Using full-gauntlet gloves on my mere 6km commute to the office every day was proving to be too cumbersome, so I decided to get a pair of short-cuff gloves that would still be reasonably protective. Having heard very positive stuff about Viaterra’s products from my colleagues, I decided to purchase the Holeshot gloves.
Strictly speaking, these aren’t short-cuff gloves and I’d say these have a mid-cuff length (longer on the outside, shorter on the inside). Viaterra says they are CE Level 1 certified as a glove, and even exceed Level 2 for key areas such as restraint, impact abrasion resistance and impact protection for knuckles.
The fit is quite comfortable and the gloves didn’t require any breaking in whatsoever. The use of mesh on the finger area as well as the back of the palm greatly improves airflow, and even on the hottest of days I’ve never faced any ventilation issues. Despite being used extensively in humid weather, they have proven to be easy to slip on or off, without feeling sticky.
Despite this, these gloves do not sacrifice safety, and I can say this confidently because I’m in the unique position to have (ahem) ‘tested’ this in the real world. The scuffs you see on the Knox scaphoid protectors are from an accident I was involved in when I unceremoniously met the tarmac thanks to an errant car driver’s overzealous overtaking. Despite having used my hands to break my fall, there were no bruises or pain in the aftermath, and I’m thankful to the Holeshots for that. Speaking of the Knox protectors, you barely even feel their presence when your hand is wrapped around the grips and the integration here is much nicer than on some other Indian-made gloves.
Being able to use the phone without having to take your gloves off is quite handy (pardon the pun), thanks to touch-compatible thumb and index fingers.
I have no major complaints with these but there are a few minor niggles. The mesh area on the thumb (on both sides) has frayed a bit. Perhaps that’s down to me occasionally resting my hand on the mesh panel on my textile pants. The other issue is that the velcro panel on the wrist strap has started to come off slightly. It’s still in place, but considering that this is the sole form of closure, I’d have liked this to be stronger. Barring these quibbles, I’m very pleased with these gloves and would wholeheartedly recommend them, especially considering the very reasonable Rs 3,499 asking price.
Where: viaterragear.com
Price: Rs 3,499
Gavin Rodrigues
Rishaad Mody
