Best motorcycle gloves: Our favourite street and sport gloves for summer and winter
Protect your hands with a pair of the best motorcycle gloves you can buy
Along with a helmet, gloves are one of the most important items a motorcyclist will buy. As well as protecting your hands in the event of an accident, they keep out the elements while maintaining comfort and feel. After all, your hands control several key functions of your motorbike, and therefore getting the best motorcycle gloves possible is paramount.
Below, you’ll find our roundup of the best motorcycle gloves available to buy today. There’s something for all budgets, styles and personal requirements. If you don’t know where to begin, we’ve also included a brief buying guide to shed a bit of light on the world of motorcycle gloves and help you make the right purchase.
The best motorcycle gloves: At a glance
- Best street motorcycle gloves for summer: Rev’it Neutron 3 | Buy now
- Best sport motorcycle gloves: Knox Handroid | Buy now
- Best budget street motorcycle gloves: Weise Streetfight | Buy now
- Best cheap motorcycle gloves for winter: Richa Carbon Winter | Buy now
- Best short motorcycle gloves: Richa Rock | Buy now
How to choose the best motorcycle gloves for you
What type of motorcycle gloves should I buy?
Motorcycle gloves come in a handful of different styles, typically designed for different seasons. Some will keep your hands cool in summer, while others are best suited for keeping them warm and dry in winter. Of course, you’ll also find some all-rounders that work well pretty much all year round.
The most common kind of motorcycle gloves are called street gloves, street-riding gloves or daily gloves, and they’re the kind you should buy most of the time. The best street gloves will be three-season gloves, which is what marks them as suitable for use all year round. Those looking for something cooler and freer should consider a summer glove, as they’re usually more ventilated and better at circulating air. Winter gloves, on the other hand, are best at keeping your digits toasty, and will also be superior for keeping out moisture.
In addition to street gloves – which are for road use – you can also buy sport gloves, which are primarily aimed at track use. Bulkier, more armoured and usually more expensive, they’re designed to give you the best possible protection in the event of an accident, especially a high-speed one. Expect more hardwearing, exotic materials such as kangaroo leather. Also expect longer cuffs to protect your wrists.
How much should I spend?
Ask any motorcyclist how much to spend on a pair of gloves and they’ll ask how much your hands are worth. After all, alongside a helmet, gloves are one of the most important pieces of gear you have in the event of an accident. In a fall, you’ll almost always put your hands out, so gloves need to do a solid job of protecting them.
If you do want to put a figure on things, we’d suggest spending at least £50 on a pair of street gloves. However, you should be paying more for specialised winter or summer gloves, and at least double that for a proper pair of racing-suitable gloves.
READ NEXT: The best motorcycle helmets to buy
The best motorcycle gloves to buy
1. Rev’it Neutron 3: Best street motorcycle gloves for summer
Price: From £37 | Buy now from Amazon
Put its silly name to one side for a minute: Rev’it is quickly becoming one of the best motorcycling brands on the market right now. Synonymous with smart, futuristic design and affordable prices, Rev’it is a brand to check out if you’re in the market for gloves, jackets, hoodies and much more.
The brand’s summer-focused Neutron 3 gloves tick all the boxes above: they’re understated and clean, but also pack in a good amount of tech and hardwearing materials to make them a worthy purchase.
Available in three colourways and seven sizes, the Neutron 3s use microfibre and goatskin but pair it with futuristic-looking TPR-injected knuckle protectors to keep your joints safe. The Neutron 3s are also touchscreen-capable, so you can swipe and prod your smartphone while wearing them.
Key specs – Material: Goatskin drum dyed; Protection: Injected armour; Other features: Connect fingertip leather; Sizes available: S – 4XL
2. Knox Handroid: Best sport motorcycle gloves
Price: £230 | Buy now from Amazon
Take cutting-edge technology, add a dash of sci-fi and you’ll end up with the Knox Handroid. Designed primarily for racers, the Handroids are suitable for the road, too – and are probably some of the safest gloves you can buy right now (although not the cheapest).
The most noticeable features of the Handroid glove are surely the exo-skeleton spines that run down the fingers. Designed to protect your digits from impacts and abrasions, they look sci-fi, but bring real benefit.
Elsewhere you’ll find thick kangaroo hide, as well as scaphoid and metacarpal protection so the meat of your hands and wrists is protected too. The fashion-conscious will be pleased to know they’re offered in more colours than ever, too, so they’ll fit with whatever racing leathers you already own.
