Royal Enfield has a massive line up of gloves available, with these new Gritty gloves coming out along with the new Classic 350. Unsurprisingly, like most of the company’s line up, these gloves place style as a priority and offer a decent level of protection along with a pleasant price tag.
The Gritty gloves are available in just one colour scheme – brown with a couple of small stripes, one yellow and one olive green. It’s a fantastic vintage look that’s eye-catching, yet classy. The only visible branding is a subtle Royal Enfield across the knuckle guards and you could use these gloves as a stylish companion on any retro motorcycle.
As for the level of protection, these gloves are best restricted for use at city speeds. There’s a hard PVC knuckle guard that’s neatly recessed under a layer of leather, while the palm gets a thin patch of foam padding. That more or less marks the extent of protection on offer.
The upper section of the gloves is constructed in supple goat leather, and as with most short cuff gloves, they have a single velcro closure around the wrist. The entire palm area uses an artificial suede material and the thumb and forefinger on both hands get touchscreen sensitivity.
These gloves aren’t ventilated and Royal Enfield says that they’re meant for mild winter use. The weather in Mumbai has hardly been hot for the past couple of months, but it isn’t cold either and I’ve found the gloves to be quite comfortable for short city commutes, although that may change with the summer heat. Nevertheless, the fit is quite good, with no annoying seams or rough materials to be felt.
The big motivation to buy these gloves is the lovely retro style they offer, as well as the Rs 2,500 price tag. However, I’d make the jump for more expensive options like the Vamos or Roadbound gloves from the RE range. The extra money brings you CE certification as well as the Knox scaphoid protection system – something I know from experience to offer great protection in a fall.
Where: www.store.royalenfield.com
Price: Rs 2,500
Dinshaw Magol
