Decent protection, iffy quality
Written: Feb 02 '07 (Updated Feb 02 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent protection against road rash in the event you go street diving- Unique appearance
Cons: Crude looking stitching, quality control, Outlandish appearance. Customer support lacking-
The Bottom Line: High protection level, but try it on before purchasing to ensure fit-
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| wingerr's Full Review: Icon TiMax Short Glove |
I bought a pair of the original style ones via the internet when I found them reduced to $63, and thought I'd give them a try, as I wanted a pair of gloves that would give a high level of protection in the event of mishap on the motorcycle. I bought a pair in medium based on all the information from all the other users that said they run smaller than the designated size.
Appearance
There are two styles of these gloves around, an old version with lots of bits and pieces cobbled together looking very Go Bot Power Rangey, and a more subdued version that looks more reasonable. There's also short and long versions of the glove; the short one is easier to put on and off, and the long gauntlet version offering more protection. Mine is the shorter version, which I felt is plenty, with my motorcycle jacket taking up where it leaves off anyway.
The styling is definitely polarizing, it does look pretty outlandish, and some would never wear it, as it would ruin the image they work hard to project. Others might feel they want to be outlandish, just because. I'm more of a functional over form sort, so I didn't care either way, as long as it does what I needed it for, to protect.
Construction
Upon receiving the gloves, I was pretty surprised at the way they were stitched, with the seams on the outside. All the pictures that you can see with these gloves show only the top side of the gloves, which look fairly nice and smooth; however, looking at the palm side reveals the rather crude looking stitching, with the excess leather at the edges.
"Copy and paste link to see picture of it here- http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/6308/p1030004tr7.jpg
"
While I could rationalize it as being designed that way for extra comfort, having the seams external, in my case it turned out anything but comfortable. More on that later-
There's a flap on the upper part of the glove, facing upwards, that pivots upwards when you clench your hands, so it looks like a tiny spoiler- Underneath it is the hidden message, "Ride Among Us." Designed by aliens, for aliens... :)
Ergonomics
The medium size appeared to be the correct choice instead of what I usually would wear, size small, as the finger tips were the right length, without the excess that I would usually be able to fold over if I got a larger size. The leather at the palms are actually fairly thin, so it allows for good sensitivity there.
The fly in the ointment was on the left glove- the titanium knuckle plate was positioned such that it dug into my knuckles when I clenched my hands, when working the clutch lever. After a short time, it was starting to get too painful to pull the clutch in normally, and I just hooked the lever and pulled my hand back to declutch, until I got the chance to remove the gloves. From what I could tell, the plate on the left glove was positioned too far forward, and flexing would cause the hot spot on the knuckle.
I emailed both the manufacturer, Icon, and Metricbikes, where I purchased them, but after receiving no replies, took it upon myself to try fix it myself so I would at least be able to use them. The manufacturer did respond some weeks later, but only offered that I should contact the place of purchase for resolution, so I was where I was from the start. To fix my seemingly defective pair, using the back of a sturdy chair, I put the palm of the offending glove on the corner, and put both hands on the sides of the knuckle plate and heaved down on it, to introduce some curvature to the plate. I figured if I could make it curve upwards a bit at the middle area, it would relieve the pressure. Took a couple tries, but it seems to have worked; instead of the flat across shape, I made it higher at the middle knuckles, the way most humans were designed (I hope). They're now wearable, and can serve their intended purpose.
I would recommend against buying them without being able to try on the specific pair you're considering, because they do run smaller than their advertised size, and because the design with the plates make them less forgiving than regular gloves for any manufacturing errors.
The gloves have large eyelets at the palm side of the opening, which make it easy to pull them on, and can be used to as a hang up loop or connect them to each other, using a clip or carabiner. Velcro fasteners on elastic bands are used to snug up the opening; the elastic allows you to put them on and off without needing to release the velcro- good for easy on and off, but perhaps not so good for crunch time, with greater possibility that it may be snagged and pulled off. I don't think that'd be much of a problem, though, it's pretty secure as is.
I haven't ridden in very hot weather with them yet, only in cold; while they're not winter gloves, they seemed to block the wind enough to be comfortably warm. No ventilation holes, but the palm leather is relatively thin, which would be good for those with grip heaters. I think they'd be fine in the summer time, certainly of less concern than wearing full leathers in the heat- The tee shirt set wouldn't be considering these anyway, so those considering these wouldn't mind a bit less comfort as a tradeoff for full protection.
Protection
While I can't speak first hand of its protective abilities, based on the design and location of the plates and palm studs, I'm reasonably certain it'd do a decent job of saving some skin if it was the intervening layer between my hands and the sliding asphalt. If nothing else, it would be a fair facsimile of brass knuckles in a scrap.. ;)
Summary
Despite the unexpected problems with the construction of the left glove, and the crude looking inverted stitching, I'm still satisfied with the gloves, they should provide the level of protection I was looking for when I got them-
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
wingerr
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Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 2 members
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