Held Tour Mate gloves in black

The Held Tour-Mate is a long-cuffed summer glove, on steroids. The starting point is a good one. The entire chassis of the glove is constructed from goatskin.

Clearly, there's no membrane in this glove, so it's not going to be great in the rain. The Held Tour-Mate glove does have a very lightweight lining on the back of the hand; and this is there for comfort, and to make it easier to pull the glove on and off. But there is no lining in the palm. And that's to give greater feel on the controls.

In terms of protection, you get a leather-covered, D3O knuckle protector. On the base of your palm you get a pad of what is known as Armaprotec. And this is there to absorb the energy of an impact when you put your hands out to break your fall. You also get a SuperFabric slider on the palm.

But the Tour-Mate is more than just a protective glove; it’s also a really comfortable and practical one. We particularly like the fact that the seams on the fingers are externally sewn. This makes any glove nicer to wear. You get concertina stretch bands on the fingers, and on the back of the hand. You get two Velcro adjuster straps. One at the wrist; another at the cuff. The sides of the fingers are perforated for added airflow. And you get a visor wipe, although even we think this is a strange feature to have on a non-waterproof glove! The index finger and thumb are touchscreen sensitive. You also get some reflective panels for more nighttime visibility.

Lovely and comfortable as it will be to wear, it feels so much more substantial and reassuring than a summer glove has a right to feel. It’s an impressive bit of kit.