The REV’IT! Cayenne Pro short-gauntlet gloves have a lot of protection for summer motorcycle riding. The overall build quality is outstanding, putting some of the other gloves we’ve reviewed recently to shame. They also have a very comfortable fit with a remarkable amount of dexterity and feel.
Designed to be worn under a sleeve cuff, the special gauntlet strap wraps from the top all the way under the wrist. It is the best design we have ever seen for securing a motorcycle glove to the wrist. The only question is, why didn’t REV’IT! patent the design and give it a catchy name, like “The Secure-o-Matic” or something clever?
Yes, the Cayenne Pro gloves will cost you more. But they’re worth every penny. If you’re looking for the ultimate protective summer glove for 2016, you’ve found it. The REV’IT! Cayenne Pro gloves aren’t new for 2016. They were released in 2015 but somehow we missed them. That’s not surprising actually, since there are about 20 bajillion products out there, just waiting for a review. And that many more being released each year.
No problem though, because these gloves are so popular, they’re back in the Spring 2016 catalog, a mainstay of the REV’IT! motorcycle glove lineup. Designed to compliment the super-popular and long-lived REV’IT! Cayenne Pro jacket (here’s thereview of the very first REV’IT! Cayenne jacket from 2005), the Cayenne Pro gloves will work with any brand or type, so don’t fret about that.
The Cayenne Pro gloves have so many good features, they make everything else seem like a cheap imitation. The difference is that noticeable…and the “Secure-O-Matic” wrist strap system beats every other glove made, hands down.
Wait — was that a pun?
That Wrist Strap
Let’s dig right into this with the most unique feature of the Cayenne Pro gloves, the wrist strap.
A secure wrist strap is crucial to any motorcycle glove design, because the glove absolutely has to stay on your hands during a crash, or any protection the glove offers is lost.
That’s why it’s so crazy that some manufacturers completely miss this important feature.
What’s the sense of designing a motorcycle glove with all sorts of impact protectors if the gloves won’t stay on your hands?
This has been a continuing issue in webBikeWorld reviews over the years and maybe REV’IT! took note. Because the Cayenne Pro gloves have absolutely the most secure wrist strap system we have ever seen.
They should have patented the design and given it a catchy marketing moniker. Or, on second thought, nix the patent. Maybe REV’IT! wants other companies to copy the design, for the overall safety and security of motorcyclists everywhere!
Now wouldn’t that be an incredibly altruistic gesture?
By the way, next up is a review of the REV’IT! Summit 2 H2O gloves, waterproof touring gloves with another unique and secure wrist strap design, so be sure to catch that review also.
Anyway, back to the strap. It’s really a unique and interesting design, yet it’s not so obvious as to be one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” moments.
Starting on the palm side, in the “web” between the thumb and forefinger, there’s a 10 mm wide, 2 mm thick nylon webbed strap anchored under the TPU palm slider.
A second strap of the same dimensions leads from underneath the “loop” part of the hook-and-loop on the glove body and then meets the other strap in a “V” shape.
Both are double-stitched on to a strip of leather that threads through a polycarbonate ring in the gauntlet.
The strap continues at an angle over the back of the glove and nestles in a channel created by the main knuckle protector in front and a secondary hard back-of-the-wrist protector in the rear.
Difficult to describe, but you can see it better in our photos and the animated .gif included here.
Pull the leather wrist strap and it also pulls the red security straps tight, then secure the leather to the hook-and-loop and you have the most secure motorcycle glove wrist system you’ll find anywhere.
The only catch? The system is designed to fit under a jacket sleeve cuff.
But since these are short gauntlet (actually medium length gauntlet) summer gloves, that’s not really a problem and it’s well worth the added security.
We sure hope this system or something like it becomes commonplace. It works really well and it also adds to the comfortable “second skin” fit of the Cayenne Pro gloves.
Leather
The Cayenne Pro gloves have a goatskin shell that makes up the majority of the glove body.
