Held USA's Latest Held Thrux Glove

If you ride motorcycles long enough you'll no doubt hear the mantra "it's not a matter of if you'll crash, but when you'll crash, and how badly." Considering what the SR staff does for a living, the odds of hitting the pavement are slightly higher than the average Joe. Factor in the fact that there's a new guy on staff who's still full of bravado and a heavy right hand and the odds spike higher still. Though luck was with him during the first few months of tenure, inevitably our new guy was bound to go asphalt surfing and get a taste for the regional soil samples. And while the actual number is shrouded in mystery, for those of you following along at home, newbie has hit the deck at least four times. Half of those times his hands were protected by the same pair of Held Thrux gloves.

The Thrux is actually on the lower end of the Held hierarchy, retailing for just $149.99, but its protective factors are no less compromised. Highly abrasion resistant and lighter than cow leather, kangaroo hide makes up the palm side of the Thrux, while cow hide rests in non-impact zones. Flat seam stitching inside the glove eliminates annoying pressure points on the fingers and makes for a more comfortable fit. Carbon fiber sits in the knuckle area and rests on a layer of stretch leather, effectively creating floating knuckle protection whether your hand is open or closed. Though barely noticeable, little knuckle ventilation holes are integrated into the fingers for some respite during a hot ride. What's more noticeable is the double-layering of leather over the fingers and especially along the side of the hand-a very vulnerable impact area during a fall. The side leather is then bolstered with foam to help alleviate the impact in this critical area. All this adds up to a glove that provides excellent feel at the controls thanks to the thin kangaroo leather. All the stretch panels and the soft inner liner work effectively in making a glove that's comfortable to wear. The Thrux is definitely an impressive glove-made that much better by the fact that it will only set you back 150 bones.