Spyke ST303 Race Gloves - Review

Style and quality with a dollop of technology built in as standard, Dan tests the ST 303 Gauntlet glove from Italian protectionista's Spyke, read how he got on with them

Initial Thoughts

As an added bonus to my reviews package, I was kindly given a pair of Spyke's ST303 gloves to get on and test and after previously testing a set of short cuff gloves in the Alpinestars SMX-2 gloves, shorties, It was time I was put to the test with a set of full size Racing Gauntlets. First time out of the bag these gloves fit perfectly, snug and bendable in all the right places, admittedly this it my first proper set of full gauntlets so I'm breaking new ground again "should I tuck them into my jacket or wear them over jacket?" decisions, decisions.

Construction

Having seen Bikechatter's editor, Leigh sporting his much favored Knox Handroids I decided that the styling of the ST303's, with the individual Kevlar fins on the fingers, was definitely on par with the offerings from Knox. It's the simple, original ideas that push innovation that bit further and spit out amazing ideas like these and while there is nothing really new in individual carbon fibre protectors the styling that Spyke adopted for the ST-303 definitely sets them apart, the fins, of course, have a practical use though in making sure your important digits are also well protected. The Cuff of the wrist has plenty of wiggle room to stuff your jacket inside, and to the reverse user the cuff will hug your arm and your jacket can effortlessly roll over the top.

Im an Jacket over the top kinda guy but I did test both ways to make it fair, My over all decision was the less fiddly cuff over jacket 'normal?' way which took some getting used to but now im adjusted and happy.

The gloves have a very comfortable feel when on the bike too, with an upcoming Rally being the main testing point I had just enough time to get a feel for them prior to setting off (read: 2 days) and after just a few hours the gloves were ready for anything that could be thrown at them. My test ride the next day had its hiccup with my dodgy feet in new boots but the gloves didn’t miss a beat, wind resistance is great especially for the long motorway slogs they lay ahead of me, but with that in mind ventilation with the gloves hasn’t let me down either, the main source of which being the 'Spyke Air system' incorporated into the Kevlar Knuckle protector.

Control with the gloves gives perfect response, you can feel every bit of your levers and just how much force your putting into them. I did eventually 'break' the Cuffs in properly one morning while allowing them to dry on my seat, I was putting them on and opening the cuff when I heard a slight 'creek, crunch', turns out I had put a crack and eventually snapped a small portion of the Cuff armor, None of it was poking through the glove so I didn’t think anything of it but after that they fit even more forgivingly around my forearm/jacket combo. the left glove eventually followed suit 2 weeks later and cracked similarly to the Right one, as such they both fit perfectly now.

In some regards the wrist closure system is a little over-engineered and bulky with TPU panels surrounding the closure system but in the same vein I would think that in the event of an off they would take the brunt of any force which, lets be honest is exactly the purpose of protective wear.

The center palm on the gloves has an extra grippy fabric patch, perfect for hanging onto your bars or opening and not dropping a bottle of coke (professional testing only). The lower part of the palm has some additional padding and a Kevlar pad to the edges to take some of the force in a hands first drop.  Overall the Spyke St-303 are not the top of the line racing model and in my opinion are perfectly placed for racing style and protection but on a little bit of a lower key - at £99.99 they sit around the middle of the high end price bracket which in comparison to offerings from certain global brands is not bad but you are paying a bit more of a premium for a well made item over more middle of the road brands.

The main features of the gloves are listed as;

* Ventilated, racing gloves with carbon protections and articulated panels to increase comfort and maximize grip

* Leather, Kevlar fabric and protections in the areas exposed to frequent shocks

* Rigid protections on the knuckles, fingers and lower palm

* Shock absorbing materials on the palm and back of the hand

* Articulated stretch panel on middle and ring fingers

* Kevlar fabric over fingers and back of hand

* Adjustable Velcro? wrist strap

* Ventilated panels on the back of the hand

* Shock absorbing material on the wrist

* Leather reinforcement on the palm

* Knuckle protection formed of 2 carbon supports and a PU panel combined together to reinforce the protection

* Stretch Kevlar panel with shock absorbing padding on wrist

* PU protection on wrist