Let’s just face it, riding a motorcycle in winter, on those cold and moist mornings, 9 times out of 10, the cold forces you to hang up your gloves. Yes, even in South Africa, it can get pretty damn cold and riding into winter now, I’m definitely starting to feel the chill factor significantly begining to ramp up. Having warm winter bike gear can make all the difference, cheaping out and going for an airflow is all good for 8 months of the year, but completely useless for the rest of it, and I mean useless.
Being a year-round motorcycle commuter helps you quickly understand that ‘one’ doesn’t fit all seasons. No matter how much you love that old leather or jean jacket, it isn’t going to do much more than keep the road rash off your skin. I can’t even begin to explain how the wrong kind of gear can considerably diminish your riding pleasure, or even ruin what promised to be a great ride, because your attention gets dragged towards the discomfort rather than the beauty of the landscapes you’re experiencing. In a nutshell, it’s easier to learn from others’ mistakes rather than making them yourself, especially when it can save you both bucks and discomfort.
I’ve ridden and bought Alpinestars gloves out of my own pocket for the last 10 years. Being a motorcycle journalist, many gloves have come my way, which have never even come close to the quality, feel, usability and looks of my Alpinestars. Well, that’s not completely true; paying Mark Vine from Autocycles Centre a visit changed that perception. It all started with a question: “Have you ever tried on a ‘FIVE’ glove?” said Mark.
For those of you who don’t know FIVE, they are a French company that has been solely in the glove game since 2005, and if you’re wondering how the name came about, just count the number of fingers on your hand. 15 years of making quality gloves have seen plenty of money spent on R&D, seeing FIVE gloves competing in multiple motorcycle racing world championships like in MotoGP, Moto3, Superbike, Supersport, Endurance, Supermoto, Motocross, and Enduro. This is not to say they are focused on manufacturing racing gloves, but rather it goes to show how FIVE actively uses racing to help contribute to the evolution of their products.
Most of the people I’ve talked to about FIVE think that the brand only makes Enduro/MX gloves, and that’s probably due to the fact that the dirt bike market is massive in SA and FIVE is doing extremely well. Although FIVE make MX gloves, they have a much wider range, we’re talking Racing, Street, Urban, Custom, Adventure and a few more—they have it all.
So, going back to trying on a pair of FIVE gloves at Autocycles…
Knowing that I daily commute by bike and enjoy multiple disciplines of riding, Mark made me put on a pair of FIVE WFX PRIME EVO GTX gloves and off into winter I’ve gone. The ‘Prime EVO’ gloves are a crossover winter glove, meaning they work great for both touring and adventure applications, which for many riders is a big green tick as closet space and wallets can only leave that much room for bike gear.
What does R3,800 get you? Firstly, it gets you a glove that doesn’t look like a thick winter ski slope glove, but rather a good-looking black, grey and a splash of orange touring/adventure long-sleeve glove that is packed with features. FIVE have done away with the conventional formula to bring riders a lightweight and highly protective glove, but with winter warmth as a bonus. The Prime EVO is made of goat leather on the palm and Softshell fabric, it includes a GORE-TEX® membrane, Primaloft® thermal insulation, and FIVE Thermo+™ construction for what FIVE says “is unparalleled comfort in the cold.”
What all these fancy terms essentially mean is that these gloves are waterproof thanks to the seamless design and Gold ultra-high-performance, water-repellent thermal insulation, less wind chill through the areas between your fingers and more feel thanks to the Thermo+™ construction and a FIVE ERGO PROTECH® one-piece shell with a wide panel in SuperFabric® keeps the hand protected when your skill or when grip runs low. But really, the Thermo+™ construction is the most impressive for me, as FIVE use different thicknesses on the palm, fingers and between the fingers stretchy bits to make the glove still keep its warmth and to not feel bulky, meaning it feels more natural when bending the hand or when grabbing a lever compared to other winter gloves I’ve tested.
I’ve done just over 3000 km with gloves now, riding in hot, cold and rainy conditions. Coming off of a summer street glove, the PRIME EVO felt a bit stiff off the bat, but after two days of riding, they quickly wore in to the point where I felt comfortable enough to wear them daily. Adventure, touring and commuting on my naked were the testing grounds, and when I say my hands were the only thing warm on certain days, I mean it.
At first, I thought that they were going to be too thick and therefore restrict some movement, especially when reaching for the brake or clutch levers in the city commute, but surprisingly, they weren’t. They are an “easy wear”, if that makes sense. Comfortable, light enough to wear daily in winter and as far as winter gloves go, they still offer you enough feel when using electronic switchgear to change modes on the TFT and answer calls on a com, again thanks to the clever Thermo+™ construction.
I quite liked the fact that the PRIME EVO have a double strap, one closest to your palm and one around your wrist like a racing glove, which gives your wrist that extra support it needs. These two straps are attached to a system made of what looks like rubber, which allows flex and movement for extra comfort, but also a longer-lasting strap system.
At the top of the glove sleeve, you’ll see something called “oversized cuff”, which allows you to zip open the top of the glove to widen the neck to fit the glove over a bike jacket. This clever system allows the glove to still fit snug, even when the zip is open.
With a few thousand km under the belt, I can say that the FIVE WFX PRIME EVO GTX does what a winter glove is supposed to do and having ridden on a few seriously hot full-day rides too, they weren’t unbearable. So, if you’re a rider looking to commute through winter or a rider wanting to spend full days in the saddle touring with different weather conditions, FIVE has got you covered.
We will be riding our Suzuki GSX-S1000GX long-termer through winter on some long open road tours, so stay tuned to see how the gloves fare as they rack up some chilly miles. For more information on FIVE gloves and to find a dealer, visit – www.autocyclecentre.co.za
