Best Motorcycle Racing Gloves

If youre hitting the track, cover your hands in these

The Alpinestars Supertech is the top of the Italian brand's range when talking gloves and while it's what's used in MotoGP, the fit is a bit odd. The next best thing is the Alpinestars GP Pro R4 gloves deliver a true racing-grade gauntlet offering excellent fit, comfort, and robust protection. Crafted from a blend of bovine and goat leather on the backhand and kangaroo leather on the palm and fingers, they balance softness, feel, and resilience. They feature impact-absorbing layers across fingers, backhand, palm landing zones, and sides, as well as dual-density Dynamic Friction Shield (DFS) Race knuckle protectors and a DFS cuff for abrasion resistance, all with enhanced airflow ventilation. TPU finger protection, palm and finger sliders, and a finger bridge between the third and fourth digits mitigate impact, abrasion, finger roll, and separation. The gloves utilize inner-seam palm construction and leather accordion panels for improved comfort and dexterity. They are CE-certified to Category II EN 13594:2015 Level KP 1, meeting essential European safety standards. We use them regularly around these parts and Senior Editor Nic de Sena had plenty to say about them in this review.

The REV'IT! Jerez 4 gloves deliver top-tier, MotoGP-inspired protection with a combination of premium kangaroo leather and various TPU hard-shell reinforcements. According to the Dutch brand, this is the same stuff that their professional riders are using. They feature flexible knuckle protection, pairing a soft inner padding layer with a hard-shell TPU exterior for improved comfort and impact resistance. Additional protection includes TPU guards on the finger knuckles, little finger sides, metacarpal area, palm (including thumb side), scaphoid, cuff, and thumb. These gloves are CE-certified to EN 13594:2015 Level 1 for knuckle protection, meeting essential European safety standards. Built with stretch inserts, ventilation holes, a double-cuff closure, hook-and-loop wrist strap, and Aramid plus tri-fleece lining, they balance safety with ergonomic comfort. Each glove is hand-stitched and designed in collaboration with REV'IT!'s pro riders. There is one hiccup regarding the Jerez 4: they're made from lightweight kangaroo leather, which is banned in California. For those of you who want to save a good bit of cash and buy a comparable glove that's legal for resale in California, you can take a look at the REV'IT! Quantum 3 gloves that are made from bovine leather. They're also a whole lot cheaper without skimping on protection.

The Knox Handroid MK5 are easily the most unique set of gloves in this list, due to their unique boa wrist-closure system. Just look at 'em! They look like something out of science fiction! However, what they are is sturdy and are CE-certified to EN 13594, affirming compliance with rigorous European safety standards. The gloves incorporate Knox’s Scaphoid Protection System enhanced with Micro-Lock impact-absorbing foam, and feature exoskeleton spines along the fingers for exceptional abrasion and impact resistance. A single-sided polished LDPE wrist cuff with Micro-Lock improves strength, dexterity, and impact protection, while a patented BOA® wrist-closure system with a lifetime guarantee ensures a precise, secure fit. The palm uses ethically sourced 0.8 mm kangaroo leather for strength and tactile feel, and the rest of the glove is crafted from lightweight, drum-dyed cowhide finished in a contemporary hexagon design. The gloves are touchscreen-compatible and come in sizes XS through 3XL and multiple colorways.

The Dainese Full Metal 7 gloves are something that most sport riders know, in fact, Valentino Rossi had a great deal of input while developing these gloves way back when. They're crafted from drum-dyed goatskin leather with aramid-fiber and Kevlar reinforcements across the palm, fingers, and back to enhance abrasion resistance. They incorporate titanium Pro-Tek inserts on the knuckles and reinforced protection on the little finger and scaphoid, paired with an ergonomic PU knuckle base and DCP system to guard against finger twisting. Ventilation is provided through strategically placed front and back holes, while pre-curved fingers, elastic and micro-elastic inserts, and a single-panel side construction enhance comfort and dexterity. They meet CE Category II Pr-EN 13594 Level 2 certification, reflecting the highest safety standard for motorcycle gloves. They are some of the most expensive gloves on our list, and if that's too rich for your blood, we certainly don't blame you. We'd also point you in the direction of the Dainese Fiero Metal gloves with plenty of similar features.

Here's the deal with the Alpinestars GP Tech V2 gloves: If you want the most airflow in a full-gauntlet glove, then look no further. What makes them different is the highly breathable stretch Kevlar that covers most of the rear portion of the glove, which is backed by a leather backhand that maximizes flexibility, sensitivity, and reduced rider fatigue. The palm is constructed from kangaroo leather reinforced with a stretch insert in critical impact zones to enhance abrasion resistance. A seamless, over-injected, dual-density knuckle cup delivers CE Level 2 KP impact protection while preserving dexterity, and the ergonomically shaped cuff-DFS adds lightweight protection and friction control. Reinforcing layers on the backhand, landing zones, and fingertips — alongside viscoelastic padding, external finger seams, fingertip sliders, a palm slider, side-hand reinforcement, a race-style finger bridge, and accordion flexion zones — provide comprehensive abrasion and impact defense. Minimal stitching improves comfort and durability. These gloves are fully CE-certified for European safety standards at CE Level 2 KP. If you're a California resident and thinking "shucks, I can't buy those because they have kangaroo leather!" well, don't feel glum, chum! You can purchase the Alpinestars GP Tech S2 S gloves that don't use kangaroo leather.

When Spidi lands on a good product, they end to keep it in rotation for quite a while and that's what we're seeing with the Spidi Carbo Track EVO. Spidi is a brand with a long heritage of racing gloves and truth be told, that's how they got their start! The Carbo Track EVO gloves use vented 0.8mm – 0.9mm cow leather to help keep your hands from getting sweaty. Superfabric is then placed in all the usual impact areas to protect your hand from abrasion and road rash. High tenacity Tenax 6.6 keramide is triple twisted into the nylon stretch zones to provide extreme levels of abrasion resistance even in the areas that aren’t covered in leather. As an example of Spidi’s attention to detail, heat-resistant microfiber panels are placed on the palm. If you’re not sure why that’s important, then consider yourself lucky you’ve never slid along the asphalt for very long (it gets pretty hot). Hook and loop closures around the wrist keep the glove secured to your hand, and accordion stretch panels ensure maximum range of motion. If you are feeling a little spendy and want to save a modicum of weight, you can opt for the Spidi Carbo Kangaroo Gloves. However, those particular gloves using kangaroo leather aren't available for sale in California.

Updates:

August, 2025: Replaced outdated offerings. Updated descriptions, text, and product choices with currently available offerings.

March, 2021: Refreshed links with currently available products.