Hein Gericke X-TRAFIT Leather GORE TEX Glove Review
The glove uses the latest technology to bond the famous GORE-TEX
(waterproof,
breathable and windproof)
fabric used in outdoor clothing (mountain, skiing
etc..) with a skin friendly fabric to a Motorcycle glove.
This special bonding (XTrafit) technique makes all 3 layers
feel like they are a single layer.
So you have no slipping and sliding between the layers like a normal multilayer
(lined) glove.
This substantially improves feel and control of the motorcycle.
Before this bonding technology existed you had to decide if you
wanted the feel and control of a unlined glove
or the waterproof and warmth of a lined glove (with far less feel and control of
the motorcycle).
The quality of the leather, stitching and stretchable leather (on back of hand
and fingers) +
visor wipe on left thumb makes this a very high quality glove.
It may cost £69.99 but if you try one on in the shop you will feel it's well
worth the money.
Like me you will probably think,
no matter what motorcycle I am riding (even
1000cc plus bikes) this is the ultimate glove for me,
I will never need to
upgrade. See Gloves for more
information.
I have used these gloves for well over 2,500 miles. Some days I
have travelled over 200 miles.
They have been used on all types of road including motorways, city centre grid
lock as well as tight twisty back roads.
The glove does not have the feel and control of a high quality
unlined glove, but it is far closer to an unlined glove than a lined one (not
bonded).
The GORE TEX liner works incredibly well to block the wind and yet breathes very well.
I found it amazing how it can block the cold wind, but when it's
hot the breathability means your hands do not get hot or sweaty.
It really is a miracle fabric and for UK motorcyclists hands an absolute
essential piece of equipment (due to our weather).
I have not tried it in the rain yet, but GORETEX is known for
being waterproof and you have a visor wipe built in to the glove.
I am also hopeful since the GORE-TEX is bonded to the leather, that the glove will
not be able to soak up much water, so will dry very quickly.
The rest of the glove has also been very good.
The quality of the leather, stretchable leather on back of hand and fingers have
all made the glove a real joy to use.
As well as it's light weight and reduced vibration from the bike (compared to a
unlined glove).
In the middle of the hottest days in summer when the humidity
was at its worst (in the UK), the gloves were very comfortable.
So comfortable there was no advantage in riding the bike with no gloves on.
A couple of times near the end of a long ride I did take them off and ride the
bike,
I found it only very slightly better without (so slight it was not worth the
added danger).
While many other motorcyclists I saw had to resort to using no
gloves (very bad if you fall off or are hit by anything).
In the past I had high quality unlined gloves and in those conditions also had
to take them off due to the wool insulation on the back of the fingers = hot and
sweaty.
The only times I had trouble in those conditions is if my hands
were already hot and sweaty and I put the gloves on,
rode the bike for 3 miles in the city traffic and then tried to take them off.
Since the gloves had not had enough time to dry my hands, they were a bit hard
to get off.
But as soon as you had done a few more miles and had a bit more air flowing (due
to bikes speed) they were dry and comfortable.
This is due to the glove being able to remove the moisture from your hands and
get it out of the glove.
It really is weird taking the gloves off and finding your hands 100% dry with no
moisture (sweat).
So these gloves are not hot and sweaty in the hottest and
highest humidity in the UK summer.
So you would assume there is a load of air getting through the glove and hitting
your hands.
Well there is not, the GORE-TEX stops the wind getting through.
This means when you have a cold wind hitting the glove, your hands do not
receive the cold air.
GORE-TEX really is a miracle material.
I think the correct word for all this is climate control.
Of course there always has to be some disadvantage to all of
this.
Well the problem is when summer is over and it starts to get really cold (7
Celsius, no sun, 50 mile ride with a strong head wind was real trouble after 25
miles).
The glove does stop the cold wind getting though the glove, but can not stop the
outside of the glove getting colder and colder due to wind chill.
The glove has no insulation, not even air between the layers (due to X Trafit), so the cold seeps
through over time and distance.
If the glove did have insulation or air between the layers it would be like
other gloves, to hot in summer or harder to control the bike.
But I have found a glove perfect to take over when it gets this cold and is also
the best glove in the coldest of the UK winter, see
Winter Glove.