A Brief Review of Fingerless Driving Gloves for Sim Racing
By Shovas / 2024-03-29 / Original Article
This was originally a post on Race Department (June 2021) that I’ve added here for posterity.
Ever since I ruined an alcantara rim some years ago, slicking it down over time by driving with bare hands, I’ve been trying to find the right gloves with the right balance of convenience, feel, grip, robustness, and quality of make. I chose fingerless because I still want the ease of typing while wearing the gloves. I’m not sure I’ve found the perfect pair yet but I think I’ve found some good ones and at good prices, too.
I’m mostly covering budget gloves here. I know there are sim gloves and real racing gloves but I wanted to exhaust some budget options before moving up to them.
The Wheel I Use With the Gloves
While I started out on the SimXperience Alcantara Wheel, after the alcantara went I switched to the SimXperience Duramold Wheel. I thought it would be cheap but it’s actually very good for its price point, durability, grip, and feel in the hands. I still use the duramold wheel even after switching to a Simucube 2 Pro.
Note that when I talk about glove grip it may differ depending on the material of your wheel. I can only talk about the grip of the gloves against a duramold / semi-rubbery wheel.
#5 Milwaukee Fingerless Work Gloves
I barely used these gloves for sim driving. They were just too slippery against the wheel. The padded parts of the palm are just a fabric material and don’t provide the grip I need. Quality was decent. Breath-ability on the low end.
At around $20 where I am, they’re just not a great option for my purpose, although I’m sure for work purposes they’re great.
#4 Firm Grip Pro Fingerless Work Gloves
I liked these gloves in particular for the rough, semi-grippy palm patches. They weren’t grippy enough, unfortunately, it may be a great deal for somebody. Quality is decent. Breathe-ability is good.
At $10-$12 they may be a great option for someone, perhaps with a different wheel material.
#3 Gorilla Grip Fingerless Work Gloves
These were the first gloves I tried just happening to find them at Home Depot. They don’t look like much but actually they’re one of my top pairs, still. The only drawback is the grippy patches on the palm tend to start shredding apart after a month or so. Grip is very good, though, and the materials and quality otherwise are very satisfactory. Breathe-ability was adequate.
At $10-$15 you can’t go too wrong even if you have to buy them again and again. If these were more robust, I think I would actually just stick with these.
#2 HUANLANG Fingerless Cycling Gloves
I figured cyclists must know a thing or two about gloves so I figured I’d pick up a pair that didn’t break the bank. First thing I noticed is that these were very minimal, very thin material. It’s breathable, and the quality looks okay, I’m just not sure how well it would stand up to sim driving. The one great thing was grip. There are large rubbery patches on the palm that grip my duramold wheel excellently. The patches are very padded and it’s noticeable which may be an issue since your hands move a little bit more with the raised space.
At $22 for me, they’re reasonable if they last. They’re my second favourite pair so far.
#1 HOMBURY Leather Driving & Dressing Fingerless Gloves
Surprise, surprise, my #1 gloves are actual, real-life driving gloves. The leather material feels nice, there are holes to allow for breathing, the leather grips well. They’re a little loose on my hands but not enough to stop enjoying them. Not sure about robustness as I’ve only had them a week. The leather feels thin so it might wear through in a month or two. Quality feels decent, other.
At $24, it’s a nice luxurious feel compared to the other gloves. Maybe it would be good more for relaxed drives instead of racing sessions, though, as I feel the material may wear quickly (update 3 year later: They haven’t worn yet).
Update 2022: These were fine but I re-ordered Medium instead of Large and they feel much better.
Update 2024: Still wearing these but one glove ripped on a seam on the wrist where I pull at to pull the gloves on. I’ve been using these since June 2021 so I’m not that concerned considering these are $25 gloves. I bought a new pair in black so I guess I like them.