Rating: *****
Alpinestars GP Pro Gloves review
Price: £169.99
Tester: Ben Sheard
Time owned: Two years
Contact: www.oxprod.com

It’s safe to say motorcycle and scooter riders are currently spoilt for choice when it comes to their gloves. I’ve tried various gloves from multiple manufacturers and here’s why I think Alpinestar’s GP Pro are what I’ll be using again when my current pair finally gives up.

Durability and protection

Let’s be clear, I crash, a lot! Luckily every time I’ve parted ways with my motorcycle both on and off track I’ve been wearing these gloves. It’s safe to say they’ve had a lot of abuse from multiple trips across Donington Park and my local Tesco car park. Not once have I had any hand, finger or wrist injury and other than looking a bit worn the gloves always have held together (no split seems that often plague other manufacturers and older Alpinestars gloves). The stitching has worn through around some of the palm padding on the left glove but I got these checked by a trusted dealer and he showed me how the padding is still held in place so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Not once have I given the full grain or kangaroo leather any sort of treatment even after riding in wet conditions and the leather hasn’t shrivelled or stiffened.
In terms of the Alpinestars range there’s only one glove with more protection and that’s the bulky GP Tech at an extra £60.

Dexterity, Feel and Comfort

With mention of the GP Tech brings us on to the GP Pro’s biggest selling point over other gloves. They are amazingly comfy, for a track rider this allows great feel through the bars but it also translates for road users too, the gloves are not fatiguing to wear and I get no awkward pieces of extra armour digging in or pinching anywhere on the glove.

Day to day use, fit and fastenings

These are my go to summer gloves, I wear them as late into the season as I can bare before I switch to my winter gloves and switch back to them as soon as I can. They’re that good I can’t wait to wear them. Full gauntlet gloves are often criticised for the extra time it takes to put them on. This isn’t really the case with the GP Pro’s they have a Velcro strap through a metallic loop, similar to most shorty gloves and the large gauntlet is also Velcro.
The only reason I’d go for the shorty gloves over these is if you really can’t get on the full gauntlet, for example it doesn’t work with your jacket or even the plainly coloured black version is too garish for you.

I often look at glove vents and wonder how well they really work, they’re not like helmet vents where you can physically feel the air passing across your skin but they must work as these gloves have no problem with overheating in the summer, even under the plastic gauntlet. They feature hard vents under the plastic knuckles and gauntlet to force cool air into places that typically overheat and they are also perforated between the fingers, if you splay your hands there’s a nice refreshing draft which enters the glove through these holes.

The only week point I’ve found on these gloves is the metal loop on the fastener. This is because it isn’t actually a full loop but a sort of C shape. Now I went through three pairs of these gloves in one day because of this loop but it can be explained quite easily. Out of the box the alpinestars label etc. was attached to the gloves through this loop, as I was going to ride home in the gloves the salesman helpfully pulled the tag off for me, by the time I got home one glove was completely open as the metal loop had fallen off, I rode straight back to get them swapped for a second pair. Again they fell open before I got home (less than a mile) it was only on the third pair I realised the salesman’s mistake. So the lesson here is make sure you cut that plastic loop holding the tag rather than pull it off! I’ve had no problem with the metal loop on my third pair and it hasn’t deformed at all during crashes.

Price

So as Alpinestars second most expensive leather glove at £169.9 9 the GP Pro can seem like a pricey option but it’s what I’ll be choosing again when replacement day comes. I’ve tried more expensive models such as the GP Techs and Dainese’s full metal glove. The GP pro’s main competitor at its price point is the Knox Handroid gloves for the same RRP, I was impressed by the Handroid but still prefer the GP Pro. The only glove I considered replacing my Pros with were the Knox Biomech which unfortunately are no longer available.

Verdict

Whether you’re a road rider or a racer I haven’t found a better all-round glove. The GP Pro comes out top dog even against more expensive rivals from the Alpinestars range and other brands.