REVIEW: HELD Phantom II Race Gloves

[Nemesis]

You requested it, and here it is!

The ALL-NEW Held Phantom II Race Gloves (successor to the original Held Phantom Gloves).


Now if you haven't read my crash review on the older model click here.



HELD PHANTOM II REVIEW:




The first thing I noticed was the gloves were buttoned to the cardboard backing. I’ve never seen this on any of the HELD gloves before. The gloves now have a button on a leather tab sown to the bottom gauntlet which allows you to conjoin the two gloves. I love the idea as I’m always misplacing the other glove. The only downside is the tab sticks out like a sore thumb. However I believe one has the option of removing it by simply undoing the thread. That or you can just tuck it under the gauntlet. For now I think I'll just leave it as is.




FIT: The gloves felt slimmer all around especially the fingers and dorsum side of the hand. But I know they will stretch once I've broken them in. But I'm not so sure I want them to because they fit and feel snug right now which I like.

Now the most common mistake/complaint riders make when choosing gloves is "the gloves feel good but the fingers are too long". Well you won't find a glove that fits your fingers to the very tip. And there's a reason for this. But if you do find one you may want to consider a size up. Here's the reason why: In the event of a crash, once your hands touch ground the seams are under a great amount of stress. And if your fingers were already touching the inside tip of the fingers imagine the additional pressure and stress your fingers would place on the seams upon impact/slide. And as a result the seams would burst open. This is one of the reasons why gloves burst open on the fingers. That and poor design/stitching.

The titanium knuckle plating on the dorsum side of the hand feels great! I have to admit, when they first released the design I was not fond of the titanium knuckle plates. It looked as if it would restrict movement but they've designed the gloves so that the plastic plates holding the titanium knuckles flexes/bends and moves with your knuckles. I really REALLY like this!




INSIDE PADDING: The Kevlar padding around the wrist is much thinner than before. Note I said padding, not armor. I think this was a wise move on HELD because all that extra padding isn't necessary especially since they would be worn over your leathers.



Something you should know: kangaroo skin is not as soft as cowhide. Not to say kangaroo skin isn't soft but if you have delicate skin expect some discomfort during your initial ride, or maybe slightly longer. But what you should know is just how much stronger & abrasive resistant kangaroo skin is compared to cowhide. Which is why suits worn by MotoGP racers are made out of kangaroo not cowhide.





ARMOR: The outer armor on the wrist sport an plate that has the look of stingray but is not--they look & feel like tiny marble beads. Whereas the older version used a carbon like weave. They incorporated the same armor for the knuckles on the fingers--the previous model used stingray.




THE PALM: Now here is where I have may have some concerns. In the older version they not only had stingray incorporated into the palm (which the successor has too) but it also had kangaroo skin double if not triple layered on the outside palm. The Phantom IIs only have what appears to be one/two layered. Considering how well kangaroo skin is abrasive resistant, I'm really not that concerned. But we'll really know when I crash in them.

Phantom II:


Titan: The Titans are their high-end model which provide more protection at higher prices so it's really not a fair comparison. However I wanted to give you an idea of what I was describing.



Final conclusion: From a scale 1 to 10 (ten being AWESOME) I would give the Phantom II an 8. The reason for this is I wished they would have extended the stingray longer across the palm area like they did with the Titans. That would have given them a 9. Why 9 and not a 10? If they added Kevlar sliders like they did with the Titans then it would have been a 10!. But that's why they have the Titans, right? Regardless I really think the Phantom II are better than the first version and I'm really happy with my choice. I can't wait to ride in them this month (Oct. 25th).

I highly recommend these gloves if you're in the market for gloves that will protect you over and over; and not see your hard earned money disappear after one or two crashes.

[tfkrocks]

I have the original Phantoms and they have the tabs to snap together

[adouglas]

What the heck does "dorsum" mean?

[Nemesis]

Originally Posted by tfkrocks

I have the original Phantoms and they have the tabs to snap together

Really? My originals didn't. Or did it. I'll double check tonight.

[Nemesis]

Originally Posted by adouglas

What the heck does "dorsum" mean?

Remember being back handed across the face by your pimp? He used the dorsum side of his hand!

[tfkrocks]

I belive you're thinking of "dorsal," like a dorsal fin is on the back of a dolphin

[Trailerboy531]

Actually both terms are correct. But, for the sake of entertainment, let's all agree that Nemesis is wrong.

[alex.s]

what... you haven't crash tested them yet?

[Nemesis]

Originally Posted by tfkrocks

I belive you're thinking of "dorsal," like a dorsal fin is on the back of a dolphin

Originally Posted by Trailerboy531

Actually both terms are correct. But, for the sake of entertainment, let's all agree that Nemesis is wrong.

Yeah beeotch. Wait...I see wut you did there! lol

Originally Posted by alex.s

what... you haven't crash tested them yet?

Don't you know, now with Shawn Pen out of the picture Max is King of Crash Hill.

[alex.s]

damn. i gotta get back out there and crash some more!