Richa Atlantic GTX (Gore-Tex) Glove Review

[maximNikenGT]

Just took delivery of a pair of Large Richa Atlantic GTX (Gore-Tex) Glove in Grey/Fluorescent yellow. This particular glove bubbled to the top of some european reviews (go to 5:43 mark at the video below as an example):

but have not yet made it to the US for some reason.

My previous motorcycle gloves include a Dainese leather long gauntlet with kevlar (no armor of any kind but I got these back in the 90s and aside from some cosmetic stitching coming loose, the leather has held up remarkably well e.g. no falls in them).

Also have a cheap pair of short cuff motorcycle gloves I got from Taiwan during one of my visits. Strictly a summer glove but with some hard plastic knuckle protection. Breathes well but little padding and not sure how well the fabric would hold up in a slide. 

I decided to get one to replace my most recent (but aging) del Rosario ultrasuede Resistor v2 gloves which I bought for the unusually high hand protection design (NEW RESISTOR v3 – Del Rosario) back in December 2017. The finger leather was wearing through at both the middle and ring fingers on my left hand and the adhesive keeping the hard plastic outside the palm near the bottom was no longer keeping it in place (NOTE: I have not taken any falls in the Del Rosarios). 

First impressions:

• Very well designed and good fitting glove. Will take a couple hundred miles to break it in. 
• European CE Level 1 with knuckle protection certified EN 13594:2015. Knuckle protection provided by 3DO. 
• Had a squeegee on the left glove index finger. Wasn't expecting that but nice add.
• Designed with key technologies including SuperFabric (www.superfabric.com), D3O (www.d3o.com), and Gore-Tex GORE Grip, and what looks like reflective fabric tech resembling Scotchlite but could not find any reference to what kind of reflective material tech is used or if it is a proprietary specific to Richa. 
• D30 tech is a high impact protection technology that is incorporated into the knuckle protection.
• Gore-Tex Gore Grip is a specialized construction method that effectively bonds the waterproof/breathable membrane to the shell of the glove. Normally the membrane is free floating, and as such, any feeling of disconnect from the outer shell has been eliminated.  GORE-TEX grip gloves | GORE-TEX Brand
• Two odd items:
  • First item that struck me as a bit odd was the use of two different straps for the wrist. According to the product description this is to achieve a better fit around the wrist. Purely my conjecture is that the secondary smaller inner strap is there to prevent any water from entering the main interior part of the glove. 
  • Second item I found odd is that Richa has these little straps stitched into the bottoms of the inner wrists with a snap button that allows you to snap one glove to another (presumably so you can always keep them together and not lose one). Never seen a glove with this kind of design before. 
• The use of reflective material occurs in five places:
  • Two longer strips of fabric along the back of the hand as well as the wrist/lower forearm,
  • a small double ring reflective section protecting the main joint of the pinkie fingers, 
  • the GORE-TEX logo on the back of the index finger
  • the RICHA name located on the outermost wrist strap (but almost on the inside of the forearm) 
• SuperFabric is located along the base of the palm as well as along the second and third bottom sections of the pinkie finger closest to the knuckle (see the photos with the fluorescent yellow stitching around padded areas that identify where the SuperFabric is incorproated into the glove. According to the SuperFabric site, the fabric's advantages are the high abrasion resistance, water resistance, slash/scuff resistance, and stain resistance. SuperFabric is used in a lot of gloves where the chances of getting cut/punctured/sliced are very high ex. (fish cutting gloves, broken glass handling gloves, knife sharpening gloves, etc.)
  I then wondered why Richa decided to use a fabric like this instead of a hard plastic or metal slider like those found in use by del Rosario, Held, Alpinestars, Dainese. I stumbled across this video from Knox that explains what happens when you fall off a motorcycle and what happens to your scaphoid if you injure it: 
   So these palm sliders are similar to wrist guards used by roller bladers and skate boarders on pavement. In the event that one falls forward on the pavement/concrete, then the wrist protectors will force the hands to slide forward so you don't break your wrists. You might still break your face but at least one will be less likely to break their wrists. So the SuperFabric is strategically placed there instead of a hard plastic/metal slider. Don't know if the SuperFabric has a lower coefficient of friction in comparison to a plastic/metal slider but it would appear that even if it's not, one at least retains better glove flexibility and comfort than one with a hard slider. If SuperFabric does have a better coefficient of friction e.g. it slides better on pavement, than the hard plastic/metal sliders of competitors, then even better. 

