These Held Air N Dry gloves have been around for a few years now, but I always seem to encounter people who are fascinated by them when I am out riding. I bought my first pair in 2012 and recently replaced them after an estimated 80,000 (give or take) miles of excellent service.

This, as you may already have gathered, is not sponsored content. I bought these gloves myself because I loved my first pair so much. I wear gloves every time I ride a motorcycle, since the skin on your palms is unique, deep-rooted, and irreplaceable.

These particular gloves are, of course, not all sunshine and roses. Certainly they’ve outlasted a lot of other gloves in my lineup, and I wore them far and away more than any other glove I own, but the Gore-Tex lining gave up the ghost after about three seasons of all-weather riding. Honestly, that lasted longer than I had expected; in my experience there’s almost no such thing as a truly waterproof glove, so I always carry some excellent waterproof overgloves with me on tour.

The major selling point for these gloves is their “two-in-one” tech: there are two different pockets, or chambers, inside these gloves. One of them is insulated and waterproof Gore-Tex lined, and one of them puts your hand right up against the fully perforated kangaroo leather palm.

Held Gloves Options

They’re super comfortable in about eighty percent of the riding conditions I subject myself to, here in New England; whether I'm riding on a track, riding dirt on a dual-sport, hooning a sport tourer, or off for a weeks-long trip on a big adventure bike. When it is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, I will wear my heated gloves, and when it’s over 90 degrees I’ll wear full summer armored mesh gloves.

Beyond the kangaroo leather palms and Gore-Tex liner, the gloves are constructed of cowhide, DuPont Kevlar, hard plastic armor across the knuckles, vents in the fingers, and Superfabric (it has ceramic bonded to it which makes it highly abrasion resistant) on the palm and the outside of the pinkie.

The index finger on my left hand suffered a “blowout” two summers ago, probably because that is the hand I do everything with, while riding: adjust my helmet visor, open and close zippered vents and pockets, you name it. I contacted Held’s parent company which is apparently Schuberth these days. They had me mail the gloves to them, and for the princely sum of $30 US, skillfully patched the hole and sent them back! That is what I call customer service.

Held Gloves Old Vs New I

This season I noticed that all of the fingertips were beginning to wear thin on the perforations, and there’s not a whole lot to be done about that, so I bit the bullet and purchased a replacement pair. I probably have six or seven pair of riding gloves in my arsenal, but I couldn’t bear the thought of being without my Held Air N Dry gloves.

I remember the first pair took two to three weeks to really break in, something I hadn’t experienced with other gloves: they either fit or they had sore spots. The new pair is no different. These gloves aren’t very comfortable until you’ve had them on and off several times, and maybe put a few thousand miles on them. After that, it is like they’re made just for you.

You can find these gloves in your favorite local motorcycle gear shop, or for sale online. The suggested retail price is $250 US.

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