Review – ARD-272 5Zigen Racing Driving Gloves
By Joey Leh, Photography by 5Zigen and the author
If you’re anything like us, your hands sweat like fat sausages when you drive fast. On track, our palms get so sweaty that the steering wheel and shift knob can become slippery. Being too slow to catch a tank-slapper or missing a shift because of grip, well, sucks.
That was our first reason for banning the use of smooth metal shift knobs. Driver comfort while on track is very important to being able to focus and drive fast and that’s one of the biggest reasons to wear driving gloves during a track day.
Racers all wear the latest safety gear – neck restraint, suit, gloves, shoes – because they bang doors and run the risk of serious damage during competition. Since HPDEs, driver’s schools and track days are not run wheel-to-wheel, there isn’t so much a risk of balling up your car and catching on fire.
Although driving gloves aren’t required during casual events, we always prefer to wear a pair to maintain proper grip throughout the entire session. It’s a safety bonus that, by wearing fireproof gloves instead of leather gloves, your hands will be able to open any number of hot surfaces should your car catch on fire.
5Zigen’s ARD racing gear division recently released their ARD-272 driving glove, a FIA-approved glove that appeals to both racers and weekend drivers. In compliance with FIA standard 8856-2000, the ARD-272 glove comes in four different colors and four different sizes.
The ARD-272 glove is externally stitched to prevent irritation or itchiness to the hand inside. Every pair of gloves does come with a distinctive, almost tribal, logo pattern on the outside of the hand and a textured surface covering the palm and finger wear areas.
The secondary textured layer is almost like treated leather in terms of feel but is soft and pliable. FIA standards regulate that gloves only use leather or leather-like materials across the tactile surfaces of the hand, since leather shrinks when exposed to fire. By only putting the textured layer across the wear areas, ARD was able to combine the ARD-272 glove’s elastic flexibility with the outside layer’s grip and strength.
The resulting combination provides a glove that fits easily and tightly, the material will stretch slightly across your hand, and isn’t stiff at all during hand movement. Although it feels slightly thinner, we’d say that this glove provides greater tactile feedback and movement than the Sparco Profi gloves that we also have.
FIA standard 8856-2000 mandates that during testing a glove’s finger seams be exposed to flame for 15-seconds. Four different gloves of the same type, in total, will be tested under fire and the threads should not “melt, show after-flaming or break”. The FIA also requires that no flaming or molten debris be present and that the gloves don’t split under the stress. Fully compliant with the FIA standard, the ARD-272 gloves should be good to allow for a speedy escape from a car on fire.
One plus of the external textured layer is its ability to be used with non-suede steering wheels, i.e. leather wheels and most stock steering wheels. Suede-palmed racing gloves provide excellent grip when combined with suede wheels but often don’t grip as well on leather or vinyl surfaces. If you’re using your car for autocross or track use and haven’t switched out to a suede wheel, the ARD-272 gloves will be right up your alley.
The ARD-272’s external leather-like layer provides just the right amount of friction to maximize handgrip across other leather and vinyl-type surfaces. In simpler terms, the ARD-272 gloves work great with stock and leather aftermarket steering wheels and will provide better grip than a comparable suede glove. We realize that these gloves aren’t the cheapest on the market but their combination of safety, grip, looks and flexibility will surely appeal to many enthusiast drivers. Just be sure to air out the sweat from the insides to avoid any unnecessary glove funk.
Item #ARD272
MSRP: $200 ($179.95 below at 5Zigen store)
Sizes: S, M, L, XL
Colors: Blue, Black, Gray, Red
Sources
5Zigen USA
www.5zigenusa.com
www.5zigenusastore.com/arragl.html
These are some sexy looking gloves. I wouldn’t mind sporting a pair if I could find them in the united states (googling brought up japanese sites).