What is tested
The glove, as a complete product, against a programme covering several properties — among them how it resists abrasion and tearing, and whether it stays on the hand. That last point is more consequential than it sounds: a glove that comes off is a glove that was not there. The standard publishes its levels and the test values behind them.
What a level does not tell you
Where the protection sits. Palm construction is the property that matters most on a glove and is discussed least — a second layer of leather at the heel of the hand, or a slider at the base of the thumb, is built for the way a hand actually contacts the road. None of that is in the level, and all of it is visible on the product.
The knuckle question
Knuckle protection ranges from a moulded shell to a soft foam pad, and the two photograph similarly. Whether a given glove carries a certified protector at the knuckle is stated by the maker, and it is separate from the glove’s own certification.
Reading it with the rest
A certified glove that cannot work an indicator switch is a glove that gets taken off at junctions. Dexterity, cuff length and lining retention are not in the standard and decide whether a glove is used, which is why this site reports them beside the level rather than after it.
Questions riders send in about this
Are all riding gloves certified?
No, and the marking is what distinguishes them. A glove sold for riding without any standard cited has been tested by nobody.
Does a certified glove protect my hand?
It passed defined tests on a rig. What happens to a hand in a fall depends on the fall, and no page here converts a test result into that.
Last reviewed 18 September 2026