motorcycle parts_Motorcycle Gloves Review

Roadgear H2O Maxx Motorcycle Gloves Review

Introduction
Most four-season riders own at least two pair of motorcycle gloves; one pair for summer and one for winter.  Gloves are relatively inexpensive, compared to other gear like helmets, boots and  jackets, so an argument can be made for a third pair to add to the collection: the Roadgear H2O Maxx gloves.

The H2O Maxx gloves are suited for Spring, Fall and wet summer weather.  They are an improved version of the Roadgear H2O Tec gloves (review), reviewed on webBikeWorld in August of 2008.  The H2O Tec gloves were also a three-season glove, but without the hard knuckle armor and the secure wrist straps that are included in the H2O Maxx version.

motorcycle parts news Also, there's another big difference: although the H2O Tec gloves were claimed waterproof, they didn't pass the webBikeWorld "Bucket Test".  How did the H2O Maxx version fare?  Read on...

Breathability and Warmth
A pair of Roadgear H2O Maxx gloves weighs only 204 grams, or just a tick over 7 ounces.  Roadgear rates the gloves for 50 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, which equates to 10 to 27 Celsius, which is why I call these "three season" gloves, suited for Spring, Fall or Summer...and light Winter use.

The rated temperature range may actually be a bit on the conservative side, at least at the low end, as I quickly discovered.  I didn't know anything about the H2O Maxx gloves when I took on the evaluation assignment and my first impression was that they were a basic lightweight glove designed for warmer weather.

In fact, the H2O Maxx gloves have quite a few surprises under the gauntlet.  They may look like a pair of basic lightweight gloves, but look closer and you'll find many interesting features. 

They're also surprisingly warm in cooler weather.  For example, the first time I wore the gloves was during a ride on a brisk 44 degree F (7 C) temperature day.  For some reason, I grabbed the H2O Maxx gloves on the way out the door and as I slipped them on I thought "Uh oh, my hands are going to get cold".  But about half-way into the ride I realized instead that my hands were perfectly comfortable.

Since these are not what you'd normally think of as heavy winter gloves by any means, I'll have to assume the Hipora liner is responsible.  Hipora is, according to the manufacturer (Kolon Industries, Inc. in Korea) a three-layer membrane fabric designed to be water-resistant yet breathable -- similar to another well-known membrane fabric used in motorcycle clothing.

There was a Hipora brochure attached to the gloves and it states that the Hipora liner is placed in between the outer shell of the glove and the inner liner to act as a water barrier.  An illustration on the brochure invites he owner to "Pour hot water into glove insert.  You will see steam running out without water leakage." 

I think what they mean is that the hot water will remain in the Hipora liner but the tiny (0.1 to 3.0 micron) pores will let the moisture (steam) escape while keeping the larger water molecules blocked.

But neither the brochure nor the Kolon website has any information about the wind-blocking capabilities of Hipora.  However, most of the breathable/water-resistant textiles I've used do help block the wind, so I think this feature also helps to make the H2O Maxx gloves feel warmer than expected.

The gloves do have a thin amount of what I assume is insulation (there's not a lot of info regarding the H2O Maxx gloves on the Roadgear website).  It's just enough to keep the hands comfortable and not bulky at all, so again, a good choice for three-season wear.

Water Resistance
I wore the H2O Maxx gloves several times before I realized that they must be the replacement for the original Roadgear H2O Tec gloves (or so I assume).  Roadgear says the H2O Maxx gloves are "water tight".

Interesting, I thought, because now here's a pair of gloves I thought were purely designed for simple lightweight summer wear.  Then I first discover they have an Hipora liner; next I found that the gloves were warmer than I thought they would be in the cold; and now "water tight" too.

As I mentioned above, the original pair of Roadgear H2O Tec gloves were supposed to be water-resistant but the webBikeWorld pair were not -- so it was time for the H2O Maxx gloves to undergo the webBikeWorld Bucket Test.

This is a simple but admittedly rather extreme test where the gloves (or boots) are worn while held underwater in a bucket of cold water.  If they leak, they fail -- one of the only black-and-white, pass-or-fail "tests" performed during a webBikeWorld review.

I'm happy to report that this pair of Roadgear H2O Maxx gloves passed with no problems.  I wore the gloves and held them underwater for 4 minutes.  The outer layers of leather and textile quickly absorbed water and I could feel the temperature drop, but my hands remained dry.  I was able to wring quite a bit of water from the outer layers and I put the gloves outside to dry in the sunshine and it took a couple of hours for them to feel back to normal.

So the H2O Maxx gloves do appear to be "water tight", although the water that can absorb into the outer layers may make the rider's hands feel cold, depending on conditions.  By the way, for those interested in making any pair of gloves truly waterproof, check out the Rain-Off waterproof over-gloves review.