Alpinestars 365 Gore-Tex Gloves are reinforced in all the right areas, provide above-average protection, have heavy-duty stitching and sharp-looking A-stars' styling.
It only takes one case of road rash and picking gravel out of your palms to realize the importance of a solid pair of gloves. Besides protecting against road rash, it’s also more difficult to get a grip with cold or wet hands. And styling has come a long ways in hand wear these days, so gloves are now fashionable as well as functional.
Over the last six months I’ve been putting a pair of
Alpinestars 365 Gore-Tex Gloves to the test. The A-Stars 365s are black, full-grain leather gloves cut gauntlet-style so they cover the wrist and a portion of the lower arm. This allows rider to tuck their jacket into the wide opening of the glove, keeping cold air from racing up your arm. The gloves adjust two ways. There’s a small Velcro strap directly on the wrist and a larger Velcro cuff wrist closure composed of two flaps. The dual closure system does a bang-up job of keeping the elements out, but it takes a minute to get your arm sleeves tucked in and to get the gloves cinched down.
Besides the natural protection that leather provides, the Alpinestars 365 Gore-Tex Gloves have four hard plastic knuckle protectors sewn into the back of the hand. Each one has a small vent in the top to allow a little air flow on hot days, but your hands will still clam up in summer temperatures. The palm and the back of the thumb both have an extra layer of leather with a small pad sewn in. The back of each finger also has an extra unpadded layer of protective leather. Additionally, a pseudo-suede patch has been stitched between the thumb and forefinger where you grip the bars in an attempt to extend the glove’s longevity. After six months of wear, the patch has thinned a little but remains in good shape. Overall, A-stars 365s provide plenty of protection and are reinforced in the right areas.
I know that
Alpinestars third and fourth finger bridge is a patented design aimed to keep riders from grinding off
The Alpinestars 365 Gore-Tex Gloves ran a little small, so go a size bigger if you're unable to try them on before you buy.
their little fingers in case they’re sliding across pavement, but having your ring finger and pinkie stitched together takes some getting used to. Kind of like a three-legged race, because if you try to move your pinkie, it needs the ring finger’s cooperation. Once your hands are gripped tight to the handlebars, it isn’t an issue, though.
The combination of leather and Gore-Tex mean that the gloves are comfortable right out of the box. Gloves can sometimes be stiff in the thumb, but flex panels on the back of the thumb solve this problem. One item of mention is sizing. I’ve been testing a large, the normal size I wear in gloves, and the Alpinestars 365 Gloves were tight in the wrist and fingers, so I’d recommend going one size bigger if you don’t have the option of trying them on before buying.
A-stars claim they’re waterproof, and since I had the good fortune of never getting rained on while wearing them, we did the standard holding-them-under-running water test. It passed. The synthetic suede pad on the palm absorbed some of the water, but beyond that the stitching is tight and there was no seepage.
Italians have a knack for style, and this penchant for making stuff fashionable extends to Alpinestars 365 Gore-Tex Gloves. Being a black leather glove makes the grey, raised A-stars logo on the back of the wrist closure and the white printed Alpinestars logos on the finger bridge and outer cuff strap stand out. The knuckle protectors make you want to punch something. The extra layers of leather padding blend into the glove’s aggressive styling.
MSRP: $229.95
Buy it Now: Alpinestars 365 Gore-Tex Gloves
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