Harbinger Mountain Bike Gloves
By Jon Sharp

For better or for worse (most likely the latter) I have never really worked out in the gym. That is, I spent about 5 days back in high-school when coerced into it by a friend. Then I realized that if he made me suffer like that, he's not much of a friend. It shouldn't be surprising, then, that I didn't even realize that people who "lift" wear gloves. When I first met Harbinger at Interbike, I found out their roots are in gym gloves. In fact, they have spent 12 years producing gloves for the gym. What are gloves doing in the gym? Well, I had to ask, but most people would know they spend their time wrapping their hands around bars. How different could that be from mountain biking gloves? Well, they sent us a few pair of two of their mountain biking gloves to review: the Handle It and the Mucka.

Handle It
Mucka

Handle It
The Handle It is the coolest looking glove I've seen. Billed as a rugged downhill glove, it doesn't have plastic logos stitched to the back. Instead it has rubberized "bones" set strategically where your knuckles are on your hand and finger. The result is protection where you need it and cool Ventilator Mesh where you don't. The thumb is terry, but the inside of the fingers and thumb is made of a perforated--almost rubber-like--material that is very grippy and durable. The palm itself is made of synthetic suede with a TechGel® insert. The Handle It (and all their mountain bike gloves) has a wide neoprene wrist closure with an equally wide hook-and-loop closure. The neoprene is designed to flex with the movement of the wrist without getting in the way. I've never seen a beefier closure on a glove. There is no risk of this glove coming off inadvertently. The Handle It comes in both full and short finger versions. We tested the full finger.

On the trail, I tried to imagine my hands wrapped around a dumb-bell (the exercise equipment, not a stupid person). They were pretty comfortable. The Ventilator Mesh worked well to keep my hands cool. I don't know if the "bones" would save my knuckles the same way a large patch of plastic would, but for cross-country use, they were all I wanted. I was surprised to find that the extra-wide wrist closure didn't bother me. They stayed put and the neoprene flexed just where I needed it. Of course, if you live in a really hot climate, you may notice that the neoprene doesn't breath and your wrist may get overly sweaty.

The one real gripe I had with the Handle It was the cut. That is, the base of each finger is at the same level on this glove, as if your palm were square. What I mean is, the top of your palm is a sort of crescent shape, with your fingers staring at different distances from your wrist. The glove, however wasn't cut this way. The end result was the small finger bending in the palm of the glove instead of the base of the finger. This leads to an unnatural bending of the glove and distracts from an otherwise comfortable glove. Also, it means the small finger of the glove is too long for your finger, which can also be annoying.

Mucka
The palm and fingers of the Mucka are made of the same materials--a rubber-like material for the fingers and thumbs and synthetic suede in the palm. Though the palm isn't padded with TechGel as in the Handle It, it does have a thin full-palm padding. The back of the Mucka is neoprene on the fingers and part of the back of the hand. The rest of the back of the hand is made of the same Ventilator Mesh as the Handle It. There is also 3M(TM) reflective piping separating the two materials. The wrist closure is the same as with the Handle It--very secure and comfortable. As with the Handle-It, the Mucka comes in short and full finger versions. We reviewed the full finger.

Though not touted as such, the quality I noticed right away was their ability to keep my hands warm. Often times, too warm. Harbinger touts the neoprene as protection for your knuckles. It does this well. Unfortunately--or fortunately, depending on how you look at it--neoprene is also very warm. I found that at temperatures 60 degrees or warmer, my hands were very sweaty. between about 40 and 55 degrees these gloves were perfect. I even liked using them as liners under a wind-proof shell when the temperature dipped below freezing. Needless to say, these gloves make great late fall or early spring gloves.

As with the Handle-It, my only gripes with this glove dealt with the fit. Interestingly enough, besides the odd fit in the fingers, these gloves fit a little snugger than the Handle-It. I found that I preferred a Medium in the Handle-It, but a large fit well in the Mucka. (It felt almost as if they measured the size of the gloves based on the outside dimensions rather than the inside with the neoprene of the Mucka clearly being thicker than the Ventilator Mesh of the Handle-It.)

Summary: Both the Handle-It and Mucka are solid gloves. The Mucka makes a good cool-weather glove because of its neoprene back, and the Handle-It makes a good cross-country summer glove. I am skeptical that the "bones" on the Handle-It are enough for serious downhill use. My one problem with both gloves was the fit. Although Harbinger has been making gloves for many years, I felt the fingers were laid out incorrectly on the palm and the fit at the smallest finger was poor. Give these gloves a try before purchasing them, as fit is very important in a pair of gloves. If they fit well, I recommend them as the construction is good and they stood up to many miles without showing much wear.

Jon Sharp is a contributing editor for GearReview.com specializing in staying dry while riding in foul weather.

For more information, contact:
Harbinger
www.harbingeradventure.com
35 Executive Court
Napa, CA 94558