ViaTerra Grid 2 Gloves 6 Months Usage Review - Near-perfect Gauntlets

Gauntlets versus shorties has always been a topic of discussion amongst motorcyclists. The latter is obviously the solution for off-road activities. However, for tarmac, each one presents a strong case. However, one of the major criticisms of gauntlets has to be the cost to performance and usability ratio. ViaTerra believes that a solid pair of gauntlet gloves don’t need to be priced exorbitantly high while offering good comfort for touring and daily commutes as well as provide all the safety necessary for trackdays.

The Grid 2 gloves are just that and we’ve put them through a thorough test cycle of over six months where it faced our rains, winters, a few trackdays and now, the start of our summers. How has it held up so far?

Product Name: ViaTerra Grid 2 Gloves
Sizes Available: XS-XXL
Price: Rs 5,799
Colours: Full black, Black with Hi-Viz green accents, Black with orange accents

Specs
Material: Durable goat skin leather with external stitching
Armour: High-density TPU knuckle protectors (CE Level 2 rated), Knox SPS 404 scaphoid protection, and a pinky finger bridge
Size tested: L
Adjustable straps: Wrist and cuff straps
Fit type: Gauntlet, sporty comfort fit

Pros: Super breathable keeping your palms sweat-free on hot trackdays, brilliant traction offered by the palm grip area, is one of the more affordable track-ready options
Cons: Only a single cuff strap is a slight downer for those looking at full track spec gloves

DESIGN

As far as gauntlets go, the Grid 2 are pretty much what you would expect them to look like, with small stretchy panels for the fingers, around the wrist and cuff. The carbon fibre-esque texture inside the TPU panels is a nice touch. Although our test units are completely black, we kind of like the one with the hi-viz green accents. It just brings a little pop into what is a somewhat understated look. 

The inner palm has this lovely Y-shaped extra rubberised texture panel which looks pretty cool. It does a fantastic job of keeping you in control of the operations but that’s for the next part.

FIT AND PROTECTION

We got the Grid 2s just as the monsoons were in full swing. So, I was a bit concerned about how the leather would hold up. It had arrived just in time for our road trip story with the KTM RC 390 and the TVS Apache RR 310, so I was going to be breaking it in properly on sports machines. And we couldn’t have picked a more dramatic day to shoot.

In case you haven’t caught that video already, go check it out here. And while Arun and I were doing some serious business (read as tomfoolery for the camera), the gloves didn’t cause any sort of problem. Getting it to fit your hand perfectly took a while, as on that day it was the weather and the newness of the gloves that made it a small task to get them on and off. 

However, subsequent rides to the office, weekend destinations and even some shoots made sure that the gloves started taking shape of my hand quite well. Before I jump ahead though, ViaTerra has thrown in a small rubber wiper on the left index finger which came in quite handy on that shoot as well as future rainy rides with the gloves. In fact, when I was using another pair of gloves on rainy rides, I was kind of missing the presence of the wiper. So, a neat little addition there, ViaTerra.

I am glad to have not checked out the protective bits, so far. What I did find out though is just how neatly ventilated the leather is. On a number of those hot sweaty track events (check out my Continental GT race experience and TVS Apache RR 310 ARRC OMC bike ride experience), I never returned to the pits with clammy hands. The neat little vents on the top portion of the fingers breath in cool air with enough perforation panels to let off the hot stuff.

Finally, ViaTerra makes use of external stitching of its leather panels. It has a couple of benefits. Firstly, you aren’t left with small skin tears around your nails when you are breaking in the gloves, something that you normally come to experience with gloves with internal stitching. More so, this helps when you want to input a destination on your navigational device as the gloves have a pretty decent touchscreen operational capability.

THINGS THAT CAN BE IMPROVED

There’s not a lot that we wish was better on the Grid 2. Certainly brighter colours or a funky livery would make these sombre gloves more exciting to look at. Functionality wise, we only hope there’s a double cuff version of the gloves in the works, something that is more suited for track days and racing. It would just help ramp up the safety quotient of the gauntlets to another level.

BRILLIANT BUY

After using the ViaTerra Grid 2 gloves for over six months now, I am happy to report that the gauntlets are one of the nicest pairs of gloves I have ever used. Their versatility makes them quite a great fit and rarely do I opt for my shorties for tours or quick shoots. And since they did hold up very well in the rains, I am certain that even when the monsoons do arrive, I won’t be shying away as much from using them. 

And at Rs 5,799, they are certainly a bargain. Imported brands with similar levels of protection cost more than double the asking price and after using the Ixons for over two years, the leather hasn’t stayed quite as supple in our Indian heat, which I hope the ViaTerra would remain. So, a great jack-of-all-tarmac-trades? Absolutely!