Helimot Buffalo 365 Gloves
Helimot Buffalo 365 Gloves
CW EVALUATION
Comfy, adaptable and made here at home
BUFFALO 365, IT SAYS ON THE BOX, SO the first question is, why is a deerskin glove named after the buffalo? There are, after all, buffalo-skin gloves on the market.
Because, says the small print, the American Buffalo, more accurately Bison, are native and tough and so are these gloves. The 365 means it took that many days to design them, you can wear them 365 days a year and they’re comfortable after 365 miles in the saddle. Big talk, but as one racing legend used to say, it ain’t bragging if you can back it up. Which these gloves pretty much do.
DETAILS Helimot, Inc. 1141 Old Bayshore Hwy. San Jose, CA 95112 408/298-9608 www.helimot.com Price. ..$170 Ups A All-day comfortable A Sizes for men and women `owns Y Sizing on small side V Pricey
First, the pattern of the pieces keeps seams from chafing fingers and palms. There’s foam between the layers of deerskin and a third layer over the knuckles. They’re smooth and flexible when pulled on, and they stay that way.
They weren’t too warm at home in Southern California in 8 5-degree weather, and they weren’t too cold in England when the thermometer read 45 degrees. Well, there was a chill, but the rider’s hands were warmer than his feet, so the yearround claim seems semi-valid.
As for bad weather, four days in England and not a drop of rain, not even fog, while our home territory is gripped by drought, so we’ll take the water resistance and the utility of the visor wiper, a leather strip on the left glove’s forefinger, on faith.
One caution is that the gloves seen here are Mediums, and riders with hands on the small side of said size had to pull the gloves on and found them snug. Try before you buy is a good idea here.
There’s a strap to snug the wrist, and a flap to size the gauntlet over whatever jacket is being used. Both work, but there’s not a lot of variation between full tight and full relaxed.
Helimot is a known brand, especially among roadracing types, so there shouldn’t be any concern about durability. And if the price is high, well, that’s what homemade has come to. □
