RST Tractech Evo Glove Review

Skip straight to a section of the review

1. Overview and differences between Evo and Evo R
2. Price
3. Quality and Safety
4. Size
5. Styling and Colours
6. Summary

Overview and Difference

Left: Standard Evo Gloves Right: Evo Race Gloves

RST offers two different gloves in the Trachtech Evo range. One being the Tractech Evo, and the other being the Race variant. Both have very similar specifications and looks, with the R versions getting a slightly superior end result. This review will cover the pros and cons of both pairs, helping you decide which to go for, and also checking out genuine customer reviews to help you decide if they’re the right gloves for you.

Key differences

Both gloves are hugely popular, but there are a few subtle differences between the two. Firstly, as you can probably see from the photo above, the Race versions have a slightly pointer profile at the cuff to the standard versions. Most likely just a styling difference rather than any practical benefits. The Race versions also get a slightly different material in the finger sliders, but for the back of the gloves that’s pretty much it for differences. Both are a premium cowhide leather on the back, with a finger bridge and split carbon fibre knuckles.

Over to the palm side is where you’ll see more differences between the two, and where the Race version gets one up on the standard.

For the palm of the gloves, both benefit from a double cuff closure system for added security in a crash but the Race versions benefit from a double layer kangaroo leather palm and extra abrasion resistance on the common slide/crash areas that you’ll see on the palm of the hand.

Currently the Race versions are on sale at SportsBikeShop, down from £99 to £69.99 so they’re actually cheaper at the moment than the standard versions which are on sale from £79.99 down to £74.99. My advice is definitely go for the race versions, the added protection and comfort of the kangaroo leather palm make them a better choice all round.

Both sets of gloves are CE certified, for that added peace of mind that they’ve met the stringent EU safety standards.

Because the Race versions are a better glove and currently better priced we’re going to focus the rest of this review on this version.

Price

There are over 340 different pairs of full length sports gloves available from SportsBikeShop, with an average price of over £109. So to get a set of race gloves that offer the features, quality and protection that the Tratech Evo R gloves offer, and at less than £70. It’s no wonder these are in the Best Sellers category. Most of my reviews are carried out doing research online, and reading tons of customer reviews. But I was so impressed with these gloves when reading up on them, that I bought them. So you’re getting first hand experience on this review.

Quality and Safety

Having ridden around 500 miles with these gloves now, I’ve been hugely impressed by the quality so far. My previous gloves were a £200 set of Alpinestars GP-Pro gloves, so I did feel like I was taking a bit of a downgrade moving to a set of RST’s. But I honestly can’t fault these gloves, they’re just as comfortable as the alpinestars and offer the same level of protection and features such as the finger bridge and toughened knuckle areas.

The main rear area of the glove is made of cowhide leather, with perforated areas for extra comfort and airflow whilst riding.

Key Features

Some of the standout features that I’ve been particularly impressed with for such a low cost set of gloves includes:

Finger Bridge – I had this on my Alpinestars and don’t think I’d want to be without one now, it protects the last two fingers by joining them together to stop the little finger bending away in a fall.

Double Cuff Wrist Closure – two velcro straps on the cuff give the glove an even more secure fit to give you the peace of mind that they’re going to stay on if the worst happens.

protective palm – the palm is one of the best I’ve seen, and definitely the best in this budget area. It’s made from a double layer of kangaroo leather (a superior leather to cow), and features added protection in multiple areas like the double stitching and the padded area in the common landing zone on the palm.

Knuckle protection – the knuckle protection rivals that of some of the best race gloves, with an ultra strong mixed material used for the knuckle protector, made from carbon and a Bio-Elastine. The gloves also feature protection further up the fingers too, and have a stretchy area for extra comfort when your fingers are wrapped around the throttle.

Quality / Safety Summary

Great work from RST, the gloves look like they’ll last for years and years and provide a top level of protection that matches the best of the best. Whilst offering all day comfort. It may be thanks to the kangaroo leather but I found that there’s no wearing in period with these gloves to get them comfortable, they just fit and feel great from day one. My only slightly complaint is that the cuff feels unnecessarily long, so there’s a bit of faffing getting it to sit right with my jacket on but it’s probably just a protection thing so I shouldn’t moan.

Tractech Evo gloves Sizes

The gloves are a really good, comfy fit. My palm is 8.5cm and the M fit perfectly so I’d suggest following the size guide given.

They’re available in sizes

XS
S
M
L
XL
2XL

Styling

For the money, these are a stunning looking pair of gloves from RST. They’re undoubtedly better looking than a lot of race gloves, and there’s a few options in terms of colour too. The sporty style looks great, particularly with the little details in the knuckle and finger protection. 

See below for the colours currently available at SportsBikeShop.

Summary

I was impressed enough with the reviews of these gloves that I bought them to replace my 8 year old set of Alpinestars. They’re incredibly comfortable and the amount of protection and quality on offer for the £70 is almost unbelievable. They look great, feel great and will keep me safe on the road and track, so they’re a brilliant all-round race glove. Having ridden around 500 miles with them now, I honestly wouldn’t have been disappointed if I’d paid double the asking price. Nice work RST!

Buy Tractech Evo R Gloves at SportsBikeShop

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