At home, I have a dedicated motorcycle gear closet that contains my jackets, pants, boots, and gloves, as well as my husband’s gear. And it’s overflowing. I have some gear that’s warm for cold-weather riding, some that’s breathable for summer, some for trackdays, some for rainy rides. Each garment serves a purpose. When I want a pair of gloves that work as a jack (or jill) of all trades, I reach for my Joe Rocket Ballistic Ultra Women’s Motorcycle Gloves.

The Ballistic motorcycle gloves aren’t highly specialized for any one particular type of riding or riding condition, but they work well for a variety of situations, making them the gloves I use most often. They’re constructed of abrasion-resistant 330-denier Rock Tex and have a HiPora three-layer membrane that makes them waterproof. The material is lightweight, and the gloves have a slim profile, making them easy to cram into my pockets when I hop off the bike and head into the coffee shop.
For knuckle protection, the gloves include injection-molded knuckle armor that I have found less obtrusive than the armor on some other gloves. The palm features extra padding and a slip-resistant material. The tips of the forefinger and middle finger have conductive material that allows them to be used with touchscreens. And as with much of my Joe Rocket gear, they feature a cursive script logo. The logo and a stripe on the back are reflective.

I ordered a size small, which is my usual size for motorcycle gloves. The size small was a little tight for me. They fit well enough most of the time, but if my hands start sweating in the heat, they can be tricky to get into and out of. I recommend ordering a size above your normal size.
These motorcycle gloves are also waterproof, and they’ve kept my hands dry during unexpected showers. If I know I’ll be riding in the rain, however, I’ll choose a pair of waterproof gloves with a longer cuff. The cuff, closed with a hook-and-loop flap, is short enough that raising my arms will sometimes create a gap between the end of my sleeve and the gloves, allowing water to get inside my sleeves. For light rain, it isn’t a problem, and I’m happy to have some rain protection when the skies start clouding up.

If I were to start paring down my gear closet, these gloves would be some of the last to go. There are plenty of more premium gloves that do a better job of keeping water out, keeping hands cool, keeping hands warm, etc. But the Ballistics serve all of those purposes well enough while remaining lightweight and slim.
The Joe Rocket Ballistic Ultra Women’s Motorcycle Gloves are available in black in sizes XS-XL for $54.99. The Ballistic Ultra Men’s Gloves are available in sizes S-3XL for the same price.
See all of Woman Rider‘s gear reviews here.