Richa Squadron gloves in green

Richa suggest that this glove is inspired by the military; and to an extent that is true. But what is even more true is that this glove is an almost direct copy of a glove that used to be made by Oakley, and that was, indeed, supplied to the military for use by the special forces. Legion are the photographs of top-tier operators wearing those gloves. But Oakley have not made them for many years.

The Squadron is a very faithful reproduction of that glove, but as you might expect it has been worked on by Richa to make it work for motorcyclists. Indeed, the Richa version of the glove is, of course, fully CE approved as an item of protective wear for motorcyclists.

The original glove might have been just the job for storming embassies and the like, but for motorcycling the Richa derivative has a soft, D3O knuckle protector and a goatskin leather palm complete with panels of digi-print leather for extra grip on the relevant control surfaces!

Clearly, this is a summer glove; the glove has no membrane, but we think it’s one of the nicest summer gloves we have come across. Much of the textile fabric on the back of the glove is the same as you will find on Rukka’s Forsair 2 glove, but here the material throughout is infused with Lycra or some other kind of stretch component. Neoprene panels are also in abundance, whilst for extra airflow you get eyelets in the fingers, just as on the originals. The glove is lined with a soft, breathable jersey. Finally, the wrist fastens by means of a web strap.

Those original military-spec. gloves are hard to find these days; they are much in demand although it’s virtually impossible to find a pair. They are like gold dust. These Richa gloves look like the Oakley ones, but they are much, much nicer. If I was a Navy Seal or in the SAS/SBS, I would be all over these like a cheap suit. This really is Gucci gear!