I'll admit that I bought the Bay motorcycle gloves by Buffalo in something of a panic. Summer was on its way and the Furygan Revol Evo gloves I had been using through winter and early spring were getting to be uncomfortable.
With temperatures pushing north of 16ºC my hands were getting sweaty in the Furygans, soaking the fleece lining and making them difficult to put back on after a stop. Unfortunately I had no money to speak of, so I bought the cheapest pair of gloves I could find that looked like they could hold up at least until my next paycheck.
That was in 2013. I've put in thousands of miles with the gloves since then, including using them almost exclusively during my trip to Italy back in July. And only now, with their third summer having come to a close, am I thinking of replacing them.
That will be hard. They have become my favourite gloves to wear –– so comfortable now, so broken in, that I don't really notice I'm wearing them.
The leather of the glove is decently thick. I wouldn't trust it at the sort of racing speeds suggested by the glove's design, but in any sort of spill below 45 mph I'm confident it would keep my skin intact.
Anything above that speed and, well, honestly I don't know. I'd really prefer not to find out. Though, whatever protection this glove offers at highway speeds will obviously be better than nothing.
The stitching is good, by and large, and the glove secures well to the hand. A strap goes across the top of the wrist and two Velcro flaps help secure the glove at the carpal area. Lots of extra little padding at the palm and near the ulna and radius bones give the glove a robust feel. As do solid knuckle and joint protectors.
Venting in the knuckle protector and on the fingers helps to move air into the glove. When I was suffering borderline heat stroke on the Italian motorway, the only things not bothering me were these gloves.
However, as you'll see in the picture above, the stitching on the Velcro patch of my right glove is coming undone. If it were a more expensive item, I'd simply have the patch repaired and carry on using these gloves forever. As I say, they are really comfy.
But with their low cost in mind, I can't help feeling I should use this as an excuse to get something a little more upmarket. Something that I would actually trust at higher speeds.
Additionally, it should be noted that even when slathered in Nikwax these gloves are in no way waterproof.
All in all, though, I'd recommend the Buffalo Bays. They're worth the money as long as you are honest with yourself about what £30 will buy. It's not a Klím Induction or the like, true, but take the Bay for what it is and you should be happy for a few seasons..
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