The REV’IT! Solar mesh gloves are a summer favorite around here, with just the right combination of air flow and comfort.
The Solar gloves were revised last year to incorporate goatskin, giving them a broken-in feel right out of the box.
REV’IT! has developed a huge selection of clothing over the years.
Their 2007 catalog lists 9 different pairs of summer gloves in 3 different categories: “Integration”, “Dynamic” and “Precision”.
The gloves have list prices ranging from $59.99 for the basic R59 summer glove to $169.99 for the top-of-the-line Stealth.
The Monster gloves shown here were provided to us by REV’IT! and they represent the middle of the range with an $89.99 list price.
Our experience with REV’IT! gear has been positive and our impression is that they don’t mess around with loss leaders just for the sake of having a low-priced item to compete with commodity clothing manufacturers.
Instead, each garment is specifically designed to meet certain objectives for its target customer and we’ve always felt that the clothing was designed by experienced motorcyclists who know what works.
So is it fair to evaluate a pair of gloves costing nearly twice as much as any of the others in this comparison?
Well, in this case, you pretty much get what you pay for, although the bottom line is that theREV’IT! Solar mesh gloves ($79.99 list) are still our favorite REV’IT! gloves for hot weather riding, tied with the $54.95 Komodo mesh gloves.
UPDATE: The label on our pair of Monster gloves is hard to read; I originally thought it said that the gloves are made from “37% leather and 3% textile”, but it’s actually 97% leather and 3% textile.
There’s a touch of Clarino synthetic leather on the tips of the forefinger and middle finger, with some silicone grip patches that, if you look closely, are cut in the same shape as the new REV’IT! logo.
Goatskin is said to be one of the most durable and beautiful leathers (and also more expensive than cowhide), and we’ve noticed that it also seems to have an inordinate ability to feel broken in very quickly.
It appears that goatskin is used as a single section on the underside of the glove (i.e., the palm and fingers), with possibly another type of leather used on the wear panels.
REV’IT! uses an interesting process for the obligatory protective panels on the back of the fingers; they are injected with PU (polyurethane) rather than the typical foam padding.
Temperfoam is used on the palm, back to the end of the cuff and over the thumb in a couple of patches.
The fingers use a semi-box construction, and the gloves are fully lined, although some internal seams can still be felt inside.
Exposed seams must be an artifact of summer glove construction, because it’s noticeable to some degree on each of the 4 different pairs we’re using in this comparison.
But the Monster gloves are probably the most comfortable of the group, although they also seem to suffer from the “shrinking glove syndrome”.
Our hands are definitely not getting fatter — gloves seem to be shrinking, and the Monster gloves fit tightly for their size.
They seem especially hard to put back on after the hands become sweaty, although this may be due to the larger percentage of leather used in their construction.
The thumbs, however, do seem narrower than they should in proportion to the rest of the glove, making them uncomfortable when gripping the handlebars.
The REV’IT! Monster gloves have a big, contoured carbon knuckle protector and although the gloves don’t seem to have any extra flex built in to the back of the hand to account for the knuckle protector, none of us have noticed the tightness across the top that is so troublesome on the Alpinestars Sledge gloves.
The leather on the Monster gloves is perforated on the outside of the fingers and the third and fourth finger also have a few perforations on the palm side.
Although the perforations don’t allow a light to be seen through the gloves, they do have the best air flow of the 4 pair, which is probably the primary concern for a summer motorcycle glove.
We’d guess that the REV’IT! Monster gloves probably offer the most protection of any of the gloves in this comparison, and that also counts for a lot. They also feel like they have the most secure wrist closure, although none of these gloves provide a lot of confidence that they’ll stay on in a crash.
It makes no sense whatsoever to buy a pair of gloves just because of the price — if you’re looking for a glove to do what it’s supposed to; that is, protect your hands during a crash, then it’s worth paying a few extra bucks to buy better protection.
Conclusion
I guess we’re spoiled — although the REV’IT! Monster gloves came in first in this comparison, scoring well for comfort, quality, air flow and protection, we still don’t think they’re as comfortable as the original REV’IT! Solar gloves, which are still offered by REV’IT!
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