Gloves or No Gloves - What Do You Prefer?

Porsche Coanda Esports Joshua Rogers Gloves.jpg

Do you race with or without gloves?


  • Total voters
    538
Preferences in the world of sim racing are plentiful: Different sims and different hardware are just the tip of the iceberg of choices they have to make, and what to wear is another element that each person has a different view on. We want to know: Do you race with or without gloves?

Image credit: Porsche Newsroom

It can sometimes feel like a highly intense debate about something as minor as gloves: Some sim racers swear by them, others think they are over-the-top and not needed at all. Of course, this means those racers who own a wheel - although if you use a controller and wear gloves when doing so, we are extremely curious about the reasons behind it, so please share them in the comments!

Immersion Booster & More Grip​

For some, gloves are an immersion booster. After all, real racers wear them as well, so why not follow suit? For others, it is about preserving their wheels better: Alcantara grips, for example, tend to look worn significantly faster when used without gloves due to sweat and oils from the skin on a racer's hands accumulating in the material. Gloves prevent this and keep grips of this type looking fresh for longer.

For anyone aiming to replicate real forces felt in their wheels, which modern high-end direct drive wheel bases are capable of, gloves may make sense to protect their hands from blistering or similar wear and tear. The right choice of gloves also offer additional grip, helping matters when wrestling cars with high FFB torque around a circuit.

Lotus 98T Cockpit View at Monza.png

Ah, that brand-new wheel feel - definitely the reason why digital racing drivers usually wear gloves.

Got to Stay Cool​

On the other hand (no pun intended), racers might not deem it necessary to bother with gloves for any of the reasons listed above. After all, dexterity is better without wearing anything on your hands, so pushing a wheel's buttons and rotating its switches is easier.

Racing bare-handed also makes it easier to stay cool - this can make the experience much less uncomfortable, particularly during the summer months. Some sim racers may go without gloves at least temporarily as a result.

What Do You Prefer?​

As you can see, reasons for opting for or against gloves are diverse and highly subjective, certainly not all of them are mentioned in this article. This is why we want to know your preferences: Do you race with or without gloves? What are your reasons? Let us know in the comments below and in the poll!
About author
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

Comments

Alcantara wheels? Gloves. Leather/rubber/foam wheels? No gloves. Right now I mainly use the 599XX from Thrustmaster, so gloves.
 
Gloves, for two reasons (one of which is questionable):

When I started sim racing I did not wear gloves, but when I got my Fanatec Formula V2 wheel I was told to get gloves to protect the alcantara. I did, and ended up trying out and rejecting many styles. I did not want to get racing gloves as I did not think it was necessary. I settled on Ace Hardware work gloves with padded palms as they were comfortable and did not have seams on the inside that could cause blisters or heat spots.

They really did not save the alcantara as I live in a high-heat area of SoCal and after awhile I would sweat through the leather ( in the summer, after a long race, my gloves would be damp), thus the sweat would get in the alcantara anyway.

The second reason is that when I got my McLaren wheel, with rubber grips, I do not like the sticky feeling the rubber gets when I sweat. Sure, the rubber still gets sticky, but with gloves I do not feel it.

Now I cannot race without gloves as I am used to the feeling of the gloves on the wheel.

No, I do not do it for the immersion and I have found out that it actually damages the rubber: I wore through the rubber on my McLaren wheel in two spots, which I know are due to the gloves. Yet, that tells me that I would have developed blisters if not for the gloves.

As an aside: I do not wear real racing shoes, but I buy slip on Adidas running (?) shoes for driving as I cannot drive in just socks.
 
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Use gloves for real racing cars and racing bikes, for simracing please ... is not necessary, absolutely, wtf ... they are only used to be cool on social networks or in livestreaming, at least be honest
Would be nice if u ask for a reason before u inventing them for everyone...
IDK for what case nonGamer/nonSimracer guys follow simracing media...
 
Premium
For me my favourite car F1 is so easy to drive so no need gloves, I have so calm steering movements and skillful driving style, like art.

Drivers who are not as talented as me have to make too many corrective movements, so gloves are recommended to protect the skin from blisters
 
Premium
I prefer rubber grips on my wheels which I use with no gloves. However, I have two suede covered rims (both real OMP) which I use with gloves to protect the leather more so than for feel.
 
If I'd drive on a powerful DD wheel, I'd use gloves. Otherwise it feels gimmicky, like wearing a helmet when sim racing.
 
Premium
Hello friends of high speeds.