The modern styling is made up of several leather sections and other than the hook-and-loop, the red security strap, the glove lining and the TPU sliders (and perhaps the stitches), no other synthetics are used on the gloves.
The stitching is a mix of double rows, single rows and hidden or blind stitching.
The leather along the sides, palms and in between the fingers is perforated and there’s a direct passage into the inside of the gloves for cooling and it works well.
The goat leather is soft and pliable and it gives a very good feel and dexterity. The leather stretches a bit during break-in and it only becomes more comfortable over time.
Finger Construction
One of the design and construction features that helps make the Cayenne Pro gloves so comfortable is the method used to stitch the fingers.
These are the type with a larger or wider “floor” underneath the fingers, which provides excellent grip and feel. The outer edges hold the external stitching and then a single thin section of leather is sewn around the fingertip with no seam in the middle.
This prevents any catching of the seam with the rider’s fingernail and again adds to the comfort.
It’s a more complex and expensive sewing procedure but this small and perhaps unnoticed detail is important and adds to the overall appeal of the Cayenne Pro gloves.
The thumbs have the “blade” type construction, with the upper and lower pieces of leather sewn together using a blind stitch. The outer gray part of the leather is perforated.
Lining
The inside of the gloves have a thin fabric lining stitched in along the top. It’s the typical type of leather racing gloves lining with minimal thickness for good overall fit and feel.
The palms are unlined and this is one of the things that gives the Cayenne Pro gloves their excellent feel.
Looking inside the gloves, I can see a lot of stitching on the palm side where all the leather sections come together. But the stitches are constructed in a way that keeps them very flat, so I don’t feel any of the seams at all.
There are small squares of the thin liner fabric just in front of the dividers for each finger on the inside, and this helps to add some smoothness and “slide-ability” at this crucial finger junction area.
So the gloves don’t seem to have an unusual or special internal design or construction, yet the fit and feel is really outstanding.
It’s the attention to detail that counts — and design by people who really understand the needs of motorcycle riders.
This is what you pay for and it’s the difference between a cheap pair of gloves thrown together for looks and a quick sale and a pair of more expensive gloves that were designed by experts.
Fit and Sizing
This pair is a size large and they are a slightly snug fit on my hands, measured at a 9″ circumference under and over the main knuckles.
The goat leather has stretched a bit during the first few rides and I expect it to stretch a little more.
I would like to have tried a pair of size XL though just to see the difference but I didn’t have that opportunity.
The fit is slightly tight across the top under the main knuckle slider; I think if there was just a little more depth to the body of the gloves on the inner and outer sides, the fit would be better.
So the bottom line here is that I’d say the size large will fit a maximum of 9″ measured. If you’re over that, go for the size XL.
Protection
The Cayenne Pro gloves feature a large main knuckle protector double-stitched over the top side. It’s a “3D” design, with 7 ventilation slits at the rear that actually seem to work.
REV’IT! calls this a “dual comp protector” and it has a honeycomb-type structure of TPU on the inside. You can see the honeycomb structure also in the palm slider, which has a translucent molding.
The main knuckle protector also has another protective feature: aluminum.
That’s right — the TPU main knuckle protector is topped with an aluminum shell or shield for added impact protection.
REV’IT! says that “This lightweight hard part increases the level of protection significantly, without adding the considerable weight of traditional plastic hard parts.”
There is also a small TPU protector over the outer part of the thumb, which is a nice added feature.
Underneath the main knuckle protector, the palm slider and the thumb slider are sections of EVA “memory” foam for comfort and this works well also.
There are small (12 mm long by 5 mm wide) hard polyurethane sliders over the fingers and outside of the hand.
The forefinger has one, between the middle and main knuckle and the outer three fingers have two each.
Three more of these sliders are located on the outside of the “pinky” finger, stitched into the secondary section of leather that covers the outside of the hand and continues down to the wrist to contain the “loop” part of the hook-and-loop wrist strap.
