habitual crashers - your glove experiences please

[Mr Skid]

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!

[FROSTY:Me]

ill be updating my report on my racetechs tonite.--basicly a bloody good glove -held up well--and no sore hands.

[750Y]

stay away from technics..., stitching fails

[Mr Skid]

stay away from technics..., stitching fails

I keep hearing worse and worse stories about teknic stitching..

The stitching on the palms of my gloves disappeared when i put my hand down while still sliding. It was only on the ground for 1-2 seconds, and I was initally suprised at this, though in hindsight, they are Spidi winter touring gloves, so I can't really expect too much of them - single row stitching, probably cotton, as opposed to something fancy like concealed rows of kevlar stitching or similar.

ill be updating my report on my racetechs tonite.--basicly a bloody good glove -held up well--and no sore hands.

Sounds good, I'll be keen to hear about them. They are an option at the moment, also the Spidi sport composite h2out gloves have stood up to much abuse from Two Smoker, and are sounding like a possibility.

[WINJA]

DONT GET GLOVES WITH STEEL RIVETS THEY CAN HEAT UP WHEN IN A SLIDE AND BURN YOU, LOOK FOR KEVLAR REINFORCED PALMS WITH KEVLAR STICHING. I CRASHED AT OVER 200K AND MY TECHNICS HELD UP SAYING THAT I BOUGHT ANOTHER PAIR AND THEY RIPPED PUTING THEM ON GO FIGURE

[Motu]

I'm probably not much help as all my testing is ancient history,but I'm all for the real world,not some doom and gloom of what might be....

I have some vague memories of sore hands from my early experiments of going around corners.Had an off road crash in 1972 on my ONE WEEK old CT2,bizzarely I had a head on with an identical bike,2 days older than mine - the big knurling on his front brake lever went between the knuckles of my left hand,down to the bone...but I rode home anyway,we were kinda tough in those days...these days I guess I'd sue Yamaha for making such a dangerous bike.2 weeks later I slammed it into the side of Trekka,opening it up like the tin can it was,so much for my new bike eh.

From then on I have always worn gloves,getting a pair of unlined dress gloves,and I've stayed with light gloves ever since,can't stand fat gloves.Worn the palms out of my 1st pair and had a 10cent sized blister.I used leather MX gloves for years,but these days they are synth leather,still use them off road,but struggle to find unlined gloves these days.I have had countless bins on and off road over 35 yrs of riding - the only times I've done damage is the previously mentioned blister,once with a leg trapped under the bike and sliding down the road I tried to stop myself by digging into the road with my hands...in fingerless gloves,they kinda stung afterwards.Once I pulled in the clutch as I was going down to keep the motor running,but caught my finger between the lever and bar,lots of blood and still a bit numb after over 10yrs.

Get the best gloves you can afford,that feel good I might add - and the best protection is not to do dumb things with your hands when you crash...learn how to fall,in my case,practise makes perfect.

[Hitcher]

When I went for a skate on the Takas last January, the palm of my right hand did a bit of a dance along the tarmac (at about 60kmh, plus or minus) but my summerweight Orina kevlars have only a few scuffs to show for it. None of my other pairs of gloves have had a close encounter with Mr Bituman and, hopefully, never will!

[Two Smoker]

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.

Saw a guy crash in some Alpinestar GP Plus Gloves today..... at about 160-180kmh, didnt hold up very well at all

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.....

[Coyote]

I got some cheap gloves ($80). They handled a 100k crash on my motard fairly well, allthough they can become uncomfortable while riding

[Vagabond]

Sounds like you planning another run down the 22 ?






P.S. Dont put your hands out !

[sels1]

stay away from technics..., stitching fails

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

[Kickaha]

I'm using Spool SP23 http://www.spool-bikewears.com/gb/gants.htm I think they were about $180?

I 've been down the track three times in three years and they've stood up quite well

The palm has two layers of leather and although the top stitching has abraded away in a couple of places where I had my hand down they are still in good shape,the hard knuckle protection has also saved me on one occasion going by the marks on them

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

very comfortble to use and after three years use with at least one race meeting a month have a fair bit of life left in them yet and when they finally die I will be buying the same thing again

[Groins_NZ]

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.
“

[k14]

Those facts do seem quite right, apart from the 4th. I do know that carbon fibre shatters, but it isn't there for impact protection. It is there so that when your hand is stuck under the bike and you are sliding along at 200kph the glove won't instantly disintegrate and you will loose the back of your hand (like aaron slight in the early 90's).

But I would definately recommend alpinestars. I've had mine for about 4 or 5 months now. Haven't had a crash while wearing them, but have done probably 2000kms or more wearing them and they still look in perfect condition. My mate got some teknics at the same time and they have come apart in a few places at the seams.

Apparantly kangaroo leather is the best stuff to use now. Something like 2 times stronger than cow leather.

[Mr Skid]

Sounds like you planning another run down the 22 ?
P.S. Dont put your hands out !

Third time lucky right? F/F has offered to chaperone me next time I do 22. He wasn't specific whether he meant on his R6, or following me with a trailer.

P.S. You're welcome to join us, just don't put your arse out!