Motorcycle Gloves
Riding gloves in leather, textile and knit from Biltwell, Harley-Davidson, ROEG, Oxford, Husqvarna, Merlin and Alpinestars. Sizes run XS to 4XL. Start with the season. A vented summer glove and a lined winter glove are two different gloves, and what each maker states about the standard changes from one range to the next.
Seven makes sell gloves here, counting one Alpinestars pair that Oxford distribute in the UK and that is listed under Oxford's name. The first thing to settle is summer or winter. Thirty-two of the fifty-eight listings describe mesh, venting or perforation. Six name insulation or a thermal barrier outright, and a few more describe a lining for warmth without using either word. Four of those six mention venting as well, so the two are not opposites. Venting alone is little use in October.
Cuff length, and touchscreens
Five listings are gauntlets, cut to go over a jacket sleeve: ROEG's Jettson Gauntlet, Oxford's Nexus and Hamilton, and the men's and women's Harley-Davidson Passage Adventure gloves. A gauntlet has to clear the jacket cuff you already own, and Oxford's and Merlin's jackets sit on the jackets and vests page. The rest are short cuffs, worn under the sleeve. Twenty-eight of the fifty-eight say something about touchscreen use, and they do not say it the same way. Biltwell's Borrego and Moto listings use "smart screen-compatible", the Anza gloves "conductive stitching", and Merlin's Glory a "Digital Touch Tip On Both Index Finger And Thumb Tip". It is as likely to vary within one brand as between two.
What the makers claim
Twenty of the fifty-eight quote EN 13594, the European motorcycle glove standard, each in its own words. All seven ROEG gloves quote EN 13594:2015, the three Jettson listings as "CE approved by EN 13594:2015". Ten of the thirteen Harley-Davidson listings carry a certification row: the Sarona says "Certified to EN 13594", and three Dyna Knit listings name a level, "Certified to EN 13594:2015, Level 1 with knuckle protection". Oxford's Nexus states "CE level 2 KP Certified (EN13594:2015)", the only Level 2 wording here, and Merlin's Glory states "CE EN13594 KP Level 1". The other thirty-eight word it more loosely or say nothing: seven Biltwell listings carry a row worded three different ways, from "CE certified for recreational highway and off-road riding" to the older "Meets CE 89/686 safety standard", and none of the three Husqvarna gloves names a standard.
SATRA, a UK testing laboratory, sets out what those levels mean: Level 2 requires the knuckle to be impact-tested and a cuff of at least 50mm, where Level 1 leaves the knuckle test optional and asks for 5mm. If a listing does not say, we cannot tell you either.
Sizes do not carry across brands
Four of the seven publish a size chart we can read, and no two are alike. Biltwell measure palm width and hand length in inches, and their chart says to size up if you fall between two. ROEG measure hand circumference in centimetres. Oxford measure circumference and hand length in centimetres, footnoted to EN 420:2003. Harley-Davidson's own guidance is to wrap a tape measure around the fullest part of the hand, excluding the thumb. Merlin describe the same measurement but publish their numbers as an image, and Alpinestars' own size-chart page carries clothing and footwear but nothing for gloves. The runs differ too: Biltwell stop at 2XL, every ROEG glove goes XS to 3XL, and Merlin's Glory reaches 4XL.
Biltwell's certification wording is not consistent inside a line either: two of the four Baja listings carry a certification row and two do not, and Borrego runs three with and four without. So check the individual listing rather than assuming a whole range is the same. All fifty-eight are for sale with free UK delivery available, and thirty-four show a was-price at 10% off RRP; the rest carry a single price.