After reading back through all the gruesome hand injury threads I've decided to buy some better gloves. What do you guys think about these Olympia 304s at newenough? The safety features look good and I like the attention to comfort with the venting. Does anybody have these?
(http://www.newenough.com/product_pictures/o/olympia_340_vented_kevlar_gloves/front_200.jpg)
http://tinyurl.com/z8fsn
Thx
They look good to me, but what do I know? I was going to buy some, but they don't come in my size.
Buy good gloves, don't waste your money or hands on shitty gloves, I would suggest going to a store and trying some on and making sure that the leather is good, if you think they'll do a great job then buy them from the cheapest place. Just my 2 cents.
Olympia is a good brand. I don't have those particular gloves though.
What part of Houston are you in?
I've got those! :)
They are HEFTY, but still give you a good feel. By hefty, I mean they feel really substantial.
The leather on mine is really suple and gives good control feel. Seriously though, these have a really high quality build to them. Really good leather.
The wrist padding is enormous, but doesn't get in the way too much. The knuckle protector isn't carbon, but some sort of plastic. If it bends too much you'll see white cracks start showing up in them, so you'll have to store them in your helmet (if you do that) with the wrist armor protruding from the face area.
The wrist velcros are nice, but a bit long for my skinny wrists, but they tuck under the big velcro strap just fine.
My only complaints about them are that a few threads popped out and that they fingers are a bit wide for my hands. I have long skinny fingers though, and the M size gloves were too short in the fingers. So if your hands aren't weird like mine you should be fine.
I like them a lot though.
** Caution long post ahead **
Ok, I've spent the last hour or so reading up on motorcycle gloves. I wanted to learn about the different materials available and their comparative strengths and weaknesses. I found gloves made from Kevlar to Kangaroo and everything in between. Some have carbon fiber inserts, some have metal rivets in the palms, others have gel inserts in the grips. I started to think, why carbon fiber? It's strong, yes, but it's so stiff that it can't be good at absorbing/dispersing impact energy. Plus, wouldn't it be extremely sharp if broken? I found this picture on sporbikes.net:
(http://www.sportbikes.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=75646&stc=1&thumb=1)
The guy described how shards of the fiber weave got into his skin like fiberglass insulation and caused major irritation. Then I found this site and a lot of their claims make sense: http://www.leeparksdesign.com/default.asp .
Their gloves are expensive, but they have an e-bay outlet that's about half the listed price and comparable to the Olympia gloves I posted first. They also have very exact sizing directions which should help with getting the right fit. I think I'm going to give them a shot, I like the features and the fact that they're made in the US.
-M
Whoah. Those look nice. What's with the giganto cuff though? It's like my entire forearm...
Let me know how those work out. I'm always looking for good gear!
EDIT: Not sure how I feel about the lack of knucle protection. I like having something solid there to disperse forces. A few layers of leather might not be enough for me...
Cool, so it turns out the same guy whose company makes those gloves wrote the book Total Control - High Performance Street Riding Techniques, which I've actually heard several people recommend. I guess he knows what he's talking about. I'm going to give them a shot, please don't outbid me for the pair of black/tan ones on e-bay ;)
xtalman - I grew up in West Houston but I'm living in the country now about 40 miles east of downtown.
-M