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Held clothing is very well known and respected in their home country of Germany where for over 60 years they have produced clothes from the Bavarian town of Burgberg. They started out manufacturing gloves and over the years have developed their extensive range to be exclusively for motorcyclists and are now one of the most respected manufacturers in the motorcycle clothing and accessories sector. The company motto, ‘by bikers, for bikers’ has been proven over the years as they have consistently produced stylish quality items that are also functional. Customer loyalty and numerous industry awards from around the world over the years prove that the company is producing what people demand.
The family company is owned and run by Edgar and Erhard Held who are the sons of the company founder, Bruno. Along with their sons and daughter they are part of the 100-strong team based in the family’s home town, along with 300 employees involved in manufacturing in a dedicated factory in Hungary.
Their modern range incorporates a wide range of clothing and even accessories such as luggage are available from this innovative company. In fact the company released the world’s first high quality, magnetic nylon tank bag. This then new product was available to colour match the latest popular bike models.
They were also one of the first to use a racer to help develop their glove products when with the help of 11 times European champion Erwin Schmider they developed the world’s first dedicated MX glove A few years later they enrolled five time world road racing champion Anton Mang onto the team in order to develop advanced specification road racing gloves. So advanced was the specification that it still forms the basis of their innovative current range. For example they were the first company to use carbon fibre in their glove construction, something which is largely an industry standard these days.
They were also one of the first companies in the world to use the lightweight and incredibly tough Kangaroo hide in their sports suits, at least ten years before such a thing was commonplace.
Despite developing other quality motorcycle products over the years the glove origins of the company are not forgotten and they recently received a Motorrad Best Brand award their gloves.
Motorrad is the biggest bike magazine in Europe, with a bi-weekly circulation of over 200,000. and in the recent reader survey over 33,000 bikers voted for their favourite kit. When it came to gloves an overwhelming 54% of them confidently stated that Held gloves are the best in the world. All the big brands were represented, but the nearest challenger only received 28% of the vote, with the others sharing the remaining 18%.
The Best Brand awards were instigated in 2006 and Held has won the gloves section each year since. They have also won awards for their luggage and Held clothing is also very highly rated by anyone who has tried it. Here’s what highly respected MCN journalist Trevor Franklin recently said about his Held kit:
“I mean, how many adventure jackets and trousers do you know that look so purposeful in their packaging..?”
“It doesn’t take long to adjust the various straps and poppers to end up with a jacket that could be from motorcycling’s equivalent of Saville Row...”
“The Torno trousers are proper off-road competition spec...”
“Venting rivals anything from a Bentley dash and the Pittards’ low-slip leather bum panel cossets butt cheeks like Calvin Klein grundies...”
“600 miles later, after slogging through the snow covered Pyrenees, the dust and heat of Spain’s inhospitable desert plains and the usual flash rain storms; I understood why Held’s new kit is getting such rave reviews. Style and durability is second to none...”
“Despite wearing only a technical shirt and leggings underneath, I wasn’t bothered by the cold mountain air or cactus-wilting heat...”
“Overall rating: 12/10.”
High praise indeed, but it makes you realise why you should consider this quality German brand when an independent reviewer has such high praise for their products.
If you’ve ever wondered what makes their quality gloves better than a cheaply produced copy then consider these facts.
All Held gloves are punch cut which is far more precise and provides a cleaner and more consistent edge than cutting with scissors. a pair of Held Phantom gloves has 156 individual sections, which means they need a lot of expensive cutters. It takes 18 minutes just to punch out each pair and that’s before anything has been stitched together.
They only use carbon fibre of the highest grade, which they punch-cut and pressure mould themselves to ensure a perfect fit. Once cut, each piece is heated to 450˚C and then subjected to 40 tons of pressure and shaped over their custom moulds. These custom protectors are often underlain with shock absorbing gel and sometimes even overlaid with titanium.
Finally every single Held glove is carefully formed on hot irons to create the perfect ergonomic fit. Once this is achieved, the material and workmanship of each one is carefully inspected. If even the slightest irregularity is detected, the glove will be rejected.
If this sounds like a lot of fuss then have a close look at Held gloves which will show you things like rounded fingertips which are more difficult to make, but far easier to wear. Then there’s back-stitched seams provide the finest joint possible to increase durability, eliminate chafing and improve feel. Seams in-between fingers are placed forward to ensure there is no pressure or rubbing in this sensitive area.
Simply put, No one knows gloves like Held knows gloves, whether entry level or GP racer standard they produce the best. There is no effort spared in ensuring that every pair of Held gloves offers optimum levels of comfort and protection. A lot of this effort goes unnoticed, exactly as it should do...
The third generation of Held family carries on the values which established the company and continues a relentless research and development program to ensure that Held products will always combines the latest materials and technology with time served garment making expertise.
Just some of the materials that can be found in modern Held Motorcycle gear are; Airguard, Amara, Armacor, Climate membrane, coldblack, Coolmax, Cordura, d3o, Dynatec, Gore-Tex, Hipora, Humax, Kangaroo leather, Keprotec, Kevlar, Lockout, Pittards leather, Primaloft, Stingray skin, SaS-Tec, Silverfresh, TFL Cool, Teflon,Meryl skinlife ,NanoSphere, Outlast, Windstopper, X-trafit.
These innovative products and materials are all produced by various companies around the world and are used in Held products where any innovation and advantage that they offer can make a positive difference.
Every Held product is full guaranteed, in fact some lines have up to a five year guarantee. Held is one of the biggest and best names in motorcycle equipment, come and have a look for yourself and see the difference in products made by bikers, for bikers.
© Infinity Motorcycles 2012
