An ode to Helimot gloves ...

[SpeedyCorky]

OK well, a few years back I bought a fancy pants set of Daionese gloves. not only did they cost me $200+ but i still cant spell it to save my life. the gloves lasted me about 1 year, and virtually disintegrated when they got wet. I never crashed in them, but the leather was pretty thin. after less than 1 season, some of the stitching in the fingers had come loose, exposing my skin. bad news bears.

... but before that set of Daionese gloves was retired to the trash can, I bought a set of Helimot gloves. They were a *lightly* used pair, picked them up for a steal of a deal for $150. they normally go for $250 (and are worth EVERY PENNY). My set of Helimot gloves sat on a shelf for a good 6 months, while i tried to squeeze just 1 more ride outta the Daionese pair. I was a bit reluctant to wear the Helimot gloves, cuz they are so thick, i worried about being able to have fully dexterity of my hands to properly operate the controls of the moto. I was very accustomed to my Dainese gloves, and well, i fear change...!

Well, there came a day when the Daionese gloves literally went to shreds; so it was time to give the Helimot gloves a try. Initial impressions were that they were thick, but surprisingly I was able to operate the moto controls just fine. sure it felt a bit different, but I got used to it within a couple rides. no biggie.

Here I sit close to 2 seasons *and a couple crashes* later, and the Helimot gloves are still going strong as ever, pretty much in the same condition as when I first picked them up (and i ride a lot: like every weekend, sometimes 2x or 3x per week). Now when I put on a pair of non-Helimot gloves, they all feel *way* too thin - like scary thin. like, why even bother wearing gloves kinda thin!

Not everyone has $2k to go drop on a custom Helimot suit, i can fully understand that. Personally, I ride a lot, and foresee riding a lot in the future, so the investment in a custom fit Helimot was worth it for me....

... but gloves; there is no parallel to Helimot. Sure they cost maybe twice as much as that pair you saw at cyclegear, but I will eat my helmet if they dont last you 4x as long (or more)! If you plan to be in the motorcycling sport for more than a couple years, you can either plan on buying a few sets of shitty alpinestar or daionese gloves - or just buy a pair of Helimot gloves and be done with it. The padding on them is second to none, the leather is superb quality and very thick (but not too thick), the stitching and craftsmanship cant be beat, nor can the customer service that goes along with any Helimot product.


So if you are in the market for gloves, and plan to ride for at least a season or two, or more - you really are shooting yourself in the foot and costing yourself more money in the long run if you dont buy a pair of Helimot gloves. They just last and last and last - and protect. When talking of helmets, many will ask "well how much is your head worth?" same goes for gloves; so great you arnt braindead, but your hands look like hamburger after a crash - very not cool. how you gonna feel them :boobies if you dont have functional hands?! seriously. think about it. boobies.

Buy a pair of Helimot gloves. They are VERY well worth the money in the long run.
(and tell him I sent ya!)

Helimot European Accessories
45277 Fremont Boulevard #7
Fremont, CA 95112
(510) 252-1509
https://shop.helimot.com/shopping/default.asp
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=heli....792016,33.815918&hq=helimot&t=m&z=13&iwloc=A

 

[cencalballer]

That's a pretty stellar review. Haven;t used Helimot but would like to try some out at one point. I do have a pair of the fancy Dainese gloves and they're awesome imo. Mine have held up extremely well. I'm kind of curious why yours were so bad. I use mine in the rain and have had them for well over a year now.

 

[letsrideinsc]

Nice review! Helmut sold me my first set of Helds back in 97 or so from his recommendation, I think these will be my next set of gloves based on your review. I feel like my current set of Helds are thin.

 

[latindane]

I got the back protector for him, and very happy with it (have only "tested" it twice... one time it definitely made a difference).
Visiting Helmut is definitely worth a ride. Talk about gear, see if he's got anything you need. He won't try to sell you something just to make a sale.

 

[ob1ventura]

preaching to the choir.............

least expensive gloves one can buy when considering $$ / mi.

 

[Flying Pig]

After my most recent crash, everything broke. Helmet, gloves, textile suit, and boots. But the damage that the gloves sustained was the last out of all I was wearing. Haven't made time to visit him to see if they can be patched safely yet, but it's the only great with a remote chance of being salvageable, and a high one at that. I'll be picking up a pair of Daytona boots when I do go in

 

[shaun b]

I'm fully thinking i'll be riding down there soon and get a 2 piece suit and gloves.

 

[SpeedyCorky]

That's a pretty stellar review. Haven;t used Helimot but would like to try some out at one point. I do have a pair of the fancy Dainese gloves and they're awesome imo. Mine have held up extremely well. I'm kind of curious why yours were so bad. I use mine in the rain and have had them for well over a year now.

Thank you, sir!

My Dainese gloves lasted me about 1.5 seasons. after 1 season they were showing their wear. they went fast after that. better to burn out than fade away i suppose at the fingers they fell apart, and what eventually put the nail in the coffin for them was that strap that goes around the wrist - well that strap wraps around thin leather, and creates a pressure point. eventually the leather just ripped on it own, clear around the wrist almost. I predict that my Dainese gloves would have lasted about 2 feet on pavement in the event of a crash, which thankfully never happened.

Helimot gloves 4 life!

