It's not often that we find a decent bargain when it comes to riding gear. Usually the lower-priced apparel packs too many compromises in order to meet the price point, and sometimes those sacrifices are in important areas that make us a little wary.
Thus we were quite surprised after we'd spent some time with the new AGV Sport Laguna Race gloves. The top shelf glove in AGV Sport's lineup, the Laguna Race is intended as hand protection for both sport riding and racing endeavours. Constructed from premium cowhide for high tear strength and abrasion resistance, yet with a soft and comfortable interior, the Laguna Race sports features you usually don't see in a glove with a list price of only $124.00. For instance, the leather for the fingers utilizes exterior seams on the bottom for comfort and feel, with interior seams on the upper portion to maintain protection.
The palm, thumb and outer portions of the little finger all have additional leather reinforcement for maximum abrasion resistance, in addition to extra padding along the base and outside of the palm area. Carbon knuckle protection lined with memory foam padding shields the top of the hand, and an extra impact pad is positioned on the outside of the hand just below the wrist. The first and second knuckles of each finger also have impact protection, with the three major fingers' pads doubling as air vents. The double closure flaps on the gauntlet also have shock absorbing foam padding on both sides of the wrist to protect the outer portions of the radius and ulna bones.
Speaking of venting, the Laguna Race has it in abundance, with the leather panels inside all four fingers (as well as the panel running along the outside of the index finger almost up to the wrist) completely perforated. Tailoring on the fingers is pre-curved for comfort, and all high-impact or use areas are all double stitched, with high tensile strength nylon thread stitching used throughout. A pleated accordion-style leather panel is used on top of the hand for flexibility, and the wrist strap features a protective flap to guard against abrasion.
We found the Laguna Race gloves very comfortable, with no stitches or seams in any grip areas causing annoyance or discomfort. Tailoring is decent, with the pre-curved fingers offering a fairly snug fit that isn't as overly loose as many other gloves we've tried in this price range. Control feel is excellent, with little to no bunching up underneath the fingers while holding the grips. Protection feels ample, with most of the hard, bony areas of the hand and wrist covered.
Where the Laguna Race gloves really shine, however, is in ventilation. The perforation holes in the finger side panels are a tad larger than the standard 0.50-0.75mm holes we usually see, so there's significant amount of airflow felt between the fingers, even while holding the grips. If you constantly ride in hot weather, these gloves are definitely worth looking at.
Gripes with the Laguna Race gloves were minimal. The wrist closure strap is a bit too wide in our opinion, and it's a little cumbersome to deal with. On the small size gloves, testers found the wrist circumference a little tight for easy entry and egress. And after one sweltering day-long ride, just a bit of black dye came off onto our palms-although nowhere near the amount we've encountered in the past with some cheaper brands.
The Laguna Race glove comes in black, red, blue, or yellow, in sizes S-XXL, and as stated before, retails for a very reasonable $124.00.