There are so many slide gloves out there at the moment, and i bet you find yourself asking “which ones do i buy?” Although there is always the option of making your own but it you really want quality it sometimes can be a bit tricky to decide which gloves to get. Hopkin Racing team rider Jackson Shapiera has written up a quick brief of which gloves best suit different riders:
The types of glove really differ from the type of sliding/skating your doing.
I love the Loaded gloves for technical sliding like laying down a few spins and trick slides beacuse they have a nice puck that wears evenly and keeps you sliding through each spin fast and smooth, and they have alot of protection such as the wrist guard. Also the fact that they have finger pucks and a thumb puck keeps your slides a lot smoother. However i wouldnt reccomend them for downhill because the material is alot thinner and will tear a lot easier, and when you have your hand down for a corner you have pressure on one part of the puck constantly and that will wear the puck out a little bit quicker. They were never designed for downhill racing.
Loaded Slide Goves:
http://www.hopkin.com.au/loaded-slide-gloves-c-271-p-1-pr-16216.html
If you want a thicker glove for tech sliding i would suggest the new lush gloves because they have really big palm and finger pucks made of good material and offer a little bit more protection, but once again they are a pretty beefy pair of gloves and can be a hassle getting them on and off like the loaded gloves… But they do work well as an ‘all-rounder’ glove.
Lush Longboards Slide Gloves:
The Landyachtz gloves (or similar, like TImeship Westslide) i would recommend more for free-riding and downhill because they have double layers of leather on the fingers and the pucks are really dense and wear out really slowly when putting them through abuse around corners and long slides. They work really well when your just corner drifting or racing, and also because they are not as chunky as the loaded gloves they are more handy for just riding around town on. When you want to walk back up the hill they fit perfectly in your back pocket.
Timeship Racing Westslide Gloves:
http://www.hopkin.com.au/timeship-racing-westslide-gloves-c-271-p-1-pr-16465.html
If you want propper racing goves then your best bet is to go for the Moto style gloves with the Knuckle protectors, Timeship Racing makes an awsome glove specially designed for racing. They are made strong with lots of leather and carbon on the knuckles and fingers for protection and have removable pucks for the palms and fingers. They are strong as hell and wont shred in a gnarly crash, however these gloves are a bit more expensive but they definitely give you bang for your buck. These are being seen regularly in the international downhill racing scene at the moment.
Timeship Racing Tracer Slide Gloves:
http://www.hopkin.com.au/timeship-racing-tracer-slide-gloves-c-271-p-1-pr-16464.html
However if you are still unsure, or if you just dont have the money to cough up for these awesome products, there is always the option of making your own gloves. All you need is a tough pair of riggers gloves or a pair of sturdy Moto gloves, some pieces of your mum’s chopping board cut to your desired size and some really strong glue. Quick grip works well otherwise a hot glue gun. You can easily find a how-to guide in a lot of skateboarding forums or just search on YouTube for “how to make slide gloves”.
Happy Sliding!
