*Protection:*
* Side of hand has hard plastic protection
* Ball of thumb underlaid with Held Armaprotec
* Knuckle protection tested (impact test for knuckle protection)
* Titanium knuckle protectors
* SuperFabric reinforcement on ball of thumb and edge of hand (brand material)
* Held Armaprotec protection on back of hand
* Finger-bridge between ring & pinkie fingers
* Hard shell pinkie finger protection
* Certified under norm EN 13594:2015 "protected glove for motorcyclists"
*Fit/Features:*
* Tunnel strap
* Special leather at finger which allows smartphone operation
* Special flat seam
* Perforated leather back
* Elasticated leather panels on back, thumb & fingers
* Velcro adjustment at wrists & cuffs
*Lining:*
* Unlined
*Outer Shell:*
* Highly abrasion-resistant kangaroo leather palm
* Goat skin upper
* Colorfast & sweat-proof
Held gloves are sold in glove sizes rather than the normal “alpha” sizes you are used to in the US. But fear not, we offer a comprehensive guide to choosing a Held glove size for you:
And here is some information about the long term care of Held gloves:
The HELD AKIRA RR gloves qualify as a full gauntlet sport glove that is meant for the summer months as it is designed to breathe and is not waterproof. The Akira RR is also the first HELD glove that I got to check out and review and I have to say that I am so far impressed with the HELD brand (also bonus points for naming your gloves “Akira” which I assume is named after one of my favorite animated films of all time with the same name). Overall construction is impressive for a sub $300 price point (coming in at $230 at the time of this review) and includes kangaroo leather at the palm (keep in mind that we can not ship Kangaroo leather to California), goat skin leather at the back of the hand, as well as multiple liners that consist of 65% Aramid, 35% Baumwolle, 100% Polyester and 100% Polyamid.
From a protection standpoint you get side of hand hard plastic protection, the ball of the thumb underlaid with HELD Armaprotec, Titanium knuckle protectors, SuperFabric reinforcements on the ball of the thumb and edge of the hand (this is a Held proprietary material that is a mix of 32% polyester and 68% epoxy resin that creates a super-tough material which offers full flexibility as well as extremely high cut and abrasion resistance. Held uses Superfabric® to reinforce crash zones on certain garments and gloves) Armaprotec protection on the back of the hand, a finger bridge between the pinky and ring fingers, hard shell pinkie protection as well as a CE Level 1 KP certification. A lot of protection for the money. Honestly outside of possibly adding a hard slider to the thumb, there really isn’t much more I could ask for from a protection standpoint, especially not in a glove that is under $250.
Some other notable features include a dual enclosure at the wrist with a tunnel strap as well as a hook and loop enclosure, special leather at the finger that allows for smartphone operation (in testing performing well with both Android and iPhone devices), a special flat seam, perforated leather at the back of the hand, elasticated rather panels on the back of the hand, thumb and fingers as well as both short and long sized to ensure you get the right fit.
There is honestly a ton to like about the HELD AKIRA RR Glove, especially for the price point, I think it easily competes with gloves in the $300 price range in protection, look, fit, comfort and feature categories, and it also comes in 4 different colors, all of which I think look really good (most sport/racing gloves have at least one color where I am wondering what the manufacturer was thinking other than just trying to be bright to be bright, but all 4 colors of the Akira RR to me look really good). If you are looking for a pair of full gauntlet gloves that can be used on the street or on the track and haven’t checked out HELD gloves in the past I do highly recommend that you give them a try. :: Damir 6/21/24
