River Road Outlaw Vintage Gloves
Minimalism first – this is River Road’s Outlaw Vintage Glove and there’s not much to it.
Perforations all across the top, with four big ones at the knuckle and another giant gap at the wrist. The closure is simple Velcro, although the cuff is also elasticated for a tight seal. And on the flip side, there’s some padding on the palm to soak up handlebar vibrations.
The chassis is dark brown leather and the craftsmanship seems solid but – in my opinion – River Road went a smidge overboard with the distressed finish. The leather looks a little too stressed out in a few areas … almost like it’s about to break.
The Outlaw isn’t precurved, so it takes a bit of energy to hold a grip at first. When they do break in though, I think these gloves will be supremely comfortable. And because the leather is quite thin, the touch sensitivity on my bike’s controls is awesome. That also means the abrasion resistance is low but whatever – this is a perforated summer glove so safety wasn’t my main concern to begin with. My hands are 9-inches around the palm by the way, and this large fits bang on.
It’s hard to get more style for 40 bucks.
Icon 1000 Rimfire Gloves
Now, what if I want style, but I also want to ramp up the safety?
Icon answers the call with their Rimfire Glove. I can’t quite place it, but this definitely looks like a 1960s cut. And the safety level is through the roof.
The chassis is all leather – French cowhide to be specific. I’m not sure if cows are any different in France, but this certainly seems solid. Icon gives us four foamies across the fingers and another big panel on the back of the hand for impact protection. The main thing though, is D3O armouring across the knuckles.
D3O is viscoelastic, meaning that it’s movable for the little forces, but more rigid for the big impacts. It’s top-notch stuff and finding it in a glove is super rare.
Flipping the Rimfire over, it’s hard to miss the palm protection. These rivets are baked into a heat-resistant backing, so if I go for a slide I’ll get an extra couple of metres before I start to burn through the leather.
Icon also sewed tensioned elastics into this glove, which I think are these seams here. They make it really easy to close my fist and they also reduce bunching. Of course the flip side is that it’s really tiring to hold the glove in a straight hand, because the elastics are pulling the other way. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that.
Another bittersweet feature is the external seams. They allow the underside of my fingers to be uniform, so it’s really easy to feel my bike’s controls through here. But having the seams on the outside also makes the fingers really fat. So they rub up against each other every time I move the glove.
In general, the Rimfire is pretty chunky. And even with all the perforations on the top side, it’s still hot in summer weather. Of course with the high level of protection it offers, I can forgive those sins. My 3 and 3/4-inch palm puts me in this large by the way, which fits great.
Five California Gloves
So Icon gave us one vintage option for 100 bucks. But if I can wrestle-up another 40, there’s an alternative that I like even better.
This is the Five California glove and they say it’s inspired by the “Japanese bubble look.” I’m not sure what the hell that means, but I’m a Canadian, so this looks like an old hockey glove to me. And I love it.
It seems like memory foam in all of these “bubbles,” so the glove is really comfortable to wear. I get a metal Five logo, simple wrist closure at the end, white detailing around the sides. And flipping it over, there’s a heavily perforated palm, more memory foam at the high-impact area, and doubled-up leather on the stress zones.
External seams on this guy as well, so the touch sensitivity on my clutch, kill switch, indicators – it’s all fantastic. And unlike Icon, Five has managed to keep the fingers narrow and movable to boot.
The Five California is the most comfortable glove on my list, it seems to have the best craftsmanship, and I think it’s the most stylish too. Café racers and custom bobbers just beg for a glove like this. Of course I have to give the edge to the Icon Rimfire in terms of safety. But everywhere else, I think the California is worth the extra 40 dollars. This large fits my 3 and 3/4-inch palm like a glove … pun intended.
Five Urban Evo1 Waterproof Gloves
And finally, you know a weather option is always going to make my top picks.
This is the Five Urban Evo1 Waterproof Glove and like the name suggests, it’s for cold and rainy weather.
The lining in here is Hipora, which is kinda like Gore-Tex in that it’s waterproof and breathable. Of course, everything that is “kinda like Gore-Tex” is never quite as good as Gore-Tex, is it? My experience with Hipora is that is keeps 100% of the water out, but sacrifices some breathability.
Of course the Urban Evo1 is also lined with thinsulate to make it warm. So if I’m wearing this glove … it’s cold outside, and I probably don’t care about breathability.
If I get too hot, there’s a layer of Micro Bemberg in here too, which is a killer moisture-wicking material.
So the Urban Evo1 has an A-Team of layers: Hipora, thinsulate, Micro Bemberg. Other than that it’s very simple. Full leather construction, Velcro and elastication around the wrist, and doubled-up Clarino on the high-stress areas of the palm.
If I were being nice, I’d say that this glove has a classic cruiser style. If I were being honest , I’d say that it looks boring. But at least Five used full-grain leather instead of top grain, so it will develop a natural patina over time. Give it ten years, and the Urban Evo might start to look interesting.
But whatever – in the freezing rain I won’t care how stylish my hands are. I won’t care that there’s a dorky little tag that brags about the waterproof liner, or that – even for 100 bucks – I don’t get an inch of armour or padding.
The Urban Evo keeps me warm and dry, so I have to love it.