Another gloves thread

I have Rukka Xtrafit gloves , they were £130 , fully gore tex but with a proper leather outer , I would call them a 3 season glove rather than a 4 . Owned them for a month , had an off on Monday in them and apart from the knuckle protector on the back , they are in perfect nick still .

http://www.rukka.com/lfashion/rukka/...t&Expand=1.6.4

[Balky001]

There's an article on the BKS/Frank Thomas gloves in one of the mag this month (Ride I think). They said that they are nowhere near the quality of the £200+ BKS one bit then they are 'only' £120. They really rated them, very comfy, good leather and feel etc. Not seen any crash-test ratings. I've got A*GPs Pro (older shape before the hard cuffs) and love them, very good

I have a pair of Aplinestars GPX gloves as I don't like the big cuffs on these fancy racing stuff. Broke in very quick have lots of feel and look pritty sturdy. Not a winter glove though. At only £72 qiud there alright

Originally Posted by Gazza77

Out of interest Lozzo, are your views based on recent dealings with FT or those of past times? I'm not doubting your knowledge, just interested in why you dislike them so much!

Sorry, I missed your post but I'm happy to reply.

I've had a dislike of FT gear for a very long time. Their quality has never been good and they rely on the old adage of "pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap". The management of FT aren't bikers, in fact they look down on bikers. I have this information first hand from my housemate, who is an ex-FT sales rep. You only have to look at the returns and seconds tents they put up at the BMF shows to know how bad quality control is. Their leather quality is awful, stitching is barely sufficient to hold ladies underwear together (that is a quote from a well known m/cycle clothing consultant of my acquaintance) The zips they use are very cheap and the patterning is all over the place, meaning very few of their suits actually fit anyone properly. Their textiles are equally as bad, with poor quality materials and waterproofing that doesn't.

My housemate recounted a tale of a particular leather suit which was made in certain sizes incorrectly, making it all but painful to wear. FTs management knew of the problem but sent it out to dealers anyway, knowing full well that as long as it didn't sell they couldn't get it back under warranty and the dealer was stuck with it.

When I was on the road selling bike clothing I used to have a field day when someone threw FT gear out and took on another brand. One dealer said he employed a part time girl to come in 2 days a week to help on the shop floor, over the first year with FT her time became more and more taken up by dealing with FT returns, to the point that she asked if she could do another day to get all of them done. That's when they decided to kick FT stuff out and get a new brand in.

Just take a look at the BMF returns tents next time you're there - the joke in the bike trade is that the only two man-made things on earth that can be seen with the naked eye from the moon are the Great Wall of China, and the FT returns tents at the BMF.

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Lozzo

Anything made by Halvarssons is top quality kit. Dizzyblonde has one of their jackets and I seem to recall she has nothing but good to say about it.

My torso has never got wet in that jacket, I have a korax.
Gloves, I have the "dry level" ones from them, and they're one of the cheapest in their range but still can't complain, warm, only slightly damp if left to sit wet after hours of torrential rain.
Gloves and jacket have both stood up to 20 and a 40mph tarmac surfing with very little sign of damage. Slight fuzziness on the palm of one glove and on the back of the jacket. There is a small split in the inner lining of one glove due to me being clumsy. All stitching is fine after 18 months of near constant use.

I wouldn't hesitate to get any riding gear from them. The problem is the lack of dealers, there was one locally but unfortunatelly he has closed down due to being knocked off by some myopic old c##t. Well worth travelling to find a dealer though!

lozzo what do you reckon to furygan kit i've had a pair of their boot's and thought they were great are their leathers just as good or not.

Originally Posted by zsv650

lozzo what do you reckon to furygan kit i've had a pair of their boot's and thought they were great are their leathers just as good or not.

Their leathers are very good, but not cheap. They aren't as common over here as they should be, more down to bad marketing than anything else. On the continent they are extremely popular.

really i might just treat myself to a set of their trousers then cheers dude.

I have the sp-2's. To my surprise, only the XL size fit me. You need to try them on. I find the pinky finger is a little too small, but i suppose they will stretch with time.
I paid £75, but i think you could get the slightly better SP-1's for not much more.

Originally Posted by Lozzo

stitching is barely sufficient to hold ladies underwear together

+1. I bought a pair of FT summer gloves earlier this year. I seem to have very small hands and at the time I needed some urgently and FT ewere the only ones that fit. They got loads of use during the summer, I carried on using them despite the stitching starting to come undone after just a fortnight of wear. Not up to long term use at all. I also have a pair of FT boots which are great, however once again the stitching is going on the zips, the zips themselves feel like they're going to break everytime I use them. However they are comfy hence why I haven't invested in a new pair yet.