AGV Sport “Gallant” Leather Gloves
The AGV Gallant gloves are also new to the 2015 lineup. They’re another all leather type with no perforations or vents. The Gallant gloves are a close cousin to the AGV Spirit gloves described in Part 1 of this review. Where the Spirit gloves have a glossy leather exterior, the Gallant gloves have a matte finish on un-perforated leather.
AGV Sport calls the Gallant gloves a “short leather glove” and the Spirit gloves “mid length”, but in reality, the size large gloves are both exactly the same length. The Gallant gloves have the same thin polyester liner inside along the top and they are also unlined on the palm side. They too are very comfortable with the supple-feeling leather and it’s hard to choose between the two. The fingers of the Gallant gloves are also slightly longer and wider than expected for this size, which again helps to add comfort in hot weather.
The leather on the Gallant gloves does seem more supple right out of the box (or bag) and the split main knuckle protector gives even more flexibility. So motorcyclists with larger hands may find this design more comfortable. The Spirit gloves beat the Gallant gloves though when it comes to main knuckle protection. The hard protector on the Spirit gloves seems more protective than the rubbery pieces on the Gallant gloves.
But on the other hand (a pun!), the Gallant gloves at least have a timid wrist strap underneath that provides a little more security. But it doesn’t prevent the gloves from being pulled off the hand without much effort. Bottom line, the AGV Sport Gallant gloves are a little more angular and modern looking than the slightly retro Spirit gloves. The slightly better wrist strap on the Gallant gloves is countered by the better main knuckle protector on the Spirit gloves.
Neither of these have the important safety features we think should be standard on any motorcycle glove but yet again, our opinion has been trumped by the marketplace, because the Gallant gloves are just as popular as the Spirit version.
Features and Details
The AGV Sport Gallant gloves are also new to the Spring/Summer 2015 “Racing/Sport Gloves” lineup. And like the Spirit gloves, it’s a stretch to categorize these as “racing” gloves. Street gloves is more like it.
The Spirit gloves, especially in the red/white/green Italian flag colored version, look positively retro compared to the sort-of futuristic Star Trek-like Gallant gloves.
The angular shapes in the decoration-only finger “protectors” and the rubbery main knuckle protectors make the difference in styling. It’s a matter of taste, of course, but we prefer the look of the Spirit gloves.
Whichever pair you choose, you’ll find two very comfortable motorcycle gloves. The ironic twist is that this comfort comes at the expense of protection. Both pair would feel much stiffer with thicker cow hide and TPU or carbon fiber shell bits plastered all over.
The sizing is the same slightly generous type found in the Spirit gloves and again, this helps get hot, sweaty hands in and out. It also leaves a bit of room for air to circulate.
The full leather exterior is non-perforated, again like the Spirit gloves.
The wrist on the Gallant gloves is similar in shape but has a full gauntlet with no elastic. There’s a short hook-and-loop strap on the bottom of the wrist that just has enough hook-and-loop to close, but not tightly enough to keep the gloves on the hand.
It does help some though, as it takes more than a simple tug to dislodge a glove. If only there were a secondary wrist strap…
The Gallant gloves have similar features to the Spirit gloves. These include:
- The “premium full grain cowhide”, this time in a matte finish.
- The interior of both the Spirit and Gallant gloves appears the same, with an unlined but treated of flocked palm side and a thin but soft and comfortable polyester lining along the top.
- The Gallant gloves have a silicone “Amara” patch under the thumb and forefinger. It is covered with hollow hex shapes and it does give good grip feel and “traction” on hand grips.
- Some extra leather is double-stitched on the outside “heel” of the hand and along the bottom of the wrist underneat.
- AGV Sport claims TPR protectors over the knuckles; this is the rubbery-feeling stuff found on many inexpensive gloves. It may work as a protector but we’d prefer something harder, like the large main knuckle protector on the Spirit gloves.
- There’s an “L” shaped foam pad on the back of the wrist.
- AGV Sport says that the Gallant gloves have high-tensile-strength nylon thread stitching, same as the Spirit gloves.
- There’s a lot of good-looking rows of double stitching also and pre-curved fingers.
- The overall quality of both the Spirit and Gallant gloves is excellent and there’s really not much difference in the two other than styling and the difference in the main knuckle protectors and the gauntlet strap on the Gallant gloves.
Missing features:
- Again, the Gallant gloves need a more secure wrist strap for better security.
- Ditto on the middle and first knuckle protectors.
Summer Riding
What we said about the Spirit gloves can be repeated verbatim for the Gallant gloves — they’re that similar when it comes to riding.
The Gallant glove leather is non-perforated but it’s even lighter than the Spirit gloves, at a featherweight 76 grams per glove (size large), or 2.625 ounces.
The lightweight un-insulated leather also gives the Gallant gloves an overall feeling that they’re made for light duty and low speeds. But, they’re still comfortable for hot-weather riding, again due to the slight breathability of the natural hide and the bit of extra interior room and no insulation.
The fingers on both of the AGV Sport gloves feel a little longer than expected for the size, but this helps by adding some extra room for swelling in hot weather.
The leather used in the Gallant gloves is very soft and it won’t take long at all for any owner to feel comfortable wearing them. The real main choice here is styling.
Conclusion
The AGV Sport Gallant gloves are also nicely made and basic or simple with a refreshing all-leather construction.
The leather feels even lighter than the Spirit gloves, however; more like a pair of leather dress gloves. The flip side of that is comfort.
Hopefully, there’s just enough leather to at least provide some abrasion protection if needed and at least the Gallant gloves have a semi-secure gauntlet strap (calling it a wrist strap is a stretch).
Combine the main knuckle protector of the Spirit gloves with a decent wrist security system and maybe some first and second knuckle protectors and you’d have something.
The Gallant gloves are un-ventilated but again, that’s not necessarily a disadvantage when compared to non-absorbing, non-ventilated-even-though-they-look-like-it textile gloves.
The Gallant gloves cost 10 bucks more than the already-expensive Spirit gloves, and $99.00 for these seems near the edge of unreason.
All that being said, we still like the AGV Sport Gallant gloves and can understand why they’ve been apparently selling very well.
It’s sort of an unfulfilled promise though and we’d urge AGV Sport to add a few more protective features without raising the price.
2015 Summer Glove Comparison Home
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