Road Mesh gloves review | Bargain summer gloves that punch well above their weight

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In truth, £30 doesn’t get you much nowadays; a family ‘feast’ at the golden arches, a couple of months of Netflix or a fill-up on most bikes (and not even a whole fill-up on some). However, it will get you a pair of these Road Mesh gloves from Sportsbikeshop and give you a little change as well.

For that sort of money, you might not expect much but you would be wrong. First and foremost, they achieve a CE rating of 1 KP, indicating that their hard-knuckle armour has been tested and found to meet the necessary standard. So far, so good.

Putting them on, it is clear that they come up small; I usually take a medium in gloves but was recommended to try a large to begin with as I found these the prefect fit.

I find the elasticated cuff could do with moving slightly wider to make getting them on over my wide hands a little easier but once they are on, they are a perfect fit, both across my hands and in the relative lengths of the fingers and thumbs.

They are also surprisingly comfortable, with no apparent seams or joins inside the gloves. There’s a plush Bemberg lining throughout, even inside the mesh sections and it feels very nice against the skin. The main body of the gloves is leather with a second layer of suede across the palm, meaning the grip and feel of the bike’s controls are excellent and you don’t have to physically grip the bars to stay in touch.

They fasten at the short cuff with a large hook-and-loop tab over the elasticated section and there is mesh ahead of the cuff as well as on the back of the thumb. This is pleasantly effective at allowing cooling air in on warmer rides but the material on the side of the fingers is also breathable and allows more cooling air to enter here as well.

The key areas are in leather, with a padded suede section over the heel of the palm and another on the outside of the little fingers. The hard knuckle armour is reassuring and sits in exactly the right place while there are also padded nibs above the second knuckles of all fingers with the exception of the little finger.

Adding to an already impressive spec list, the index fingers on both hands and the thumbs feature smartphone touchscreen-compatible sections so you can control your phone or sat nav easily.

Verdict

In absolute terms, these are excellent gloves. I like short gloves in summer and particularly ones that include some mesh, meaning when the weather comes warm or hot, you get some additional cooling.

They feature what appears to be a sturdy construction with proper materials and fit well and are very comfortable. They are reassuring in use, with a decent CE rating and hard-knuckle armour that isn’t intrusive. There are also additional protective panels, on the heel of the palm, the outside of the hand and the fingers.

The touchscreen panels work well and save for some minimal fraying, they have stood up to some impressive mileages already. However, when you consider they are less than £30, they are a serious bargain.

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