Viaterra Holeshot Pro Motorcycle Riding Gloves Review

We at Zigwheels recently received a pair of Viaterra Holeshot Pro motorcycle gloves. As someone who is looking to buy a new pair of gloves in the near future, I was curious about what the new Holeshot Pro had to offer. I wanted to see if these gloves would be what I was looking for to protect my hands during my short commutes and long weekend rides. 

Now after riding with them for a month in almost all conditions imaginable, here’s everything I learned about the new Holeshot Pro gloves.

The Purpose And Build

The Viaterra Holeshot Pro gloves are hybrid short cuff gloves that are designed to be practical and comfortable, while at the same time offering good protection. The gloves feature a hybrid construction i.e the use of both leather and mesh. So these gloves are like a middle ground between the leather gloves and the mesh ones, offering good protection and ventilation.

They feature a 3D mesh construction on the top of the fingers for better ventilation and goat skin leather on the palm. The leather is also used on the top of the hand, the pinky finger and also the wrist cover.

The gloves also get a silicone supergrip on the palm which helps in improving the grip while riding. Along with this, Viaterra has also used a special conductive panel at the thumb and index finger for touch screen use. A very neat and convenient addition that makes it easy to operate your phone without having to take out the gloves. Overall, the construction of these gloves are done quite well and they do offer a good look and feel.

Safety And Protection

The gloves feature a CE level two certified knuckle protector from SAS-TEC and leather on the top of the hand and the pinky finger. Viaterra has gone with TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) protectors on the fingers. On the palm you get Knox SPD 303, which is a scaphoid protection system (SPS), to allow the glove/the rider’s hand to slide in the event of a crash. This prevents the scaphoid bone from breaking from the sudden impact. 

The leather used is goat skin leather, which is highly abrasive resistant. The leather is found both on the top of the hand and the palm, areas which are most likely to be affected during a crash. The Holeshot Pro also gets a carbon fibre protector for the wrist, which offers an extra layer of protection for your wrist. One thing which this gloves misses out on is the pinky finger bridge, keeps your little finger and ring finger stitched together. It would have given the gloves more solid credentials in the safety front.

Overall protection wise, the Holeshots have you covered pretty well. During my rides, having the gloves on really did inspire a bit of confidence knowing that my hands are well protected.

Fit And Comfort

Now, protection is important but so is comfort. Afterall, if the gloves you wear aren’t comfortable then you won’t feel like wearing them often. The Holeshot Pro in this department really does shine. It gets EVA foam panels below the hard protectors which adds a layer of comfort when wearing them.

The pre-curved finger construction and the silicone grip that Viaterra has used on the palms makes it easier to grip the handlebar firmly. Another interesting thing to note here is, Viaterra has gone with low profile Knox SPS. This means, it doesn’t stick out and cause inconvenience when you’re riding. Lastly, The hybrid construction also allows for better airflow and makes it easier to wear them for long. 

During my weekend rides which range from anywhere between 140 to 300km, I’ve been using these gloves and during the short breaks here and there, I never felt that taking them off is necessary. The ventilation and comfort makes wearing them quite easy, in almost all weather conditions.

That said, one thing I didn’t like about the gloves is the special conductive panel used to facilitate touch screen use. It doesn’t seem to be sensitive enough, and when using phones with thick screen protectors you’ll have to put quite a bit of effort to select something or even scroll down. So sometimes when I stop at scenic spots along the way, it becomes necessary to remove the gloves just to click a good photo. A bit inconvenient but not a deal breaker.

Should You Buy The Viaterra Holeshot Pro?

The Viaterra Holeshot Pro is a really nice pair of gloves, it offers excellent protection, good fit and most importantly great ventilation and comfort. I personally enjoyed wearing them, but would I recommend it? Well this answer is a bit complicated.

The main issue with the gloves is that it is a bit towards the expensive side, coming at Rs 4,299. For casual riders who are looking for gloves that they can wear daily and also use for the occasional weekend rides, these would be a bit of an overkill for short cuffs. So I would recommend going with something a bit less serious, like the regular Viaterra Holeshot gloves, which offer similar levels of protection but come at a slightly lower price of Rs 3,499.

For more serious riders who go on longer trips during the weekend and are willing to handle the slightly expensive price, these gloves will be a good choice. It offers good levels of protection and the hybrid construction makes it easy to handle long rides in the Indian heat.