When someone mentions Mechanix M-Pact gloves, my first thoughts are garage use. However, these gloves have proven to be incredibly versatile. I am familiar with Mechanix gloves; they‘ve been my go to glove when working on my cars for years. When I started asking around for solid mountain biking gloves that wouldn‘t break the bank, a friend of mine suggested checking out the M-Pact. I am so glad that I took his advice. These gloves rock for biking and pretty much any outdoor activity and do so with an affordable price tag.
Among the many features they have, the Thermal Plastic Rubber (TPR) knuckle guard is my favorite. It adds a layer of dense rubber designed to disperse impact and protect from abrasions. This is perfect for overgrown single tracks when branches and weeds slap my knuckles. The TPR doesn‘t just protect my knuckles but they cover all the way to the tips of my fingers. The palms are generously padded, but not puffy or cumbersome. It really helps make longer rides much more comfortable on my hands. These fit as expected; I ordered a medium and they are nice and snug. The M-Pact gloves come in a variety of colors so you can color coordinate your kit which is a bonus. The ones that are shown in this review are in their Covert color.
Mechanix really put some thought into the design of this glove. They even include a handy pull loop to make them easy to put on while one hand is gloved. Both the thumb and index finger on each glove are embossed for added grip. This really helps make them grip to my brakes well. In future versions, having this on both the index and middle fingers would be ideal. Possibly, due to the gloves‘ focus on grip, touchscreens on smartphones have a hard time with them. This is not a big deal to me, I just make sure my playlist is set at the start of my ride and off I go.
The M-pact is very durable. I have wiped out a few times and these have protected my hands like champs. I wear them when I go hiking too. They provide great grip to help me when I ascend rocky areas. Overall, the Mechanix M-Pact gloves are a great multi-sport glove, and they have a modest MSRP of $34.99. If I can do it outdoors, I‘ll be wearing these. www.mechanix.com.
-Andy