GTX Held Air N Dry Gloves

Product Information

This treatment is called, “Durable Water Repellent”, (DWR ), and can be reinvigorated by tumble drying. I commute almost all year, leaving out the months with salt on the roads. Temps go from 0°C to 40°C and it tends to be wet over here. These are my go-to gloves. The Air N Dry features a ‘Breezy’ chamber and a ‘Dry’ chamber; the breezy side has a thin layer of perforated kangaroo leather on the palm for excellent grip and feels on the bike as well as decent airflow for warmer rides, particularly if the hand is raised off the grip slightly.

There’s more to the Air N Dry than just its dual-chambered capability, though. The quality of construction is typical of glove specialists Held’s work, with supple perforated palm leather and top-notch internal stitching holding everything together. Touchscreen Enabled Touchscreen Enabled Features a special fingertip for operating capacitive touchscreen devices such as smartphones, without having to remove the glove. (58)

Handily, Held make this easier because these gloves are available in three finger lengths. This makes it more likely you’ll find the finger length that’s comfortable regardless of whether your hand is in the ‘breezy’ or ‘dry’ chamber. I’m also delighted to find a visor wiper blade built into the finger — an essential on any glove used in the UK. Gore-Tex Gore-Tex Gore-Tex is a waterproof/breathable fabric that resists water droplets from passing through while at the same time allowing moisture from the inside to evaporate. (26) The Held Solid Dry 2 in 1 gloves are the perfect choice for an average English summer: Waterproof when required, breathable with a perforated palm when not. The Taslan shell is highly water-repellent, which means these are light in weight, will not soak up rain water, and are perfect for the months between March and September.

They’re a snug fit; comfy when on but need a good tug to get on and off, even with all the straps undone, which is a good thing because protection is more important than ease-of-use. The fastenings at wrist and cuff are both secure, and the vents do a good job of keeping my hands cool as the mercury rises. With my hands in the bottom chamber, any water on the grips immediately flows through the perforations — there’s nothing to stop it. Also the additional warm air flowing over my hands in the summer gloves does nearly nothing to cool me down. Without sweat for evaporative cooling the wind doesn’t do much. We’ve all been there when it comes to choosing a good quality glove. The challenge to find a glove that not only fits like one but offers the kind of protection you would expect. John Allsopp gets a feel for Held’s Air N Dry. But this time, it’s a Gore-Tex waterproof chamber on top and a perforated leather chamber on the bottom.Air doesn’t flow over the palm side of motorcycle gloves when you’re riding, because that’s the side that (hopefully) is on the grips.

Interestingly if a Gore-Tex fabric gets totally soaked will the water on the outside actually seal the fabric stopping the evaporation of steam trough it! That’s why all Gore-Tex is treated to not soak, but to create small droplets on the outside that can fall off. Leather Leather Leather gloves offer good abrasion protection as well as being a natural wind defence. (80) From “H.R.” (November 2015): “To understand these gloves you have to understand the behaviour of Gore-Tex. This is a membrane that keeps water droplets out at the same time as it allows air and moisture to exit trough the membrane from the hot, moist side to the cooler side. When the Editor gave me the gloves to evaluate, we had quite a time figuring out which “chamber” was the Gore-Tex side and which was the ventilated side.I’ve ridden in pouring rain and hands have stayed completely dry, and in warm conditions I’ve had the increased sensation and ventilation from wearing thinner gloves. One glove, two options: optimal rain protection in the waterproof chamber or a pleasantly cool feel in the grip chamber when biking in summer temperatures Like the Breezy chamber, the width of the glove across my hand was spot on but the fingers and thumbs were too long which meant that they felt clumsy and ungainly and a couple of times, I found the tips of the fingers catching on the clutch and brake levers. If conditions are warm and dry, put your hand in front of the tab and your palm will sit next to the glove’s perforated leather palm. This keeps you cooler and allows more feel for the bike’s controls. Visor Wipe Visor Wipe Glove features a built-in visor wipe to enable you to remove excess rain water from your visor whilst riding. (110)

Kangaroo Hide Palm Kangaroo Hide Palm Gloves made from kangaroo hide, which is thinner than cowhide gives more feel to the rider but can offer up to 10 times the tensile strength. The Held Sambia 2 in 1 are the ‘evo’ version of the original: These are perfect for touring in the heat. Highly breathable and vented for hot days and slow speeds. Or, cool, wind- and waterproof for higher speeds or showers. This isn’t a major issue, just something that needs to be taken into account when trying the gloves for size – make sure you have room for your fingers when wearing them in breezy mode. And the word “Dry” for the top chamber could either mean “Use this chamber when it’s dry” or “This chamber keeps you dry”. Apparently, it’s the latter. A special dying technique ensures that our kangaroo leather is absolutely colour-fast, while a special tanning process makes it highly resistant to moisture and sweat.

The Seasonal Chamber Paradox

OK, after all of that, once you get the chambers figured out, what you have is a pair of dual-purpose gloves.