Where Riding Gloves Fail in a Slide: Seams, Stitching and Closures

A riding glove can fail in a slide in three ways: a seam opens, a layer wears or tears through, or the glove comes off your hand. Each has a construction detail that works against it: even, well-made seams, sound materials, and a wrist closure that actually locks. The European glove standard, EN 13594:2015, tests all three.

This guide is part of our motorcycle glove safety and standards series. It looks at stitching and closures, not knuckle armor or leather type.

The three failure points

In one crash study, 25.7% of motorcycle-designed gloves were judged to have failed through material damage. The abstract does not say which part failed, so it cannot tell us how often seams were the cause.

What "double stitching" means

The term is used loosely. One rider-safety council says extra layers should be double-stitched on top of the main protective layer, and that stitching should be even. We found no source that sets a number of stitch rows for a glove. The seam test measures how strong the finished seam is, not how many rows made it.

Two summaries of the standard give main-seam limits of 6 N/mm for level 1 and 10 N/mm for level 2. SATRA's own page, which we read, describes the seam test but gives no figures, so treat those numbers as unconfirmed until checked against the standard text. For the full test list, see EN 13594:2015 explained.

Seams on the outside or inside?

Sources disagree. The council above says seams should be external, even and with no dropped stitches. A glove maker's blog says outside seams wear sooner from abrasion but are easy to see and restitch, and that leather grade, thread quality and stitch density matter more than where the seam sits. That is a seller's view without test data, and we found no test that compares the two.

You can tell them apart by feel. An outside seam makes a raised ridge along the side of a finger; a smooth outside means the seam is turned inward.

The little finger bind

Some gloves have a strip stitched between the little and ring fingers. A rider-safety council says the little finger is often the first part to hit the road, and that webbing between the two fingers is designed to reduce that risk.

Why gloves come off

Riders instinctively put a hand out in a fall, so hands are often first in the firing line. A glove has to be designed and fitted to stay on in a crash. The standard asks for an adjustable restraint in the wrist or cuff but names no closure types.

Look at how each glove fastens: a strap at the wrist, or a longer cuff with its own fastening. We found no test comparing closure types, so we rank none. See glove styles and cuffs and gauntlet vs wristlet gloves for how cuffs differ.

A two-minute construction check

1. Look for dropped or uneven stitches along every seam.
2. Check that extra layers are stitched down on top of the main layer.
3. Close the strap, then have someone try to pull the glove off by the fingertips.
4. Check inside for studs or rivets that come through to your skin.
5. Find the label: EN 13594:2015 and a level, if the maker claims one.

After a slide, inspect the seams and strap before you ride in the glove again.

Where to read more on the standards

Leather Collection's guide to EN 13594 gloves and EN 13634 boots is a store explainer on the two standards. The store's glove pages we read state no EN 13594 level, so check each product page yourself. For knuckle testing, read why gloves have hard knuckles.