Whether you believe that global warming is a natural part of the planet’s climatic cycle or a man-made phenomenon brought about by excessive industrialisation, there is no denying that summers are getting hotter and drier, providing the perfect excuse for bikers to get out and go for a ride. But when the mercury is nudging well into the 30s, ‘normal’ protective gear can be hot, sweaty and uncomfortable.
This has led to a proliferation of clothing designed to provide comfort for hot summer rides; from boots to jackets, gloves to jeans, mesh materials and perforated fabrics are now part of every motorcycle clothing brand’s range, and Bristol-based Weise is no exception.
This summer’s record-breaking temperatures and wall-to-wall sunshine have been the perfect testing environment for Weise’s £49.99 SRP Hive gloves, as my daily commute has seen morning temperatures in the pleasant mid-to-high teens, but evening rides home have often been a 30oC-plus sweatfest.
The Hive gloves are made from a combination of goat leather and breathable 3D mesh textile material, and unlike some other lightweight summer gloves, they are CE level 1 KP approved, proving that the padded knuckle protection panels are there for more than just show. There are also padded and reinforced areas covering some of the carpal bones on both the back and face of the gloves.
Fit-wise they are extremely comfortable – I seem to have longer thumbs than the average, and get hot-spots where they press against the seams with many gloves, but I had no such issue with the Hive. They fit quite snugly around the fingers, but not so much that they feel overly tight, or restrict movement.
Out on the road, dexterity is maintained, with the goat leather used on the palm and inside of the fingers giving good grip and feel of the controls. The hexagonal-pattern of the 3D mesh fabric used on the back of the hand and fingers provides the essential ventilation, but does have a habit of catching on the velcro wrist straps when putting them on. The level of airflow through the fabric was a vast improvement compared to my regular summer gloves, but not to the degree of some other fully-ventilated models. This can be seen as either a blessing or a curse: I found them to be not as cool as some competitors on the hottest days, but on the other hand (no pun intended) they were far more thermically comfortable in the usual mid-20oC temperatures that we experience during the British summer, making them usable across a longer season.
Overall, a decent pair of gloves that are well suited to summer rides in the UK, but for tours in properly hot climates I’d be picking something with more ventilation.
The Key Collection; 01179 719200;Â [email protected]