As discussed in
Episode 157, this week's gear review highlights the
Aeromoto Road Tech short motorcycle gloves. These gloves are made from comfort-lined leather in a short or non-gauntlet sport style. The gloves have perforations along the inner grip of the fingers and have an open wrist with a strap-around retainer. As they are a shorter style with perforations, these gloves are best used in Summer, Spring and Autumn.The comfort lining does afford some resistance to cooler mornings (as I've experienced thus far this year).
Construction and protection
The Road Tech gloves are designed to maintain a certain stiffness and structure to the body and fingers, while permitting very free movement at the various joints in the hand. I found the gloves to be stiff and protective without being fatiguing; I never felt like I was fighting the gloves while gripping the bars, twisting the throttle, or using the various controls. They are well articulated considering their seemingly more-than-ample protective design.
The outer layer of the hands are protected by padded, metal inlay armor on the back of each finger, as well as a metal inlay carbon fiber floating puck for the third row of knuckles and the back of the hand. Considering the size and solidity of the knuckle protection, I never felt like the gloves were tiresome or uncomfortable. The puck floats on a grab-flap that isn't completely hard fixed to the back of the glove. Using the open-back grab flap as well as the palm flap, the wearer can easily pull the glove fully onto the hand, seating it completely.
In the grip area of the hand, across the top of the palm and in the crook between the index finger and thumb, lies is a layer of textured material that adds grip, again without increasing the amount of force or pressure it takes to move the hand and grip the bars. I'm not sure what this material is, but it feels substantial enough to add some additional protection.
The palm and outside of the hand (the karate chop area) are covered with a second layer of leather, and the palm includes two plastic sliders at the heel. The additional layer of leather continues down to cover the wrist, while it is held closed by an ample amount of hook and loop textile fastener.
Sizing and comfort
This particular pair of gloves is sized XL and seem to fit me better than most of that size. To put things in perspective, have a wider palm and thicker fingers; I wear a size 13 ring, but my finger length is typically better fit in a medium or large glove. While the palm fits me perfectly, I have a slight bit of room in the glove at the end of each finger, though considerably less than any other XL I might normally have to buy to fit my hands.
As noted, the gloves are comfort lined and feel soft and compliant inside. The liner is not itchy, and helps provide a degree of insulation; while the gloves are not designed for hard Winter use, they've been very comfortable on some of our recent 50-degree mornings and I feel that I could easily wear these down to another ten degrees cooler. I'm looking forward to wearing them while using my heated grips in colder weather.
Value
In a market where a comparable
style of glove can be found at every level of quality and pricing, I find the current sale price of $119 US to be right in line with many upper tier offerings. I like the quality and construction of these Aeromoto gloves quite a bit. The balance of comfort, dexterity and protection is spot on. While I'm hard to fit for gloves and boots, the Road Tech gloves are closer to "just right" (for me) than any 20 or 30 pairs of gloves I can easily go and try. While a variety of gloves can be found at lower prices, the blending of comfort, fit and protection these gloves seem to exhibit make them a viable choice at this price point.
Summary
Before reviewing these gloves, I'm not sure I would have bought them on my own as I hadn't heard of the brand before a few months ago, and their price point is on the high side of medial. Having now tried and reviewed two separate product offerings from Aeromoto, I can say that Competition Accessories has a winner in this brand, and I look forward to the name becoming more common in the market place, and in the gear closets of more riders. Now knowing what do about the brand's products, I can now say that yes I would, in fact, put my hard earned money toward these gloves. If you're looking for a premium quality glove, give these (and their gauntlet version) some serious consideration. I don't think you'll be sorry.
About Competition Accessories
Competition Accessories has grown from a tiny garage in 1961, to be one of the nations largest sellers of motorcycle gear and accessories. The Catalog Outlet store and national headquarters sit in a state of the art 34,000+ sq/ft building just off I-77 where customers can come in and have access to over $2 million worth of the best gear on the market. Our site is a candy store for the motorcycle enthusiast. It carries just about everything from a $4 can of spray cleaner to a nearly $1000 Arai limited edition helmet.
