The Dainese 4 stroke gloves have been around for a while now and this second generation has made a number of tweaks to the old design which will help improve the safety and longevity.
The 4 stroke motorcycle gloves are the pinnacle of the short gloves out of Dainese, packing in all the racing tech from their full cuff racing larger brothers such as the Dainese full metal D1’s.
The old 4 stroke evo gloves have been my go to gloves for about 5 years now. I have worn them while commuting to work every day, through harsh weather on a 50 mile round trip 5 days a week. So lets explore how my old gloves have held up and how they compare to their newer younger brother.
What’s Changed On The Dainese 4 Stroke 2 Gloves?
The Dainese 4 stroke 2 gloves are an evolution rather than a revolution on the old gloves.
Compared to the old gloves we have a slightly longer cuff, which makes getting the gloves on and off easier and allows the attachment strap to be larger so that it holds more securely.
Another notable change would be the additional stretch panels, which make these a little more flexible and easier to get along with while they are still breaking in.
Aside from those changes the only thing new here is the additional colors that Dainese have released for these motorcycle gloves. The Dainese 4 stroke 2 gloves come in a wider array of colors, including black, black and red, white and red then white and blue.
How Do The Dainese 4 Stroke 2 Gloves Hold Up Over Time?
So as of writing this article the 4 stroke 2 are still quite new, so writing a long term review of them would be disingenuous.
However, I have owned the old 4 stroke evo gloves for 5 years and put them through hell. I have commuted through harsh Scottish weather 5 days a week on a 50 mile round trip, so I have a good idea of how these gloves hold up over time.
As you can see these gloves still look like new, which is pretty damn impressive for a glove that has been put through so much abuse. My old alpinestars gloves fell apart after a and wore through some areas in half the time.
Did anything wear out?
The 1 thing that did wear out after 5 years of use on these Dainese 4 stroke evo gloves is the velcro… Which is to be expected!.The velcro just started to give up, not holding the strap as strongly as it used to.
I decided to spend an hour cutting out and re stitching in new velcro to these gloves to see how far I can make them last and now the velcro strap holds just as good if not better than it did when new. All I had to replace was the soft fuzzy side and it totally fixed the issue.
As you can see the result looks almost as good as new!
One area I’d have expected to take more wear and tear would have been the printing on the titanium knuckle. However, despite dropping and cleaning these gloves many times over the years, the printing has remained almost untouched, with only a couple of little dings and scratches from where they have been dropped.
Dainese really does use some of the best quality leather on their gear and these gloves are no exception. The leather has completely moulded to my hand and has held up to a level of abuse that I’d expect to kill most gloves.
The only real signs of wear on the leather is the sharp creasing on the inside of the fingers, however nothing has torn and other than that, the leather looks like new… Which is astounding given the abuse they have been through.
How Comfortable Are The Dainese 4 Stroke 2 Gloves?
When you first try these on you might be very disappointed, they feel stiff and unforgiving, requiring more effort to flex your fingers. This has been helped with the additional flex panels added to this new version.
However, after a few rides these motorcycle gloves will soften up and start to mould to your hands, creating a perfect fit.
Just like a new pair of boots, these need to be broken in and once they are broken in they… fit like a glove!
Despite all the metal and plastic on the exterior of these motorcycle gloves, you forget that you are wearing them, which is exactly what you want on a long ride.
Ventilation
One point id make is that with such a beefy glove, there has to be a trade off. This comes in the form of a lack of ventilation. You have some perforation around the fingers and a little perforation further back. However, these gloves won’t flow a tonne of air.
The lack of ventilation isn’t an issue for someone like me living in Scotland. However, if you live somewhere that is very hot a lot of the time, then a more ventilated glove might be more what you are looking for.
Criticisms
One of the only criticism I’d make is that I prefer outside stitching around the fingers. Outside stitching on motorcycle glove fingers means that you don’t have the seam digging into your fingers.
Thankfully the seam is small and isn’t uncomfortable… However, once you try an outside seam, you do notice it when you go back.
How Much Protection Do The 4 Stroke 2 Gloves Offer?
These are some of the most heavily armoured short cuff gloves on the market.
You tend to find that short cuff gloves have hard parts on them as they are targeted at street motorcycle riders instead of racers. This isn’t the case with these gloves.
The Dainese 4 Stroke 2 gloves are essentially one of Dainese’s full blown race gloves with the cuff cut off. Meaning they are very beefy and will keep you protected in a crash.
The steel knuckle and rear hand protector will stop your knuckles getting ground down should your hand get dragged under the bike in a high speed crash.
You also have hard parts along the backs of the fingers which will help with sliding and stop the asphalt burning through to your precious fingers.
A common injury in crashes is the pinky finger being ripped off… gruesome I know! Some gloves tackle this by attaching the pinky to the ring finger, which restricts movement. These gloves along with many other Dainese gloves use whats called Distortion Protection Control (DCP). This is a little triangle hard part which supports the pinky to help prevent any unwanted ripping off of your pinky…
On the palm of the glove you will find a large wrap around hard part Scaphoid protection and to help with sliding along the road. Then some additional padding next to this to help dampen any impact as you go down.
Where To Buy?
This will depend on where you are.
UK Buyers
https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/463679/#/23656,0,0
Sportsbikeshop have a great customer support team with free returns. They are also usually the best on price too. If not then they will price match the competition.
US Buyers
https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/dainese-4-stroke-2-gloves
Revzilla are the gold standard in the US. They offer free returns and the best pricing.
EU Buyers
FC Moto tend to have the most competitive pricing and offer free/discounted returns depending on your location.
Motocard is also an option for EU buyers and go blow for blow on pricing with FC Moto
Conclusion
If you want most of the protection from a full blown race gauntlet glove, but with the convenience of a short cuff glove, then this is about as good as it gets.
These are seriously beefy gloves that have stood the test of time. Dainese uses some of the best materials in the business and the 4 stroke 2’s are no exception.
They may set you back a pretty penny, but if you want the absolute best then these are it!
When my original 4 stroke evo gloves do eventually wear out, I will be picking up a pair of these revised 4 stroke 2’s without hesitation with the expectation of getting many more years out of them.
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