The
REV'IT! Solar mesh gloves are a summer favorite
around here, with just the right combination of air flow
and comfort. The Solar gloves were revised last
year to incorporate goatskin, giving them a broken-in
feel right out of the box.
REV'IT! has developed a huge
selection of clothing over the years, and their 2007
catalog lists 9 different pairs of summer gloves in 3
different categories; "Integration", "Dynamic" and
"Precision". The gloves have list prices ranging
from $59.99 for the basic R59 summer glove to $169.99
for the top-of-the-line Stealth.
The Monster gloves shown
here were provided to us by REV'IT! and they represent
the middle of the range with an $89.99 list price.
Our experience with REV'IT!
gear has been positive and our impression is that they
don't mess around with loss leaders just for the sake of
having a low-priced item to compete with commodity
clothing manufacturers. Instead, each garment is
specifically designed to meet certain objectives for its
target customer and we've always felt that the clothing
was designed by experienced motorcyclists who know what
works.
So is it fair to evaluate a
pair of gloves costing nearly twice as much as any of
the others in this comparison? Well, in this case,
you pretty much get what you pay for, although the
bottom line is that the
REV'IT! Solar mesh gloves ($79.99 list) are still
our favorite REV'IT! gloves for hot weather riding, tied
with the $54.95
Komodo
mesh gloves.
UPDATE: The label on
our pair of Monster
gloves is hard to read; I originally thought it said
that the gloves are made from "37% leather and 3% textile",
but it's actually 97% leather and 3% textile.
There's a touch of Clarino synthetic leather on the tips of
the forefinger and middle finger, with some silicone
grip patches that, if you look closely, are cut in the
same shape as the new REV'IT! logo.
Goatskin is said to be one
of the most durable and beautiful leathers (and also
more expensive than cowhide), and we've noticed that it
also seems to have an inordinate ability to feel broken
in very quickly. It appears that goatskin is used
as a single section on the underside of the glove (i.e.,
the palm and fingers), with possibly another type of
leather used on the wear panels.
REV'IT! uses an interesting
process for the obligatory protective panels on the back
of the fingers; they are injected with PU (polyurethane)
rather than the typical foam padding.
Temperfoam is used on the
palm, back to the end of the cuff and over the thumb in
a couple of patches.
The fingers use a semi-box
construction, and the gloves are fully lined, although
some internal seams can still be felt inside.
Exposed seams must be an artifact of summer glove
construction, because it's noticeable to some degree on
each of the 4 different pairs we're using in this
comparison.
But the Monster gloves are
probably the most comfortable of the group, although
they also seem to suffer from the "shrinking glove
syndrome". Our hands are definitely not getting
fatter -- gloves seem to be shrinking, and the Monster
gloves fit tightly for their size. They seem
especially hard to put back on after the hands become
sweaty, although this may be due to the larger
percentage of leather used in their construction.
The thumbs, however, do seem narrower than they should
in proportion to the rest of the glove, making them
uncomfortable when gripping the handlebars.
The REV'IT! Monster gloves
have a big, contoured carbon knuckle protector and
although the gloves don't seem to have any extra flex
built in to the back of the hand to account for the
knuckle protector, none of us have noticed the tightness
across the top that is so troublesome on the Alpinestars
Sledge gloves.
The leather on the Monster
gloves is perforated on the outside of the fingers and
the third and fourth finger also have a few perforations
on the palm side. Although the perforations don't
allow a light to be seen through the gloves, they do
have the best air flow of the 4 pair, which is probably
the primary concern for a summer motorcycle glove.
We'd guess that the REV'IT!
Monster gloves probably offer the most protection of any
of the gloves in this comparison, and that also counts
for a lot. They also feel like they have the most
secure wrist closure, although none of these gloves
provide a lot of confidence that they'll stay on in a
crash.
It makes no sense whatsoever to buy a
pair of gloves just because of the price -- if you're
looking for a glove to do what it's supposed to; that
is, protect your hands during a crash, then it's worth
paying a few extra bucks to buy better protection.
Conclusion
I guess we're spoiled -- although the REV'IT! Monster
gloves came in first in this comparison, scoring well
for comfort, quality, air flow and protection, we still
don't think they're as comfortable as the original
REV'IT! Solar gloves, which are still offered by REV'IT!
For comparison: REV'IT! Solar mesh summer gloves (wBW
review)
