I suspect the risk of stitching cutting through leather/fabric would revolve more around the stitches/cm than the actual thread used.

ISO9002 means quality standards in the production and doesnt relate to the desigh of the gloves.
ISO9001 is the one you want it covers the design and production.
Just a point

Oh anyone see my gloves on TM ??
http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/a...sp?id=20649898

I have a few pairs if anyone keen ?