The sliders on the top part of the fingers are stitched on to separate sections of leather that show up as the light gray color in our gray/red version of the Cayenne Gloves shown in the photos.
Reflectivity
There’s a strip of reflective material bonded and double-stitched about mid-length on the outer or “pinky” finger. This probably doesn’t do much but it’s a nice feature anyway.
Conclusion
The Cayenne Pro gloves are a genuine hit with all types of motorcycle riders. These have been very popular and with good reason.
The overall construction, quality and especially the features and the outstanding wrist security put these head and shoulders above any hot-weather gloves we’ve seen.
Beyond the security and impact protection, they’re also very comfortable and provide excellent grip feel and dexterity.
The price is a bit high but it reflects what you get and the Cayenne Pro gloves are worth every penny in our opinion.
The Editor said he gets a lot of email from webBikeWorld readers asking about the “best” protective summer gloves with good ventilation and so far, the Cayenne Pro gloves are the one and only answer.
Owner Comments and Feedback
See details on submitting comments.
From “G.N.” (May 2016): “I’ve been such an avid follower of your content that I’m now at a point where if I ever got interested in a newly released product, I’ll first check if you have already featured it in a review.
And if it turns out that you guys were satisfied by it, then and only then will I decide to pull the trigger.
So far you guys have convinced me to buy a pair each of the RS Taichi shoes and Sidi Adventure boots, the REV’IT! Airwave jacket and pants, the original REV’IT! Striker glove, and the Arai Rapide/Defiant helmet in the past.
Now, on to the Cayenne Pro glove.
I’ve been eyeing it for a year since for an adventure glove it turns out to be nearly as protective as a full on racing glove.
The Summit 2 that you’re planning to review is also on my list since it is among the very few summer-weight waterproof gloves that seem to be actually well made and protective enough, but not too expensive. However no local dealers have them so I have to get them online.
Unfortunately I’m getting conflicting opinions on fit.
On the original Striker I can barely fit into an L (my hands are 9″). I don’t think the original Striker ever broke in and I finally sold it.
Do you think I should get an L or XL for the Cayenne Pro and Summit 2 gloves?
For reference, I also have a REV’IT! Galaxy H2O waterproof glove in XL.
The L version of that glove still fits me but way too snug, while the XL is comfortable but slightly too large in the fingers — probably due to the tour fit and the light thermal layer needing more space inside.
Thanks in advance wBW and keep doing the great stuff.”
Editor’s Reply: Based on what you wrote, I think you might be happier with the XL, but it’s very difficult to know for sure. I think the Cayenne Pro gloves fit like the Galaxy gloves.
REV’IT! glove fit has always been somewhat inconsistent between their different glove designs unfortunately but I think the Galaxy and Cayenne Pro have a similar fit.
From “D.P.” (May 2016): “I have had the REV’IT! Cayenne Pro gloves for almost a year and put more than 10k miles in with them.
They still look and function like new — and after wearing them in more than a few rain storms, rough treatment and hot weather they are not sun faded or beat up at all.
I agree with the reviewer that these gloves are very secure on your hands and give me a high level of confidence they will protect my mitts in a get off. They provide great grip and feel even with on my BMW R1200GSA.
They do let in a good amount of air for gloves with such a high level of protection — but don’t expect them to blow like mesh. That being said I never felt like my hands are sweaty with them on.
I have the black/sand color combination and it is understated and sharp looking at the same time.
The REV’IT! sizing was a little off for me too. As noted in the article, I am a size large in most gloves but it wasn’t even close with these. I went up to an XL and feel like I could have even gotten 2XL. I
have average sized hands but I find the finger length just a hair too short and the gloves a scootch too tight. They did stretch a bit but not a lot.
They are not all uncomfortable (I would call it a race fit). I have worn them on 300 mile days without a problem but they do not fit as perfectly as I would have hoped for with a glove this spendy.
To me they were worth the extra money for the great protection level they provide and I would recommend them others but do try them on first to make sure you are getting the correct size.”