5 Of The Best Dirt Bike Gloves (According To Reviews)
It takes a lot of skill to safely and deftly handle a dirt bike, especially off-road and in motocross events. In addition to skill, you'll also want the right accessories and equipment. Of the essential pieces of gear every dirt bike rider needs, the right pair of gloves is particularly important. They literally come between you and the controls on your handlebars, such as brakes and gear shifters, as well as the handlebars themselves — which you'll obviously need to meticulously control for steering.
Besides, control and dexterity, other elements to consider when choosing gloves are whether they are comfortable to wear and how well they'll protect your hands and fingers from debris, and of course, potential crashes. In general, dirt bike riders typically prefer lighter, thinner gear compared to gloves worn by motorcycle and ATV riders, but everyone has their own personal preferences. Other aspects that might be important to you are whether they allow you to operate smartphones and other touchscreens while you wear them, and whether or not they fit your particular budget.
While many of the best major dirt bike brands, like Yamaha and KTM, offer their own branded apparel, they can often be fairly pricey. You can find more affordable third-party options from plenty of brands, including those dedicated to athletic gear, including bikes and motocross specifically. Here are five of the best dirt bike gloves currently available on the market, based on positive reviews. More information on how these gloves were selected can be found at the end of this list.
Troy Lee Designs Air
If you go on Amazon and sort dirt bike gloves by the strongest customer reviews, many of the top options will be from Troy Lee Designs, which has been selling high-quality moto apparel and protective gear since the early '80s. One great option if you're riding a dirt bike is a pair of Troy Lee Designs Air, which have near perfect reviews on TLD's website, in addition to high user ratings on Amazon. Like all TLD gloves, Air gloves have been designed using meticulous research and thoroughly tested before going out into the world. They include laser-perforated holes and micro-mesh fabric for enhanced breathability, as well as a compression-molded cuff and single-layer palm.
A layer of synthetic leather is also included within the thumb wedding to help prevent blisters. Perhaps best of all, they include silicon prints on the index and middle fingers that give you a strong grip for handlebar controls, while also allowing you to use your smartphone or other touchscreens.
TLD's Air gloves are thin enough to be worn not just by dirt bikers, but also mountain bikers, which is why GearLab named the product its "best overall" pair of mountain bike gloves, praising their dexterity and noting that they can "pull double duty on other, motorized two-wheel adventures." However, the publication noted that the thinner fabric that allows the gloves to be so responsive means they won't keep your hands very warm in colder temperatures. If this isn't a big issue for you, you can purchase the Troy Lee Designs Air from Amazon — they range between around $20 to $40, depending on which design you opt for. Options include orange, navy, red, white, turquoise, and many other colors, as well as some fun multicolor designs.
100% Sling MX
Another popular brand of athletic protective gear, including for motocross, is 100%. If you're looking for a minimalist, ultra-thin pair to use with your dirt bike, one great option would be the brand's Sling MX. After testing and reviewing the pair, Vital MX stated that 100% Sling MX gloves are "as lightweight as you can go without wearing no gloves at all."
They also look as sleek as they feel and feature an embossed back panel cuff and reflective top hand visuals for increased visibility. The gloves are extremely breathable thanks to a combination of mesh finger gussets, a perforated thin layer on the palm, and four-way, stretch-woven lightweight fabric with laser perforations. Another nice feature is the gloves' integrated tech thread to use with your smartphone or other devices.
Of course, thinner gloves means less protection from cold weather, as well as debris like branches or kicked up pebbles. But, if lightweight gloves are what you prefer, you should seriously consider the Sling MX. 100% Sling MX gloves retail for $39.50 and are available from Amazon in navy, and gray with a red trim or on the 100% website you can also find black and fluo yellow.
Seibertron Dirtpaw
One of the best places to buy motorcycle riding gear on a budget is Amazon, and one of the best-reviewed dirt bike gloves on Amazon are the Dirtpaw by Seibertron, which have a strong 4.6 out of five average customer score based on over 14,000 user ratings. While some of these reviews mention potential issues with durability, they're generally very favorable and praise the comfort, grip, and value of the gloves, and highlight that there is no bunching up in the light padding used for the palms.