Everyone should drive as they see fit and if someone thinks they would be faster if they were wearing gloves, then maybe they are too.
Even if it means he's just faster in his imagination.
It's important for him because that's the only way he feels comfortable.
How do I always say: If you like the sound of your plastic speakers, then you don't need any others. Doesn't matter what other people say. I personally own two steering wheels for my T300RS.
Once the open wheel and once what was included with the base. I wrapped both of them in gaffer tape because they were too thin. Now they are sitting full in my hands.
Stop screaming I don't buy anything to sell later.
I personally don't use gloves or racing shoes. I'm a craftsman and therefore don't have delicate baby hands or feet. For this I have donated a 4 point safety belt to my rig.
I don't move a millimeter more when I sit in the seat. I'm almost one with the rig.
It's just such nonsense. I also have a "helmet" on.
My VR glasses.
Therefore also the cheapest open whell steering wheel. I just don't see it.
But I wanted to have the feeling of taming an open wheeler.
At the end of the day we all have the same hobby so let everyone have their little madness.
And finally, no advertising, no Youtuber or anyone else decides what is good.
You and only you alone decide what is good.
My opinion.
 
Didn't use gloves, but thought about it to protect my hand in the first place.
When a powerfull wheel hit your finger a glove can "soften" the hit.
 
I've bought and tried lots of different kind of gloves with my leather rim. The only ones what work fine are karting gloves with silicon inserts on the palms (currently using Sparco with external stitching). With other kind of loves such as those made of clotch, leather, etc. the grip is a bad as with bare hands. I wouldn't be able to have good control of my direct drive system without my gloves. Apart from that, no matter the material of your rim, it will last like new much longer if you use gloves, specially if you have sweaty hands or don't cut your nails too often.
 
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It really makes me laugh that some say they use gloves to have greater comfort ... so I'll teach you one thing: gloves in real races are made to ensure that you have greater grip and stability of the steering wheel (or of the handlebar, in the case of motorcycles) even at high speeds and high vibrations, obviously not counting that they must be fireproof (resistant to flames).

Now seriously, during simracing, comfortably seated and without any risk, all these risks are not there so gloves are totally useless.
 
It really makes me laugh that some say they use gloves to have greater comfort ... so I'll teach you one thing: gloves in real races are made to ensure that you have greater grip and stability of the steering wheel (or of the handlebar, in the case of motorcycles) even at high speeds and high vibrations, obviously not counting that they must be fireproof (resistant to flames).

Now seriously, during simracing, comfortably seated and without any risk, all these risks are not there so gloves are totally useless.
You seem to know better than us, stupid users of gloves, if it is useful or not... I don't know if you have been practicing simracing for a long time (I began in 1998 with Grand Prix Legend FYI) but as it has often been written in this thread, it is really useful for a 2 or 3 hour session if you want to keep your wheel a bit dry and don't want to have your hands painted in black!
 
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-Fingerless gloves for drifting because of the wheel sliding back n forth.
-No gloves for racing.
 
When I had an Alcantara wheel, I bought full suede bike gloves from Dainese.
Suede on Alcantara has a really nice connection. Opening your hand let's the wheel rotate inside your grip smoothly. Gripping more tightly has awesome grip.
Overall the most controlled friction compared to bare hands on Alcantara, leather or rubber or any other gloves at leather or rubber.

So I totally get why real cars use Alcantara/Suede + suede gloves.

But now I'm only using my McLaren wheel, which afaik uses the original rubber (replica got the CAD data + same rubber grips) and as soon as it heats up a little, your hands have perfect grip.
I love it and absolutely no need for gloves!
 
I use a pair of pink cloves of the kind you'd normally use for gardening work - I've been using them with my fanatec P1 wheel for around 2 months. The gloves are now almost black on the inside.
And I don't drive drifting cars.... :O_o:
 
Premium
I enjoy wearing gloves. It wasn't until I purchased a pair of perfect fitting karting gloves that I was really happy. I started with a part of leather gloves I use for riding a road motorcycle. These were simply not suited for sim racing. Next, I purchased a pair of Sparco Hypergrip sim racing gloves. The fit and quality of these gloves were horrible IMHO. I finally ended up with a pair of Sparco Tide K karting gloves. For me, it's all about the fit. Not to tight or loose. Just right. The material Sparco uses for the gloves is very nice with just the right amount of padding but not too much. They are also cool to wear. The gripping material to the wheel is a big advantage compared to bare hands. When I use these gloves with a suede wheel the grip is amazing. Bare hands on a wheel no longer seems normal for me.
 

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