For this installment of our 2011 Warm Weather Motorcycle Gear Guides, we take a look at our top picks for long-distance all-weather touring, ADV, and dualsport applications. Our top four picks represent what we think are the finest gloves available for Spring/Summer 2011, and each one of them fills its own niche within the category. You'll find a glove that is off-road oriented but can crossover to street applications, a highly protective airflow-friendly glove, and two that are designed to combat all of the elements no matter what time of year and in all riding conditions. All in all, these are our top picks for the ADV and long-distance touring segments for 2011.
First up in the lineup is the Klim Adventure Glove, which is geared, as you may have guessed, for primarily off-road riding. It can crossover to street riding, but this glove will really get you through the most rugged of off-roading conditions. Why? Because it utilizes upgrades in protection across the board. Other than the mesh fourchettes that vent a ton of air, the glove is a full Pittards leather construction for abrasion resistance with additional Pittards leather overlays found in the palm, the thumb and at the backhand. The impact protection can be found via the Poron XRD padding, which is a molecular level armor that is soft and comfortable, but becomes rigid on impact and disperses energy. This is our top off-road pick for 2011.
The Held Air Stream Gloves are our top pick for extreme airflow and protection bundled together for warm weather riding. The backhand construction is a high-airflow mesh that combines with perforated leather detailing for abrasion resistance and ventilation.There is vented hard plastic main knuckle armor the backhand is completely lined with Kevlar for additional resistance to abrasion. The palm is Kangaroo leather, which we all know is both tactile and protective, and Superfabric panels at the side of the hand and fingers really boost the safety as these tiny laser-welded ceramic plates offer 14x the abrasion resistance of Kevlar and really help in a slide situation. The Held Air Stream Gloves, our top pick for ventilation and protection for warm weather riding in 2011.
Now we move into the realm of waterproof breathable gloves. Heading the list is the REV'IT! Summit H2O Glove, which we think is going to be a winner all day long this year for a multitude of reasons. The outer shell is goatskin with PWRKevlar stretch fabric for comfort and a hypalon tri-fleece liner that is resistant to extreme temperature changes. The proprietary waterproof breathable Hydratex membrane keeps the elements out and allows the hand to breathe while PU injected finger knuckles, TPU pinky sliders, a dual compound palm slider and a TPR main knuckle protector all keep your hand protected from impact. Protection, comfort, versatility and performance all came into play during the construction of this glove which is also
available as the REV'IT! Womens Summit H2O Glove.
Last up is the only Gore-Tex glove and the one built for the most extreme applications. The brand new for 2011 REV'IT! Phantom GTX Glove is like a Summit on steroids as it bulks up protection and upgrades waterproof breathability. Utilizing a full goatskin construction, the Phantoms use the Gore-Tex X-trafit membrane which is one of their most refined membranes, as it is bonded to the outer shell of the glove meaning it will never come out as you remove your hand. Protection comes from PU injected finger knuckles, TPU pinky sliders, EVA foam inserts at the pinky and thumb, a leather coated hard-shell knuckle and race-derived dual comp palm slider. These are a standout in our 2011 lineup of touring and ADV gloves.
The new do-it-all three-season glove has arrived from REV'IT! in the form of the REV'IT! Summit Glove and REV'IT! Summit H2O Glove. Available in mens and womens specific sizings, the Summit has its sights set squarely on the sport touring rider. Stylish, protective, and extremely comfortable, the Summit is a high performance Spring-Summer-Fall glove. For added functionality, look to the Summit H2O for full waterproof breathability; it will make an excellent choice as a Spring-Summer-Fall wet weather riding glove.
Starting off with the regular Summit, which is also available as the REV'IT! Women's Summit Glove, this glove is a full goatskin outer construction for superior abrasion resistance. The palm features goatskin leather reinforcements in addition to a Schoeller-Keprotec panel both for grip and resistance to wear in high-use areas. Also featured on the palm is an EVA foam injected panel for vibration dampening. Along the outer side of the palm is a dual comp slider, a feature borrowed from REV'IT! race gloves, that operates both as abrasion resistant (it will slide on the ground in a get-off) and impact resistant (the honeycomb structure will crush and absorb and energy caused from impact). Moving along the side of the hand, there is full
leather reinforcement that wraps up the side of the hand and pinky, providing added protection from torsion. The pinky also has a TPU hard shell protector that will protect in a crash scenario, working with the dual comp slider to allow the glove to slide. On the back of the hand, leather coated PU injected finger knuckles and a TPR (thermoplastic rubber) main knuckle provide the armor. There is elasticated stretch paneling across the fingers and the backhand which allows the armor to move ergonomically when working the controls. Finally, there is elastication at the wrist with a velcro adjuster in addition to a large single velcro cuff closure. The cuff is medium sized and long enough to go either over or under a jacket.
The Summit H2O, which again is also available as the REV'IT! Women's Summit H2O Glove, features the exact same protective elements as the Summit as far as hard part armor is concerned. The difference between the two is that the Summit H2O is entirely waterproof breathable thanks to REV'IT!'s Hydratex Pro Touch membrane. This membrane is bonded to the inside of the goatskin outer shell, ensuring that no matter the conditions your hands will stay dry. The other key difference is that the backhand in the Summit H2O features PWRShell 500D Kevlar Stretch fabric rather than being completely goatskin. Finally, knowing that you'll oftentimes be riding in wet conditions while wearing the Summit H2O Gloves, there is a visor wiper on the left index finger for quick shield cleans and a suede patch on the inner thumb and index finger to wipe your face.
No matter which of these gloves better suits your application, either one is going to perform extremely well in the conditions it was designed to excel in. REV'IT! continues to take designs of the past, figure out their shortcomings, and make dramatic improvements in the next version. The Summit and Summit H2O are another representation of REV'IT's progress.