As discussed in Episode 157, this week's gear review highlights the Aeromoto Road Tech short motorcycle gloves. These gloves are made from comfort-lined leather in a short or non-gauntlet sport style. The gloves have perforations along the inner grip of the fingers and have an open wrist with a strap-around retainer. As they are a shorter style with perforations, these gloves are best used in Summer, Spring and Autumn.The comfort lining does afford some resistance to cooler mornings (as I've experienced thus far this year).
Construction and protection
The Road Tech gloves are designed to maintain a certain stiffness and structure to the body and fingers, while permitting very free movement at the various joints in the hand. I found the gloves to be stiff and protective without being fatiguing; I never felt like I was fighting the gloves while gripping the bars, twisting the throttle, or using the various controls. They are well articulated considering their seemingly more-than-ample protective design.
The outer layer of the hands are protected by padded, metal inlay armor on the back of each finger, as well as a metal inlay carbon fiber floating puck for the third row of knuckles and the back of the hand. Considering the size and solidity of the knuckle protection, I never felt like the gloves were tiresome or uncomfortable. The puck floats on a grab-flap that isn't completely hard fixed to the back of the glove. Using the open-back grab flap as well as the palm flap, the wearer can easily pull the glove fully onto the hand, seating it completely.
In the grip area of the hand, across the top of the palm and in the crook between the index finger and thumb, lies is a layer of textured material that adds grip, again without increasing the amount of force or pressure it takes to move the hand and grip the bars. I'm not sure what this material is, but it feels substantial enough to add some additional protection.
The palm and outside of the hand (the karate chop area) are covered with a second layer of leather, and the palm includes two plastic sliders at the heel. The additional layer of leather continues down to cover the wrist, while it is held closed by an ample amount of hook and loop textile fastener.
Sizing and comfort
This particular pair of gloves is sized XL and seem to fit me better than most of that size. To put things in perspective, have a wider palm and thicker fingers; I wear a size 13 ring, but my finger length is typically better fit in a medium or large glove. While the palm fits me perfectly, I have a slight bit of room in the glove at the end of each finger, though considerably less than any other XL I might normally have to buy to fit my hands.
As noted, the gloves are comfort lined and feel soft and compliant inside. The liner is not itchy, and helps provide a degree of insulation; while the gloves are not designed for hard Winter use, they've been very comfortable on some of our recent 50-degree mornings and I feel that I could easily wear these down to another ten degrees cooler. I'm looking forward to wearing them while using my heated grips in colder weather.
Value
In a market where a comparable style of glove can be found at every level of quality and pricing, I find the current sale price of $119 US to be right in line with many upper tier offerings. I like the quality and construction of these Aeromoto gloves quite a bit. The balance of comfort, dexterity and protection is spot on. While I'm hard to fit for gloves and boots, the Road Tech gloves are closer to "just right" (for me) than any 20 or 30 pairs of gloves I can easily go and try. While a variety of gloves can be found at lower prices, the blending of comfort, fit and protection these gloves seem to exhibit make them a viable choice at this price point.
Summary
Before reviewing these gloves, I'm not sure I would have bought them on my own as I hadn't heard of the brand before a few months ago, and their price point is on the high side of medial. Having now tried and reviewed two separate product offerings from Aeromoto, I can say that Competition Accessories has a winner in this brand, and I look forward to the name becoming more common in the market place, and in the gear closets of more riders. Now knowing what do about the brand's products, I can now say that yes I would, in fact, put my hard earned money toward these gloves. If you're looking for a premium quality glove, give these (and their gauntlet version) some serious consideration. I don't think you'll be sorry.
About Competition Accessories
Competition Accessories has grown from a tiny garage in 1961, to be one of the nations largest sellers of motorcycle gear and accessories. The Catalog Outlet store and national headquarters sit in a state of the art 34,000+ sq/ft building just off I-77 where customers can come in and have access to over $2 million worth of the best gear on the market. Our site is a candy store for the motorcycle enthusiast. It carries just about everything from a $4 can of spray cleaner to a nearly $1000 Arai limited edition helmet. 