I'm fully thinking i'll be riding down there soon and get a 2 piece suit and gloves.

the suit i got from Helimot is beyond great. i've taken several falls in it, and walked away without so much as as a sore anything. "oh my hip hurts a bit, arm a little banged up" nope. nothing. walked away like it never happened, every time. Most AFM racers and track regulars who arnt paid to wear a Daionese suit or whatever - wear a Helimot. that says a lot.
the padding in beyond anything i've seen in any other suit. hip padding, elbow and forearm padding, knee padding, he makes great back protectors as well. when i was looking to buy a new suit, it was either $1200 to $1500 for an off the rack suit, or $2k for a helimot suit and back protector, and he even fixed up my old suit as part of that $2k. He did some custom mods to my suit to accommodate a knee surgery that i had years ago, so the stitching wouldnt bother that area. Every couple years i bring in my Helimot suit back to him and he gives it a "tune up" cleans it up, replaces X, Y, and Z that were damaged cuz i crashed, etc. if you can afford the lump sum to buy it, its a great investment that WILL pay off over the years. especially if you have trouble fitting in off the rack suits (i dont, i'm a very normal size), then thats even 1 more reason to go get a custom fitted suit.

and i'll be the first to admit that when i first bought the Helimot suit, i wasnt super happy with it. its heavy. really heavy - cuz its thick, like it should be. that took some getting used to. and some things about the suit were not quite how i pictured them prior to purchase. I went back to Helimot and explained my concerns, and he fixed/modded it right up to my liking - damn near for free. again, excellent customer service. If i had to do it all again, there is no question I'd go with a Helimot custom fitted suit.

 

[cencalballer]

I don't have any of those issues with mine. I went all the way and I love them, they have been nothing short of awesome. The one concern I ahve with Helimot's is the lack of hard knuckle protection. not so much for abrasion but it helps spread the load when you hit your hand and more so then just the foam or whatever is used. That is my only worry with them.

 

[R3DS!X]

That's a terrible poem!

 

[SpeedyCorky]

That's a terrible poem!

haha referring to "An Ode ..."
tho isnt an "ode" a song? so you could say i was singing the first post cuz i was so happy about the gloves

but yeah not a great song either, good thing i have a real job that pays the bills

 

[Ducposer]

I don't have any of those issues with mine. I went all the way and I love them, they have been nothing short of awesome. The one concern I ahve with Helimot's is the lack of hard knuckle protection. not so much for abrasion but it helps spread the load when you hit your hand and more so then just the foam or whatever is used. That is my only worry with them.

He has a simple answer to that. Have him pull out the box of failed daniese, Held and other gloves with hard knuckle covers and how they have failed. The "foam" protection is actually better and safer than the hard knuckle covers.

Apple Fan boy? Naw sonn, I be a Helimot fan boy lol

 

[SpeedyCorky]

^^^^^^^^^^^ +1million

 

[dkcwenge]

any crashed pics of the gloves?

 

[SpeedyCorky]

gloves didnt sustain much damage from the crash(es), as i didnt spend much time with hands on the pavement. what you see in the pic in the first post is the gloves post crash(es). with that said, i still have full confidence they would hold up 10x better than any other off the shelf glove that i've seen.

the only glove that is remotely comparable as far as thickness of leather is the "TiMax Roadwarrior" gloves by Icon that came out like 10 years ago. and even then, the thickness is in all the wrong places, and the thickness comes from multiple layers of thin leather... i bought a set back when they came out; I still have them but rarely use them, havent put them on in years actually - as they are so heavy and bulky, much more so than the Helimots. and the Roadwarrier gloves are so bulky that they get in the way of trying to operate the moto controls. The Roadwarrior gloves were quickly discontinued because of this issue along with several other issues, related to bulkyness and poorly thought out placement of fancy looking metal bits that dont really do much in the end to protect you.




next time i crash and i'm sliding on the pavement, i'll try and do a handstand with my Helimot gloves - then i'll have a better answer for ya

 

[kiwi_outdoors]

yup

been using mine for about 5 years

just sent the left glove in to get the thumb pad replaced for a few $ (turns signal switch wears it out eventually)


In the dead of winter I switch to insulated hiviz gloves (bought at Calif. Sports Touring in Hercules).

 

[SummerLove]

I love my Buffalo Pros. Not only that but he custom made me a set to fit my retarded shaped hands and I paid the retail price (during the move). I wear them every day and I love them. No crash test but I did tumble into a 30ft deep ravine wearing them and they got a little scuffed from a sharp stick.
While they aren't waterproof with hand guards and waterproofing wax they do well enough for my day to day needs and once you get used to the thickness they are so comfortable!

 

[RaptorFA]

All things considered, I think we can qualify that as a crash test! I have been wearing Helds, but perhaps I should look into these for the next pair.

 

[Cincinnatus]

I picked up a pair of Helmut's craftsmanship and dumped my old gloves (still have my waterproof insulateds just in case). Use the Helimots all the time, and they are awesome. Thicker than I was used to, and the stitching is all in the right places, so much reduced friction along the fingers. Two reflective strips on the middle & ring fingers, and two strips along the wrist aid visibility. Won't buy another brand. Massive to Helmut & co.

 

[2strokeYardSale]

I will eat my helmet

My Helimot F108 developed a fingertip hole without ever crashing on them.

P.S. It annoys the shit out of me that the velcro flaps aren't long enough to easily close around my leather jacket sleeves or my 1 pc leather sleeves.