The "best glove for DH" thread got me thinking, which do you prefer, a palm with some protection, or a minimal palm made of clarino or whatever fabric/leather for maximum bar feel?
I don't care if there is some sort of protection at the bottom of the palm, but if there is anything more than a single layer of clarino at the top of the palm (base of fingers) it is a constant torn-callous nightmare for me.
I'm talking about for lift-access DH, doing many runs a day. For XC/trail it doesn't matter as much.
I feel like less padding in the palm for dh would help reduce arm pump too. Less crap to squeeze to get a good grip. The palms have become paper thin on my Dakines and they feel great.
I've owned both styles. There are 3 categories though. Thick, medium, and porous vent. I love my porous vented ones. Mud or dust, they have great feel. My medium density palmed gloves (Race Face & Royal) hold up great and have really good grip, but in wet or muddy conditions, you get a little more slip than porous style palms.
Hate thick padding. No matter how well it's constructed, it will bunch.
Single layer gloves are fine by me. Thor ACs I use are pretty thin, slightly vented and single layer all the way around.
I have found I can go too thing: I used a pair of 661 Rajis for a while and the super thin palm tore my hands up a bit DHing. Was fine for XC and road, but didn't work well for DH for me. Could have been also a problem with the glove fit as well.
i prefer no padding where the hand makes contact with the bars. I like the feedback, even though my hands hurt after running thru the rough stuff.. I think that might be the case due to what I believe are too thin ODI grips.
You're missing a third option: thin palm, with protection for when you crash. Like my DaKine Defenders. relatively thin palm, with a skid pad under the "heel" of the hand. It helps when you crash, but doesn't really interfere with grip.
I wear gloves as much for when I come off the bike as when riding it, so I prefer a bit of padding/protection. Too much can be a hassle though. I may try some super thin gloves this summer to see how they feel.
The Dakine defender sounds interesting, although I have not had great luck with Dakine gloves in the past.
My current favorite is the Royal cheapo slip ons. Under $20 retail and very nice so far. Super tacky on the palms and fingers with no bunching or rub points.
Edit - BansheeFR, those are the ones. I bought 10 pairs, they are that good.
Fox Platunum gloves are my favorite. They are super thin and amazingly comforatble. I hate riding with gloves and they are as close as I have found to not having gloves on. They vent awesome and after I covered them in blood they held up to the washing machine really well. http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/6/2/16094/ITEM/Fox-Racing-Platinum-Gloves.aspx
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