American-Made Alternatives to European Motorcycle Glove Brands
Updated: Sep 28
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If you are coming off a European glove and want an American-made pair, the closest equivalents by feel are ILL DOZER Outseam Gloves, from $135 rated 4.9 from 99 reviews, and for a touchscreen glove with a longer record, Double-Diamond Touchscreen Gloves, from $140 rated 4.92 from 87 reviews. Held, in Germany, is the brand most riders in this position are leaving, and it is worth saying plainly that this is not a like-for-like swap. Held publishes CE certification. The American deerskin gloves here do not.
What you are actually trading
European glove design is organised around a test. The glove is certified to EN 13594, the knuckle takes a measured impact, and the construction follows from what the test rewards. That standard uses a 2.5 kg striker at 5 joules over four strikes. Level 1 allows a mean transmitted force of 7 kN or less with no single strike above 9 kN. Level 2 requires a mean of 4 kN or less and makes impact protection mandatory.
American deerskin glove design is organised around the hand. Soft from the first wear, no break-in period, and a palm thin enough to read the grip. Nothing in that brief is measured by EN 13594, which is why these gloves do not carry the mark.
Neither approach is correct for everyone. A rider doing dense highway commuting is buying different risk than a rider doing evening miles on back roads, and the honest answer is that a lot of riders should own both.
The closest American matches
ILL DOZER Outseam Gloves, from $135 rated 4.9 from 99 reviews. Perforated American Whitetail deerskin, outseam construction, XS to 2XL
Double-Diamond Touchscreen Gloves, from $140 rated 4.92 from 87 reviews. Touchscreen thumb and index, the diamond-stitched back panel, S to 2XL
Aramid Touchscreen Deerskin Gloves, from $120. Deerskin with an aramid liner, an abrasion-resistant fibre, explicitly not CE rated
Haymakers Super Welted Deerskin Gloves, from $130. Super Welted construction folds and double-stitches the palm seam
Uppercut Knuckle Defense Gloves, from $95. Leather-covered carbon fiber knuckle defenders, a construction feature and not a certification
The one that is not a downgrade on paper
If abrasion resistance is specifically what you do not want to give up, the Aramid Touchscreen pairs domestic deerskin with an aramid liner, the same fibre family used in cut-resistant workwear. It is explicitly not CE rated and should never be described as armor. It is, though, the closest thing in the American lineup to a protection-first glove, and it is the honest recommendation for a rider who wants American-made without going fully unarmored.
Sizing across the swap
European gloves generally run to a narrower hand and a longer finger. Coming from a Held or a Dainese, most riders find American deerskin needs the same nominal size but feels wider through the palm on day one and settles within a week.
Do not size down to chase that. Deerskin relaxes and moulds with wear, gaining roughly half a size of feel, while circumference and finger length barely change. A glove that is too small when new stays too small.
Frequently asked
Is there an American glove with CE Level 2 knuckle armor?
Not in this lineup. If a published CE level is a requirement, buy the European glove.
Does the Uppercut carbon fiber knuckle count as armor?
It is a construction feature, not a certification. It has not been tested to EN 13594 and should not be compared to a rated protector.
Will deerskin last as long as a European textile and leather glove?
Different failure modes. Deerskin wears at the palm and the touchscreen panel rather than failing at the seams. Expect to replace it for feel rather than for structure.
