I've had my Helimot Buffalo Pro gloves for about 3 years/35k miles and I love 'em. I had some Held Steve gloves before I got these. I've used them for commuting, touring, local canyons, track days, and various advanced riding schools. They're made in the USA in San Jose, CA. The owner, Helmut, is a great guy. He's very personable. Stop by if you're in the area. He's got some cool motorcycle stories.
What's nice about Helimot gloves is that after you've broken the gloves in, you can mail them back to him and he'll adjust the length on the fingers or anywhere else that needs adjusting. So essentially you end up with custom gloves. I had a couple fingers shortened after I used them for 3k miles and it made for a perfect fit. The deerskin has a supple and comfortable feel to it right from the start so there really isn't much of a breaking in period. Deerskin is extremely durable and is one of best quality leather you can get. They provide a good feel and allow for excellent feedback from the handlebars. I've got caught in the rain with them a couple times. I just air dried them and they were back to normal. They didn't get hard like other types of leather. I had a little low-side last year and there was no sign of damage to them at all. My hands were fine, too.
Helimot gloves have a very basic design. No wiz-bang features. Just quality leather with stitching that provides for strong seems.
Recently a couple of the fingers started to show wear at the tips so I thought I'd stop by get them fixed since I planned to be in San Jose for a few days. When I emailed Helmut he said it was an easy fix and he could have them ready in an hour. When he saw my gloves, he told me they couldn't just be restitched and that it would take about two weeks to get the fingers replaced. Helmut was so awesome, he gave me a loaner pair so that I could still ride while I was in town and then he told me he could get them back to me in two days. They weren't a generic "loaner pair", he took them right of the shelf and gave them to me to use until mine were done. He also replaced the velcro on the straps and conditioned the leather for me. Not very many businesses provide that level of customer service.
With almost any other gloves I would have had to replace them by now. Most gloves, even at the same price point, can't be modified and aren't repairable. I'm not sure how long gloves are supposed to last but I can see myself wearing these for at least a couple more years no problem.
http://helimot.com/shopexd.asp?id=67
What's nice about Helimot gloves is that after you've broken the gloves in, you can mail them back to him and he'll adjust the length on the fingers or anywhere else that needs adjusting. So essentially you end up with custom gloves. I had a couple fingers shortened after I used them for 3k miles and it made for a perfect fit. The deerskin has a supple and comfortable feel to it right from the start so there really isn't much of a breaking in period. Deerskin is extremely durable and is one of best quality leather you can get. They provide a good feel and allow for excellent feedback from the handlebars. I've got caught in the rain with them a couple times. I just air dried them and they were back to normal. They didn't get hard like other types of leather. I had a little low-side last year and there was no sign of damage to them at all. My hands were fine, too.
Helimot gloves have a very basic design. No wiz-bang features. Just quality leather with stitching that provides for strong seems.
Recently a couple of the fingers started to show wear at the tips so I thought I'd stop by get them fixed since I planned to be in San Jose for a few days. When I emailed Helmut he said it was an easy fix and he could have them ready in an hour. When he saw my gloves, he told me they couldn't just be restitched and that it would take about two weeks to get the fingers replaced. Helmut was so awesome, he gave me a loaner pair so that I could still ride while I was in town and then he told me he could get them back to me in two days. They weren't a generic "loaner pair", he took them right of the shelf and gave them to me to use until mine were done. He also replaced the velcro on the straps and conditioned the leather for me. Not very many businesses provide that level of customer service.
With almost any other gloves I would have had to replace them by now. Most gloves, even at the same price point, can't be modified and aren't repairable. I'm not sure how long gloves are supposed to last but I can see myself wearing these for at least a couple more years no problem.
http://helimot.com/shopexd.asp?id=67
