I’m one of those people who likes to get out on his motorbike most days of the year. Since I don’t pack it away from September till April, I’ve found it’s useful to have a nice, warm pair of winter gloves, ones which are preferably waterproof to an extent too, even though here in central Japan, the winters aren’t even so wet. So, when my old gloves were declared worn out, I went looking for a new pair. I don’t have any electrically heated kit, so I needed something basic, relying on the material only. I’ve always heard good things about Icon kit, but never actually tried any, so I looked through their glove selection, and bought some of their Patrol Gloves courtesy of local distributor, AFGMotosports. The local bike groups over at JapanRider and Gaijinriders seem to rate them too. Reseller Revzilla did a video review.
I’ve had them for a few weeks now, and I have to say I’m quite impressed. Firstly, the sizing – I went for the size above that which their website suggested – getting XL over L: when you measure, go in three dimensions, and not flat across the palm, and opt for the larger size if you’re on a boundary.
The glove fits very well, nowhere is it tight, though the fingers do feel a little short, but fine for me. The thumb has plenty of freedom, so indicators aren’t an issue, and so far, no embarrassing misses and catching the horn.
The construction looks good and you feel protected – the large knuckle protector adds to that sense, and so far, nothing is coming unstitched. That gauntlet long wrist cover section fitted well over my jacket too, meaning there were no irritating breezes coming up the jacket arm. I also like the reflective section – I’ve made the mistake of having too much black in my gear over the years, so I’m always looking to improve my visibility level. The main materials are goatskin and the waterproof textile, with some synthetic suede on the wear points.
I’ve worn them around town, and over a 200Km run, where it was ~5-10deg.C and they kept me sufficiently warm for the most part, and still felt comfortable on the handlebars, despite the wind, and you don’t sweat in them either, a problem with some (cheaper) gloves. In the rain, they do indeed keep your hands dry, but as the waterproof layer is beneath, the outer layer will appear wet at times, but that’s fine.
They’re worth the 75USD in my opinion, and again, I bought through the distributors here in Japan – AFGMoto – who are keen to sell kit in either Japanese or English and seem to offer decent pricing on a lot of their kit, so no arguments there. I have to say, if like me, you tend to do these things over e-mail, their response time is usually excellent.