Date reviewed: September 2019 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: £59.99 | www.thekeycollection.co.uk
The Weise Wave WP summer gloves on review here are a short-cuff design with a waterproof membrane, designed – says Weise – for the ‘modern rider’. I’ve been using them on the Kawasaki Versys 1000, BMW S1000XR and Honda MSX125 through spring, summer and autumn…
Fit and feel
As with any bike kit, it’s vitally important that you try gloves on for yourself before buying. I’ve found the Wave WPs to have perfect finger length for my hands, and generally fit well, though I did get some discomfort in the tips of my thumbs after time, thanks to a pressure point caused by the seams.
Summer gloves typically offer the best feel, but due to the waterproof membrane and fabric liner, these are a little more distant than standard (non-waterproof) gloves. It’s a compromise you have to expect – try them on and see how you get on.
The forefinger and thumb of both gloves have good-sized silvery conductive patches that allow you to easily use your smartphone, so if you are using it for navigation, or you simply don’t want to remove your gloves when you’ve stopped to answer a call, you’ll find the Weise work very well.
The remaining three fingers have concentric silicone ovals printed on them for grip, along with a stripe running down the palm – a neat touch that adds to the usefulness when using electronic devices, and also helps grip of the throttle tube.
Warm and cold weather use
These are certainly not winter gloves, but they are surprisingly warm; in fact at 21°C I had sweaty hands after just 10 miles. While sold as summer gloves, they Waves proved too warm for me on this year’s sunnier days.
Protection and certification
The testing standard for motorcycle gloves – EN 13594 – was last revised in 2015; it’s been in place a long time and has been a legal requirement in France for a good while already. All motorcycle kit in the UK must now be classed as Personal Protective Equipment, so although some manufacturers have been rather slow in gaining the legally-required certification for jackets and trousers (using the ‘excuse’ that the test standard has been in provisional form for an extended period), there’s no reason at all for gloves not to be fully tested.
It’s a real disappointment to find that these new Weise Wave gloves don’t carry any CE certification, so while they have plastic knuckle armour and soft pads on the palm, there’s no way of knowing if the textile construction that makes up the top and sides, or the leather of the palm offer any abrasion, tear or impact resistance.
From April 21 2018, all new motorcycle clothing is deemed to be Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). To meet this legislation, it must be tested to a recognised standard. For more information on the law, click here.
Fastening
A hook-and-loop strap fastens around the wrist – it has a good degree of adjustment and can be pulled reasonably tight, helping to reduce the risk of the gloves being pulled from the hands in a slide.
Wet weather use
The waterproof membrane appears to be effective, but ultimately a pair of short-cuff gloves are never going to offer much in the way of rain protection; because you can’t seal the gloves under the cuff of your jacket, rain will soon find its way into the lining and wick all around your hands. This is made worse by the cut-out under the wrist strap; while it’s lined, it’s not waterproof so water quickly finds its way through there.
The leather palm soaks up water quickly, and while the textile upper beads very well at first, over time this water-resistant coating gives up, so the material becomes soaked, restricting the ability of the gloves to breath in wet weather. This is not unusual though, and you could easily use a textile reproofing spray to bring back their performance.
Lining
The lining is quite slick and makes the gloves feel hotter and sweatier on my clammy hands.
The Waves use ‘mcFIT technology’, which sees the liners glued into the fingers, rather than nipped in with small tabs that can be prone to pulling out. Generally the Waves seem to have it cracked, but sadly the little finger of the right glove has pulled away. I can still get them off without a problem if I’m careful, and I would expect this to be sorted out under warranty.
Conclusion
There’s no guarantee it won’t rain on a summer UK ride, so the idea of waterproof gloves without the bulk of winter mitts is a good one. However, because the Waves are quite warm, I’ve found them restrictive on the hotter days; I do suffer from sweaty hands, and the lining isn’t helping, but when there has been a risk of rain, I’ve preferred to chance it and use my race gloves (remembering to let them dry naturally when I got caught out).
The Waves are relatively cheap for waterproof summer gloves, but I can’t help thinking that making them a short cuff reduces their usefulness – I tend to wear the AlpineStars Patrons for hot-weather rain protection as they can seal under or over my textile jacket. But they’re almost three times the price of the Weise gloves, so that’s not a fair comparison.
If you’re not expecting true all-weather performance, and the Weise feel good to you then they’re worth a look, but it’s extremely disappointing not to find any CE-certification to give confidence in their safety; buy with caution.
