Richa Sleeve Lock GTX gloves in black

The first thing to say is that we really rate Richa gloves. I am sure there must be some duds in their range, but their better gloves are as good as anybody's. And remember we sell gloves from Rukka, Klim, Held, Five, and so on. Richa may be a mid-market brand, but their gloves certainly punch above their weight.

 

The Richa Sleeve Lock is a summer-waterproof glove. It contains no thermal lining, so for most people in the UK this is the kind of glove you might wear from, say, April through to October. That having been said, on really warm days you would probably want to swap it out for a proper summer glove.

 

The construction of the glove is more leather than textile, although the longer cuff is entirely the latter.

 

The membrane is by Gore-Tex; and what's more it's a laminated, Gore-grip membrane, which means that the glove won't wet out. That having been said, with an all-leather glove you will always get a certain amount of water absorption.

 

For protection, you get a D3O knuckle protector. And we have to say that we think this is the best kind of protector you can get. Some people like hard knuckle protectors , but in truth they're more for show, as they don't do much to absorb the energy of an impact. The D3O protector is soft, but much more substantial than most of the soft, knuckle protectors you find on gloves. In terms of D3O, everybody is happy with it for their knees, their hips, their shoulder, their elbows and their back; so why wouldn't you be when it comes to your knuckles? You also get a pad of D3O at the base of the palm, by the way.

 

The minor knuckle joints are protected with small panels of SuperFabric. Again, very reassuring.

 

In the palm of the glove you'll find a sewn-in area of digi-leather which serves to improve your grip on the bars. 

 

For added comfort, there's concertina banding on all four fingers, and on the thumb.

 

Finally, there's a bit of hi-vis detailing.

 

This would be a good spec. on any summer-waterproof glove, but the 'Sleeve Lock', as the name might suggest, has an added feature.

 

Now, the cuff on most waterproof gloves is designed to be worn inside the sleeve of your jacket. This stops rain running down the jacket, and into the glove, but the Sleeve Lock has something akin to a Gore-Tex cuff, which is often a feature of high-end jackets. The idea is that you run the inner cuff of the glove inside the sleeve of your jacket. You then wear the outer cuff of the glove outside the sleeve of your jacket, in the style of a traditional, gauntlet glove. Do this, and the rain can no longer run down your jacket and reach the hand, because the inner cuff acts as a barrier.

 

This is not the first time we have seen this on a glove. Rukka does a similar glove called the Fiennes, but it's bulky and cumbersome. The Sleeve Lock looks as though it's going to be easier to use.

 

Now, one last thing. I am told that touchscreen sensitivity is becoming less of a thing because modern satnavs don't need it. But right now lots of devices do so it's, once again, really disappointing that Richa has delivered a glove that doesn't feature it. Come on chaps. Play the game!