Photo by Nathan Ward

Harbinger MTB Gloves

Good mountain bike gloves are hard to find - most are overpriced and wear out quickly.  No longer – a company named Harbinger recently released a line of gloves including a full finger and half-finger mountain bike glove.  Harbinger isn’t a new company, but for the last decade they focused on the "gym market."  You know who I mean – people who wear gloves when they lift weights so they don’t get calluses...

Anyway, several months ago I picked up a pair of the Harbinger Handle It ($30) full finger gloves and set out to destroy them.  Now, many miles later, they are still in perfect shape and feel like they are only getting worn in.  I even put them through several unique tests, including the mountain town ritual of gathering and splitting firewood for a week.  No worries.

The Handle It glove offers a good selection of features – a mesh back, leather front, minimal padding on the palms and a thick neoprene strap around the wrist.  The back of the glove also has funky rubber strips that protect the knuckles.  These knuckle protectors give the glove a bony look kind of like a skeleton – good for both Halloween costumes or looking like a hip street rider.

Despite their well-built design, there are a few small drawbacks to this glove.  The first is that they are too heavy and hot to wear in the middle of summer.  Harbinger offers a half-finger glove of similar design to solve this problem.  Secondly, the material on the fingers and thumb can be slick when it gets wet.  This problem varies according to the grips on your bike.  If you’re riding with a pair of sticky soft rubber grips, it’s not a problem.  However, if you’re riding with grips made of a hard rubber compound, a little slippage may occur.

Overall, the Harbinger Handle It is a good choice for someone who wants a tough glove at a good price.  They are a lot better than most MTB gloves out there.  Unfortunately, it’s a little hard to find these gloves since Harbinger doesn’t sell them on their website and have only a limited number of dealers.  To find the dealer closest to you, visit www.harbingeradventure.com or call them directly at 800-729-5954.  Happy Trails.