Grading

Every single piece of cowhide, kangaroo pelt and stingray skin is checked by hand – often by Erhard Held or his son Christian Held personally. Hides are very rarely perfect, but any faults such as marks from barbed wire, thorns or ticks are identified and the piece rejected. The leather is then soaked so that it can be stretched for punching, to ensure that the finished items will not lose its shape with use.

Punching

All Held gloves are punch cut. This is far more precise and provides a cleaner edge than cutting with scissors. A costly, sharpened metal die must be fabricated for each leather section. And when you consider that a pair of Held Phantom gloves has 156 individual sections, this means we need a lot of cutters! It then takes 18 minutes to punch out each pair.

Moulding

We only use carbon fibre of the highest grade, which we punch-cut and pressure mould ourselves to ensure a perfect fit. Once cut, each piece is heated to 450˚C and then subjected to 40 tons of pressure and shaped over our custom moulds. These custom protectors are often underlain with shock absorbing gel and sometimes even overlaid with Titanium.

Stitching

Each pair of gloves take a highly skilled machinist 90 minutes of sewing time.

Finishing

Finally every single Held glove is carefully formed on hot irons to create the perfect ergonomic fit. Once this is achieved, the material and workmanship of each one is carefully inspected. If even the slightest irregularity is detected, the glove will be rejected.

Attention to detail

No effort is spared in ensuring that every pair of Held gloves offers optimum levels of comfort and as much protection is required. A lot of this effort goes unnoticed – exactly as it should do…

1. Rounded fingertips are more difficult to make, but far easier to wear.
2. Overlapping, back-stitched seams provide the finest join possible to increase durability, eliminate chafing and improve feel.
3. Each special seam requires half an hour of skilled work to complete.
4. Seams in-between finger are placed forward to ensure there is no pressure or rubbing in this sensitive area.

Development

No one knows gloves, like Held knows gloves. The third generation of Held family carries on the values which established Held as the number one choice for motorcycle gloves, and continues a relentless research and development program to ensure that Held gloves will always combines the latest materials and technology with time-served glove-making expertise.

We are exceptionally proud to remain unbeaten in the prestigious Motorrad Best Brand annual awards (as well as countless international test wins), since its inception in 2006, increasing our share of the vote each year. This dedication to excellence applies to our entry-level gloves, just as much as it does the latest high-end models such as the outstanding Titan race glove.