Key specs – Material: Kangaroo hide palm and fingers; Protection: Patented scaphoid protection; Other features: Exoskeleton spines for finger protection; Sizes available: S – 2XL
3. Tucano Urbano Andrew: Best cheap motorcycle gloves for summer
Price: £53 | Buy now from Infinity Motorcycles
The Tucano Urbano Andrew tick almost every box and do so at an extremely affordable price. Stylish and sophisticated, these are urban-looking gloves designed primarily for summer use, as the perforations in the knuckles, palms and fingers suggest.
In addition to good breathability, they also offer hard-wearing goatskin leather, Lycra pleating between the fingers and CPS armour on the knuckles. There are padded inserts in the fingers, and techier riders will also be happy to know they’re touchscreen-compatible.
But the best bit? At around £50, they’re incredibly affordable as a primary pair of gloves, and a no-brainer as a cheaper pair of stylish summer gloves.
Key specs – Material: Goatskin leather; Protection: CPS impact armour; Other features: Touchscreen-compatible fingertips; Sizes available: XS – 2XL
4. Weise Streetfight: Best budget street motorcycle gloves
Price: From £48 | Buy now from Amazon
If you’re looking for a low-cost street glove you could do much worse than the Weise Streetfight. Boasting slick design, a good amount of armour and an affordable price, they do everything you’d want.
There’s no kangaroo hide here, but you do get full grain leather, with more than one layer at the finger joints for increased abrasion resistance. Extra leather in front of the knuckles makes the Weise gloves feel more supple, while hard TPU armour on the knuckles should do a good job of protecting your joints.
In addition to a velcro grip on the wrist, you’ll also find an overlay in the palm for increased grip of the bars and controls. Most owner reviews described the Weises as super comfy straight out the box, though a few owners said they needed some breaking in.
Key specs – Material: Full grain leather construction; Protection: TPU reinforced network; Other features: Tri-fleece lining; Sizes available: XS – 2XL
5. Richa Rock: Best short motorcycle gloves
Price: £45 | Buy now from Amazon
The Richa Rock gloves do a good job of providing good protection and a touch of ventilation. Featuring a leather construction and tough plastic knuckle protection, the Richas also feature vented joints to keep your fingers cool.
The cuffs are adjustable, but you won’t find a huge amount of wrist here. That makes them worse for racing, but especially good if you’re wearing a jacket with long sleeves – or if you just want increased wrist flexibility.
Some users reported the fingers as running a little long in size, so those with shorter fingers are advised to possibly step down from their usual glove size.
Key specs – Material: Cowhide leather construction; Protection: TPU impact protection; Other features: Finger stretch panels; Sizes available: XS – 2XL
6. Richa Carbon Winter: Best cheap motorcycle gloves for winter
Price: From £40 | Buy now from Amazon
Richa does it again with this pair of carbon winter waterproof leather gloves. Relatively inexpensive and packed with an agreeable spec sheet, these gloves are perfect for winter.
Outside you’ll find a tough leather construction, but you’ll also find it encloses an internal waterproof membrane and thermal lining – both ideal for winter. As you’d expect, Richa has also added carbon-reinforced finger protection and an aramid fibre lining for extra resilience in the event of a crash.
But our favourite feature? A suede visor wipe for riding in the rain.
Key specs – Material: Aramid fibre lining; Protection: Internal waterproof membrane; Other features: Suede visor wipe; Sizes available: XS – 2XL
7. Knox Orsa: Best sport motorcycle gloves for summer
Price: £130 | Buy now from Infinity Motorcycles
Knox might be known for its cutting-edge, eye-catching Handroid gloves – but it also makes the equally impressive Orsa textile gloves. And for around half the price of the sci-fi Handroids, they’re a bargain.
Designed for motocross, but still suitable for other types of riding, the Orsas uses a scaphoid protection system and a honeycomb gel knuckle shield to soak up heavy impacts. Those familiar with the Handroid racing gloves will find the same Boa wrist closure system here, too.
But despite the safety, the Orsas are very comfortable. Seamless fingers and a breathable palm make the Knox gloves fine in extended use, and doubled-up leather in high wear areas means they’re durable too.
Key specs – Material: Goatskin upper construction; Protection: Scaphoid and palm protection; Other features: Fabric visor wipe; Sizes available: XS – 2XL
