Held Sambia Gloves

The Held line of motorcycle gloves are definitely well made and comfortable. The truth is, I loved this glove -- until I went down.

I had a deer shoot through the trees and hit me like a linebacker, sweeping me off of my bike. I was out upon impact and did the rag doll tumble down the asphalt. I've since learned that whitetail deer can hit speeds of over 45mph and the one that hit me was running full-tilt!

The gloves protected my knuckles quite well but the undersize Velcro wrist fastener came loose and I received a very deep road rash on my right wrist.

I have learned my lesson and now wear gauntlet gloves summer and winter.

First of all. My gloves came out of the wrapping with two places where the stitching is loose.

In less the 2 weeks of mild riding. 3 other spots has had broken stitching. The build quality of these gloves are terrible. I do like the features and fit of them. It's a shame they are so cheaply made.

I had eagerly awaited these backordered gloves. I love my Held Steves, but the Sambia's were a total disappointment.

I ordered these for a 3 week cross country trip including Alaska. The seams on the inside of one of the gloves actually left abrasions and made my knuckle sore. The right hand was smaller in size than the left. The stitching on the left index finger opened up, and the seam on the right palm/thumb area also failed.

This is the first pair of gloves that I have actually thrown away rather than worn out.

Held should stick to producing gloves in Germany under stricter quality control than outsourcing to China.

I couldn't make up my mind which glove to get for the sweltering heat out here in Arizona, so I ordered the Sambia's and another brand by RevIt called the Sand 3.

When both arrived, I tried them on with a Held on one hand and the RevIt on the other. Let me just say I have 3 other pairs of gloves, all Held. This time I really wanted to stray to another brand and get the RevIt's......but it wasn't in the cards.

The Sambia's felt so much lighter, in fact it was immediate to me. Then I started to look at fit, finish, and lastly looks. The Helds have by far the better feel with the kangaroo, and were a better fit. I actually liked the RevIt's look just as much, but the pinkie has this funky immobile quality to it, so the Held's it was, again.

Fit--I measured at just over 9.2 inches at the palm so I ordered a size 9 praying they wouldn't be too small, but they are perfect. I don't like a lot of slack in my gloves so these work great. Held gloves break in like no other glove I've seen. I'm telling you, it's this kangaroo leather that does it. If you are riding in temps 75 degrees or above these will flow a ton of air, yet give great protection in the impact regions.

I recommend these for sure.

So I really liked this glove. I bought this in June of last year and after year and half of almost daily riding, seam on one glove broke. This means my index finger is exposed...
Granted I ride almost everyday, i didnt expect glove to become undone in little over a year..
Nice glove while it lasted

I took these gloves on a multi-day trip with the KTM 690 of mixed on-road, dirt road, and trails a few weeks ago and these gloves where great for all but the coldest parts (30-40 deg F). With any speed at all the gloves have plenty of airflow across the back of the hands and between the fingers. My palms did tend to get a bit sweaty in the really slow and hot sections however. No big deal, you certainly wouldn't want a mesh palm!

On the last day of the trip I had a tank slapper on-road at about 60 mph and came off pretty hard. The details of the crash are hazy to me but I gather that my right hand came down palm first and then rolled over so I was sliding with the back of my pinkie and ring finger against the road. The leather wrap part on the pinkie held up admirably, and in retrospect I would've liked it to extend further and cover more of my pinkie since the mesh didn't hold up at all. I would sacrifice the pinkie airflow for a more comprehensive leather piece. The palm of the glove has damage obviously, but basically held up well.

All things considered I think the gloves protected my hand pretty well. I ended up with a small broken wrist bone, half a fingernail missing on my ring finger, and a very deep abrasion on my pinkie, but it could have been so much worse.

I'm on the fence about buying the same gloves again or trying to find something with a bit more protection on the back of the hand, but I definitely recommend these gloves if you need something that flows a lot of air at the expense of some protection.

The stitching failed after just three months, 1,500 miles of use. The entire outside seam of the left forefinger unraveled, at once, from fingertip to knuckle yesterday. The stitching on the tip of the left middle finger is also unraveling. I expected better quality from Held. Prior to this failure I'd have given the gloves 3.5 stars. I like the protective features and the air flow was adequate. Fit size was the same as on the Alpinestars gloves that these replaced. Now I'll have to wear my backup gloves until I can get these replaced - with something not from Held.

This is my second pair of sambia's. I love them. Lightweight, flexible, and they flow a ton of air.

I went with the size 8 (my palm is 7.5), so I sized up according the Revzilla's suggestion. I would say that this isn't accurate, I think I would have gone down a size to the size 7... the fingers are long for me, and on top of that I have some wiggle room in the palm. I don't necessary like my gloves skin tight, but then again I don't like them too loose, and for this glove with the soft leather and mesh top, I think maybe I could have just gone with the size 7. I guess I'll update my post when I get the size 7 (if they ever come back in stock!!) and let you know how they fit.

No stranger to Held gloves, this is probably my 6th pair. They fit just like I expected them to. They are very comfortable and have good protection where it's needed. They are on the expensive side, but in my experience Held's hold up very well and these should last a long time, so really when you factor in the expense to the longevity, the bang for your buck really is excellant.