This is my first Richa product from the Belgian company and I must say that their products appear to be very well engineered. Also, glove tech has advanced quite a bit since my first Dianese leather with kevlar gloves from the '90s. To have a glove that is waterproof, breathable, using advanced impact knuckle armor, and designed to help the rider slide in the event of a fall for about 160 Euro, I can see why folks consider the Richa Atlantic GTX to be a glove that punches way above its weight class when one factors in all the licensed technology rolled into the product. More info to come after I've had some time with these gloves in the saddle to see how they fare in real world conditions. 

Edited January 6, 2023 by maximNikenGT
Added CE certification detail

[2and3cylinders]

For years, lots of gloves have had Superfabric and Knox hard palm sliders.  Metal has been used and going back to the 80s when palm rivets were used with Nomex heat backing and later Kevlar.  Armored knuckles and fingers with hard plastic and carbon fiber (which can shatter), linking the pinky and next finger with a web, Kevlar and fabric blend shells, wrist protectors, etc..  I've found Gortex bonded to the shell is best but there are a dozen (maybe lesser) "waterproof liners".

The Cortech Hydro GT gloves (silver knuckles) and Revit Sand 4 H2Os are waterproof, as are the Warm N Safe insulated heated gloves.  The Cotech full gauntlet racing gloves and others include Kevlar lining on the full hand, and Kangaroo (others use goat which is not is good) leather is used commonly. The Rukka are fully Schoeller Keprotec (with a hard palm slider), and because they pack so small and light are great back-up warmer rain gloves (your hands get wet though) if your primary pair are not waterproof leather.

BTW, I'm a gear whore as my walk-in cedar closet testifies.

 

 

[maximNikenGT]

WOW! That is a seriously impressive amount of gear. 

I don't suppose you could attest and compare the super fabric sliders vs the alternatives as far as likes/dislikes?

[2and3cylinders]

Personally, I luckily (knock on plastic) have not tested Superfabric but it's quality (authenticity because there are fakes out there), location and most importantly it's means of attachment, as well as whether it's back-up with Kevlar and/or Nomex (both great heat insulators)is also critical to its performance.

I sort of prefer Knox and other thicker quality hard palm sliders as their coefficient of friction is lower, thus it slides better versus catching like Superfabric may on coarse paving, which, as I knew and you said, should minimize wrist injuries (both my wrists are in poor shape from decades of hockey and Judo as it is).

Personal protection (not Trojans) must be addressed holistically from head to toe.  All my pants (also have hip pads) and jackets are all Level 2 armored with double layer coverage, as are my boots (some with ankle and toe hinges like mini ski boots).  I sometimes wear fully armored shirts including chest trauma protection.  I've worn "SeeMee" vests since the early 80s.  I also have an electroluminescent vest that has a steady-on and 2 flash functions, and now my Hit-Air vest.  I'm not convinced Hi-Viz gear is all that effective though.

Training and practice is also part of the game, along with reading, and of course a thoroughly sorted bike with auxiliary lighting including a headlight modulator.

I'm a hard core ATGATT motorcyclist, which stems from my experiences racing going back to the early 70s.

[maximNikenGT]

"... as my walk-in cedar closet testifies."

I now aspire for my very own cedar lined motorcycle gear closet. 😀

[2and3cylinders]

LOL

That's not all my gear; I need a bigger closet.  The finished basement closet also is filled with gear and luggage.  The other half of the basement is unfinished and where my cedar closet, an equal sized workshop and office is located.  I've also given away and sold a fair bit of gear but my retired helmet collection, going back to 72, alone takes up 3 six foot long shelves in the rec room.  I just finally rented a 10 x 15 storage unit to get the 01 Sportster XL1200S and my duplicate 98 VTR1000F (2B 4 sale), two VTR spare engines and frames, and duplicate parts out of the basement and Bret Cave (separate heated/AC'd shop that's a third of the garage structure).  It's amazing how you accumulate things disproportionally to your available square footage.

I'm truely not trying to impress or brag.  It's a curse when you're a hoarder!  I've kept, for example, used up gloves and boots because you can't sell them or even give them away.  My father is 100 and a survivor of the depression and WW2, and instilled in me as a small boy that everything, no matter if it's just an old musty, lead-painted wood board, should be saved because you might need it some day.  Just crazy...

I've even saved every cell phone I've ever had except for one that I traded in for a free S21; and I mean with all their original boxes, cases, wall and car chargers, and earbuds too!