The gloves utilize a TPR hook and loop closure and use wear-resistant and anti-slip designs on the inner fingers to strengthen grip. Special attention is paid to protecting your metacarpals using precision sewing as well as thermoplastic rubber — the Seibertron logo is actually pulling double duty as an extra piece of armor to protect against impact damage in the unfortunate event of a crash. TPR is also used for shock absorption on the knuckles, as well. The mesh fabric used for the majority of the gloves' surface area is comfortable and breathable, and the fingertips use carburizing technology for touchscreen use.
The Dirtpaw gloves also look stylish, employing a two-toned mesh, tactical design. Seibertron offers a wide range of sizes for the gloves, unlike many other brands that typically only provide small to large or extra large. Dirtpaw gloves, on the other hand, also come in extra small, double extra large, and even offer youth sizes across the board in case you want to shop for and/or coordinate with younger members of your family. Another advantage to Seibertron Dirtpaw gloves is that they're affordable — they're available from Amazon for just $19.50 and come in black, white, yellow, blue, red, and orange.
Klim Dakar Pro Men's Motorcycle Gloves
If you're looking for something a little different than your typical dirt bike gloves, you may want to consider Klim Dakar Pro Motorcycle Gloves. While it says right in the name that these heavier-duty accessories are primarily designed for bigger rides, they're also built in such a way that they're just as suitable for dirt bikes. Gear Junkie, which tested and reviewed several different types of motorcycle gloves, named Klim's Dakar Pro gloves the "best lightweight" option in its list of the best motorcycle gloves for 2024. The publication says the Dakar Pro product "breaks with the mold of a lightweight, dirt bike glove," though notes one potential drawback — the armor is a little soft.
Engineered using rider feedback, the gloves offer a ton of dexterity and allow for enhanced control for braking and using your bike's clutch. They're not super thin, but they are breathable, and the palm uses goatskin leather for added protection. Klim also employs boxed-finger construction to give your fingers more room, and guards are used to better shield your knuckles and proximal interphalangeal joints.
You can expect to pay a little more money for Klim's gloves compared to many other dirt bike gloves. Klim Dakar Pro Motorcycle Gloves range between $70 to $75 on Amazon, depending on which color you choose — they come in sage, black, or light gray. Riders with very big hands will be happy to hear that they're available in sizes ranging from small to triple extra large.
Kemimoto Dirt Bike Gloves
If you're looking for a very affordable — but still high-quality — pair of dirt bike gloves, you can go with Kemimoto Dirt Bike Gloves. Based on over 930 Amazon customer reviews, they have a solid 4.5 out of five average user rating. They're crafted from elastic material to more easily slip on and off and contour to your hands. However, you won't need to slip them off if you need to use your phone, as the thumb and index fingers provide touchscreen support.
Microfiber and other breathable materials are implemented not only for comfort, but also to keep your hands dry for better handling of your dirt bike. Silicone gel is used in abundance on the gloves' palms to provide even more friction and control, as well. Silicone rubber strips are added to the back of each finger to serve as a shield against potential hazards while riding, such as branches whipping by or kicked-up gravel. One drawback is that there are only three sizes available for the gloves — medium, large, and extra large — so there's a chance they may not fit your hands. A size chart is provided by Kemimoto to help see if they do, though, and you can purchase Kemimoto Dirt Bike Gloves from Amazon for around $13.99 — one of the lowest prices you'll find for quality dirt bike gloves.
How these dirt bike gloves were selected for this list
Reviews were used to compile this list of some of the best dirt bike gloves available on the market, since the next best thing to trying a product out yourself is to rely on the experience of someone else who has. Reviews used to evaluate these dirt bike gloves include both aggregated customer reviews from Amazon and written reviews from reputable publications.
Amazon was selected since, as one of the largest retailers in the world, there is no shortage of customers to weigh in with their opinions — and the larger the base of reviews, the more reliable the average customer score is, as any reviews made in bad faith (whether positively or negatively) will have much less of an impact. For the products on this list where Amazon reviews were referenced, over 900 and 14,000 user ratings were sourced, respectively. The products were rated either 4.5 out of five or higher, which is a great sign that the products are reliable and work as advertised.
In addition to these Amazon scores, the reviews of reputable publications known for their expert takes on outdoor, athletic, and motocross gear were used. These publications — Gear Junkie, Vital MX, and GearLab — all tested the products mentioned in this list, as well as other gloves that they were compared to, before reviewing the dirt bike gloves recommended here.