Product name: Leatt MTB 4.0 Lite Glove
Price paid: £52
Score (out of 10): 8/10
Review:
I put a post up a couple of weeks ago looking for suggestions for a pair of gloves with finger protection. It seems a lot of the trails and paths round beside me have been growing more than usual, which ended up with stray branches poking out. A few times they've whacked my pinky or ring finger - leaving it painful for a few days.
Fox have been my default glove over the years. A Medium fits me pretty snug. The downside to Fox gloves is that they don't last very long. The 2 bottom pairs are the 'defend lite' glove, and they barely lasted a summer each before they burst at the seams. The top pair are a thermal pair for winter, but are useless as they get sweaty and are impossible to get back on once you take them off - as the lining comes out when you take them off!
The Fox ones usually burst here.
Zimmerframe recommended a cheap pair of Moto gloves off Amazon. They were about £16, and looked to be pretty solid. Unfortunately I didn't find them very comfortable. I think the Medium in them was a bit smaller fitting than Fox, so they were fractionally too small. They were pretty 'hard' too, and the plastic pad on the palm didn't really agree with me. Shame - but at £16, they were worth a shot.
So here I am now with the Leatt MTB 4.0 lite - which I have now used 5 times. They fit much the same as a Fox Medium glove, but they have no velcro closure... so are a bit of a squeeze to get on and off. On isn't so bad, however getting them off when you've got slightly damp / clammy hands can be a bit of a challenge! I was out for about 4 and a half hours yesterday, and didn't bother taking them off to eat my snack whilst having a seat. Too much hassle!
They're very soft and lightweight, and the palm has a nice 'furry' alcantara type material which gives a really good grip. The knuckle protection is substantial, however is light weight and well ventilated. Once I've got them on, it's quite easy to forget that I'm wearing them at all.
I've done a couple of rides now where I've been ploughing through overgrown trails, and haven't had any knocks to my fingers. They've also saved me from one path I frequent which has overgrown thorny bushes down the side.
There is part of me that wonders whether I've just been lucky, or whether the gloves are doing a great job!
My concern is that the pinkie finger protection sits slightly off to the side. I have tried adjusting it several times, but it seems to work it's way back off my finger... leaving my actual knuckle unprotected.
So far I'm pretty happy with the gloves... but time will tell as to whether they go the same way as Fox and fall apart after a few months.
A very comfortable glove to wear... however I'm not sure if the lack of velcro closure is a good thing or a bad thing. The Fox ones always burst there (for me anyway), but will not having a closure at all and having to ram my hands into them cause more damage?
Price paid: £52
Score (out of 10): 8/10
Review:
I put a post up a couple of weeks ago looking for suggestions for a pair of gloves with finger protection. It seems a lot of the trails and paths round beside me have been growing more than usual, which ended up with stray branches poking out. A few times they've whacked my pinky or ring finger - leaving it painful for a few days.
Fox have been my default glove over the years. A Medium fits me pretty snug. The downside to Fox gloves is that they don't last very long. The 2 bottom pairs are the 'defend lite' glove, and they barely lasted a summer each before they burst at the seams. The top pair are a thermal pair for winter, but are useless as they get sweaty and are impossible to get back on once you take them off - as the lining comes out when you take them off!
The Fox ones usually burst here.
Zimmerframe recommended a cheap pair of Moto gloves off Amazon. They were about £16, and looked to be pretty solid. Unfortunately I didn't find them very comfortable. I think the Medium in them was a bit smaller fitting than Fox, so they were fractionally too small. They were pretty 'hard' too, and the plastic pad on the palm didn't really agree with me. Shame - but at £16, they were worth a shot.
So here I am now with the Leatt MTB 4.0 lite - which I have now used 5 times. They fit much the same as a Fox Medium glove, but they have no velcro closure... so are a bit of a squeeze to get on and off. On isn't so bad, however getting them off when you've got slightly damp / clammy hands can be a bit of a challenge! I was out for about 4 and a half hours yesterday, and didn't bother taking them off to eat my snack whilst having a seat. Too much hassle!
They're very soft and lightweight, and the palm has a nice 'furry' alcantara type material which gives a really good grip. The knuckle protection is substantial, however is light weight and well ventilated. Once I've got them on, it's quite easy to forget that I'm wearing them at all.
I've done a couple of rides now where I've been ploughing through overgrown trails, and haven't had any knocks to my fingers. They've also saved me from one path I frequent which has overgrown thorny bushes down the side.
There is part of me that wonders whether I've just been lucky, or whether the gloves are doing a great job!
My concern is that the pinkie finger protection sits slightly off to the side. I have tried adjusting it several times, but it seems to work it's way back off my finger... leaving my actual knuckle unprotected.
So far I'm pretty happy with the gloves... but time will tell as to whether they go the same way as Fox and fall apart after a few months.
A very comfortable glove to wear... however I'm not sure if the lack of velcro closure is a good thing or a bad thing. The Fox ones always burst there (for me anyway), but will not having a closure at all and having to ram my hands into them cause more damage?