Just sick.

So be careful what you aspire to have kid.

[maximNikenGT]

12 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

LOL

That's not all my gear; I need a bigger closet.  The finished basement closet also is filled with gear and luggage.  The other half of the basement is unfinished and where my cedar closet, an equal sized workshop and office is located.  I've also given away and sold a fair bit of gear but my retired helmet collection, going back to 72, alone takes up 3 six foot long shelves in the rec room.  I just finally rented a 10 x 15 storage unit to get the 01 Sportster XL1200S and my duplicate 98 VTR1000F (2B 4 sale), two VTR spare engines and frames, and duplicate parts out of the basement and Bret Cave (separate heated/AC'd shop that's a third of the garage structure).  It's amazing how you accumulate things disproportionally to your available square footage.

I'm truely not trying to impress or brag.  It's a curse when you're a hoarder!  I've kept, for example, used up gloves and boots because you can't sell them or even give them away.  My father is 100 and a survivor of the depression and WW2, and instilled in me as a small boy that everything, no matter if it's just an old musty, lead-painted wood board, should be saved because you might need it some day.  Just crazy...

I've even saved every cell phone I've ever had except for one that I traded in for a free S21; and I mean with all their original boxes, cases, wall and car chargers, and earbuds too!

Just sick.

So be careful what you aspire to have kid.

Now I am insanely curious to see your helmet collection. It's not occurred to me to keep my helmets beyond 9 years, since generally accepted useful safety life is five years. 

[2and3cylinders]

Bell, an original open face Magnum(?), Shoei full-face, their first imported into the US in 72, lots of Shoei after that back when they were reasonable going back to the RF200 thru the 900, Simpson flat-front full-face (sort of Darth Vader evil look), a Nolan full-face (before their modulars), HJC's first modular, a couple Scorpion full-face, their original 700 Red Rising Sun (Starburst!) is a killer Banzai design.  The following are still in use, some much less than others like the Scorpion EXO1100 JAG in DayGlo yellow-green (https://www.2wheel.com/scorpion-exo-1100-jag-helmets.html) but my head is a bit too wide for Scorpions, a GMax 54S modular, Nolan N90 modular, and now two Kabuto Ibuki modulars, one that matches my fastest red 15 FJ great and another in metallic black.  I like the Ibuki a lot!  Japanese quality on par with Shoei IMO with a composite shell and great interior, which I bought for less than $200 for the pair when WPS dropped importing them!  I stocked up on spares cheap for them but really haven't needed all but a hinge detent plate.  https://www.webbikeworld.com/kabuto-ibuki-helmet-review/ 

All currently used helmets either are set up with a Scala Cardo Q3 (the older helmets) or Cardo Packtalk; all with Pulse Pro 40 mm in-helmet speakers.  They crank even above 70 mph!

[maximNikenGT]

On 1/5/2023 at 6:14 PM, 2and3cylinders said:

Bell, an original open face Magnum(?), Shoei full-face, their first imported into the US in 72, lots of Shoei after that back when they were reasonable going back to the RF200 thru the 900, Simpson flat-front full-face (sort of Darth Vader evil look), a Nolan full-face (before their modulars), HJC's first modular, a couple Scorpion full-face, their original 700 Red Rising Sun (Starburst!) is a killer Banzai design.  The following are still in use, some much less than others like the Scorpion EXO1100 JAG in DayGlo yellow-green (https://www.2wheel.com/scorpion-exo-1100-jag-helmets.html) but my head is a bit too wide for Scorpions, a GMax 54S modular, Nolan N90 modular, and now two Kabuto Ibuki modulars, one that matches my fastest red 15 FJ great and another in metallic black.  I like the Ibuki a lot!  Japanese quality on par with Shoei IMO with a composite shell and great interior, which I bought for less than $200 for the pair when WPS dropped importing them!  I stocked up on spares cheap for them but really haven't needed all but a hinge detent plate.  https://www.webbikeworld.com/kabuto-ibuki-helmet-review/ 

All currently used helmets either are set up with a Scala Cardo Q3 (the older helmets) or Cardo Packtalk; all with Pulse Pro 40 mm in-helmet speakers.  They crank even above 70 mph!

Didn't know anyone that actually had a Shoei RF-200. Way cool. 

On a separate note, hat tip to you because I bought the Pulse (non-pro) speakers based upon your comment here.