2011 Knox Biomech Hand Armour - Review

For more casual riders Knox has updated their Biomech Hand Armour for 2011 under their ST3 development process, we slap a set on Dan to see what he can say about them

Initial Thoughts

When it comes to Protection, it doesn’t get more technical then Knox. Bikechatter's Editor, Leigh has previously reviewed their top of the range Handroid model *drool* and currently has their cold weather offering, their Knox Zero Outdry model on test so has kindly gifted me with the opportunity to review another model in their impressive Hand Armor range, the BioMech, Knox's answer to Armor plating for Sport and Touring use.

Construction

These look like gloves, sound like and feel like gloves, but they arnt (bear with me on this one) Knox has been working hard at what they do for the last 25+ years and for the latter of these they have been constructing their ultimate collection, Hand Armor. Hand Armor is the new 'glove' being offered by Knox in 4 different flavors; Handroid, BioMech, Recon and Zero Outdry (the winter variant), more recently they have also added in the Handroid POD, a shorty version of the full Handroid Gauntlet. Hand Armor is what every glove wishes it could be, putting on any of the range makes you feel like your wearing more then 'just a glove'. (Dan gets no prizes here for his overuse of the word glove - Ed)

Upon Receiving these, besides struggling to keep my eyes inside my head I couldn't wait to get breaking them in, upon first glance these things are big, not just due to the size requested, but they have a certain 'presence' about them. Slipping them on I realize that the size might have been a little too big (small fingers, fat hands) but never the less they fit astoundingly well. After doing up the wrist strap and stuffing my jacket into the cuff it was time to torque up my first Knox BOA system. Previously and many many years ago I had a pair or trainers that used a rudimentary BOA system to tighten, needless to say these were my absolute favorite trainers and I wore them every day till they were too tatty and 3 sizes too small. The simplicity of the BOA-ish system worked well for someone who still had problems tying shoelaces. Fast forward 18 years, and yes I can tie laces now, it was BOA time. Press the dial down, Turn, *click, click, click (more clicks)*, Done.. WOW its like being a kid again.

Tightened up the cuff of the gloves eats up your jacket and creates an amazing seal against wind and rain, the wrist strap creates a little wiggle room as well so with the gloves done up you still have full rotational use of your wrist. To release simply pull up on the dial and it opens the entire cuff instantly, the BOA system makes the BioMech's infinitely adjustable and very unique fit. The Cuff has a slider on the bottom which is an added extra to the SPS Scaphoid Protection System and, as I found, to be extra handy at getting the gloves on. The final piece of the cuff is the extra 'Armor' part, the Wrist Sliders, one on both sides of the wrist giving you plenty of protection and also work as part of the BOA Lacing system, being that parts the close in on your wrist.

Breaking it down (though not literally) the BioMechs feature very interesting developments in protection, the most obvious of which being the Knuckle protection. The knuckle is a solid piece of see-through plastic with a HoneyComb Gel inside, visually appealing its also interesting as well to see how the system actually works. When you have an impact and your knuckles are forced outwards the honeycomb gel compresses and disperses the energy over the entire knuckle, the easiest way to demonstrate this is putting your fingers behind the protector and pressing it up, not that I spent hours playing with it and making 'squish' noises but its nice to see working protection. The same Honeycomb technology is incorporated into the back of the hand protector giving the armor very funky protection as well as making the protection a styling element.

The outer of the fingers are leather panels stitched under each other for increased, smooth movement. Additionally they have individual sliders on the 3 main fingers. Your pinky finger is covered in a combination layer of leather and SuperFabric so its incredibly abrasion resistant and to finish it off your thumb has added strength from 2 pads covered in the same superfabric material.

Between each finger is a perforated piece of leather, since between the fingers is non impact and non abrasion area it is safe to do this which increases the airflow into the glove and then up and out through the gauntlet the end result is you a very comfortable, breathable glove. During my time reviewing on day one it decided to rain and I can say they the BioMech's are very good at keeping you dry even with the perforation my digits were warm, dry and safe.

The palm of your hand has the trusty Knox SPS Scaphoid Protection System on your lower palm. the SPS system works on the same principle as Knee Sliders so instead of material hitting the ground and immediately pulling/ripping and afew other things you don’t want to read about, they allow you to slide with the impact, reducing the stress on the seems and stitching of the gloves and as such not compromising your safety. The main section of your palm is made from kangaroo hide reinforced with Schoeller Keprotec, thinner and tougher then normal leather you are able to get more of a feel on things and across the top of the palm and the tips of the 3 fingers there is a PU Grip Pad for a spot more grip where its needed.

* Knox discreet finger sliders

* Knox Sport Scaphoid Protection System

* Knox wrist & cuff slider

* "Dialled in" Boa lacing system

* Kangaroo leather & Schoeller Keprotec palm

* Amara grip pad with silicon print for improved control

* Impact absorbent honeycomb gel at knuckle & metapod

* Drum dyed Aniline leather on fingers & back of hand

* Superfabric, ceramic bead technology

* Superior fit and comfort