Crash Test Alpinestars GP Plus R gloves

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• An exclusive and uncompromising test: three fractures but not a scratch !
• Available in sizes from S to 3XL, in 5 colors, recommended price: around 190 euros
• Not a scratch !
• Tight but comfortable
• Features Alpinestars GP Plus R gloves

An exclusive and uncompromising test: three fractures but not a scratch !

Available in sizes from S to 3XL, in 5 colors, recommended price: around 190 euros

Testing safety equipment is good. But in most cases, like when testing a MotoAirbag VZero Airbag, sometimes it’s hard to get to the bottom of things unless you invest in lab testing (and more).. Suddenly, when the opportunity arises to transform a test into a crash test, you have to know how to seize it. That’s professional conscience, coco.

So, I got really hard. Not in finesse, like "it was fine, it was beautiful", at the end of a trajectory of crystalline purity just disturbed by a slight combination of circumstances. No, nothing to see: I fell like a shit, tumbling at 120 in a turn that happened at 60, discovered at the last moment when I had my nose in my road-book on a road rally. In such circumstances, there is nothing to negotiate. It doesn’t work out and that’s it.

Yes it sucks, but so far everything was fine !

But positivons: 4 fractures later (the elbow and three fingers, including two open fractures), it allows to make a small assessment on the equipment.

Not a scratch !

Fractures are the shock of ending up in the ditch. So hard to blame the equipment for this. What matters is that the slipping phase before the final shock does not add to the trauma. And there, we can say that, in these real conditions, Alpinestars gloves GP Plus R did the job: they withstood a slip on dirt and small pebbles, suffering from a small tear on the palm, but the reinforcements placed by Alpinestars there did their job and what matters is that the hands have remained perfectly protected.

Same positive comment about the junction between the ring finger and the little finger: we know that the little finger holds on fragile joints and that during a shock, the shock wave is enough to cause injuries. Hence the good idea to connect it to a more solid finger.

Does it work ? During this accident, yes! Granted, I had the last phalanx of my right little finger fractured. But this is a simple fracture, while my other two finger fractures (right middle finger and left index finger) are open fractures due to the violence of the shock..

Moral of the story: the little finger, in theory more fragile than the others, was noticeably less injured.

Tight but comfortable

Before this painful episode, the Alpinestars GP Plus R gloves had been broken in during a big track day in Dijon Prenois, during the last edition of the K Days, for six times 25 minutes. At first, despite the leather which is soft to the touch, they are a little rough when put on, and quite narrow at the wrist. It is also necessary to get used to having the little finger attached to the rest of the hand..

However, the double velcro at the cuff allows for an adjustment to the pile over the leather suit and the tongue at the wrist is just as precise. Before hitting the track for the first session, I tell myself that riding with these gloves not broken in will require a little more extra attention (in addition to leaving with cold tires on a circuit on which I did not have ridden for 8 years!), especially in terms of braking feeling. However, good equipment is not supposed to cause you additional stress..

And yet, they were immediately forgotten: the preformed curvature at the level of the fingers allows you to immediately feel at ease and after having made two laps while gradually increasing the pace to warm up the tire (and driver!), I took great pleasure riding the Kawasaki ZX-6R 636, forgetting that I had new gloves that had not been broken in.

In short, with their flexibility and comfort, I would have liked to be able to use them longer. But the main thing is that they did the job !

And at nearly 190 euros (we can find them at 170 euros on sale), they are in the low average of the prices observed for this type of leather track glove..

Strong points

• Protection !
• Solidarity little finger
• Lightness and flexibility
• Comfort
• Feeling and precision on the controls

Weak points

• Not super easy to put on

Test conditions

• Itinerary: six sessions during K days on the Dijon Prenois circuit, plus the start of a Road Rally
• Problem encountered: three fractures but not a scratch: job done !

Features Alpinestars GP Plus R gloves

• Construction based on soft goat and cow leathers
• Ventilated palm and fork perforations to keep hands cool
• Ergonomic stretch inserts on the palm
• Curved finger design, to limit rider fatigue
• Velcro wrist closure
• Printed logos
• Leather palm linings for better friction resistance
• Alpinestars DFS (Dynamic Friction Shield): plastic protection on the top of the hand to protect the metacarpal bones
• Palm reinforced with Kevlar fiber
• Little finger reinforced with Kevlar fiber
• Ring and ear junction to prevent the little finger from breaking during impact

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