Palm materials
The palm is where grip, wear and feel are decided.
| Material | Used by | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Synthetic leather | GCOM SRG1 (AX leather, a polyester fabric) | Thin, smooth, hard-wearing; carries printed grip well |
| Microfibre with rubber coating | Sparco Hypergrip | High friction even when damp; the coating adds thickness |
| Suede-like single layer | Trak Racer (55 % PU / 45 % polyester) | Light and thin; grip comes from the surface texture |
| Perforated mesh with grip zones | Moradness Aura Pro | Lets air through the palm itself; grip concentrated in patterned zones |
| Technical fibre | Alpinestars (Nanofront®) | Carried over from motorsport gloves, printed for grip |
| Reinforced fabric with silicone print | Syncmesh Grip M2X | Printed silicone on a reinforced base, pre-curved |
| Proprietary grip fabric | FREEM (L-Grip, full palm) | Grip across the whole palm rather than in zones |
| Partly rubberised | SRS ProGlove | Rubber in the grip areas only |
Printed grip vs coated grip
Two approaches, with different consequences.
Printed silicone sits on top of the fabric as dots or patterns — GCOM and Syncmesh use it. It adds grams rather than tens of grams, which is part of how the SRG1 reaches 31 g per pair. The trade-off is that a print wears down over time, and scrubbing it during washing lifts it.
A rubber coating covers the whole surface — Sparco's approach. More grip over a wider area, more material, more weight. Sparco publishes no weight, so the cost in grams is unknown.
Grip zones vs full-palm grip is the other split. Zones put material only where the designer expects your hand to sit; full-palm grip — FREEM's L-Grip — means there is no zone to find if you shift your hands around the rim.
Back materials
The back does not grip. It stretches and lets heat out.
| Material | Used by | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Polyester-spandex knit | GCOM SRG1 (95 % / 5 %) | Thin, stretchy, air-permeable |
| Stretch twill with elastane | Trak Racer (80 % / 20 %) | More stretch, slightly more substance |
| Moisture-wicking blend | Syncmesh (85 % polyester, 10 % silicone, 5 % nylon) | Moves liquid water, not just air |
| Lightweight mesh | Moradness (nylon-polyester-spandex) | Maximum airflow |
| Bonded stretch with perforations | Alpinestars | Large perforations plus Lycra gussets between the fingers |
| Perforated elastic | Sparco, GT Omega | Airflow through placed perforations |
Breathable and wicking are not the same. Breathable fabric lets air through; wicking fabric moves liquid. Syncmesh is the only brand here that claims wicking explicitly. For hands that drip rather than just get damp, that is the relevant property — see gloves for sweaty hands.
How material decides weight
The lightest gloves share one thing: a single-layer palm with printed rather than bonded grip, and a thin knit back.
| Model | Palm construction | Weight per pair |
|---|---|---|
| GCOM SRG1 | single layer, printed silicone | 31 g |
| FREEM SIM21 | grip fabric, full palm | 32 g |
| VIRAGE PB1 | not published | 38 g |
| F33L SR Flow | high-grip, ventilated | just under 50 g |
| Alpinestars | Nanofront® with 3D print | 90–120 g, unit not stated |
Padding is the other direction. Sparco and GT Omega both place foam in the palm, and neither publishes a weight. See lightest sim racing gloves.
Durability
No manufacturer publishes a service life, and nobody states how many washes a grip surface survives.
What the data does show is how carefully each brand asks you to treat the fabric: Syncmesh forbids machine washing, tumble drying, bleach, wringing and ironing; F33L caps hand washing at 30 °C; Moradness permits a cold machine cycle, while GCOM permits a gentle cycle up to 30 °C without spinning. Those instructions are a proxy for how robust each maker considers its materials — see how to wash sim racing gloves.
Syncmesh is also the only brand to state an expected workload: 8 to 15 hours of racing per week.
Which material for your situation
| Your priority | Look for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum feel | Single-layer palm, printed grip | GCOM SRG1 |
| Hands that sweat | Perforated palm, mesh back | Moradness Aura Pro |
| Grip when damp | Rubber coating or silicone print | Sparco Hypergrip, Syncmesh |
| Cushioning on a hard rim | Foam padding | Sparco Hypergrip |
| Grip anywhere on the rim | Full-palm grip fabric | FREEM SIM21 |
| Published fabric percentages | Brands that state them | Syncmesh, Trak Racer |
Frequently asked
Which glove material is best: Alcantara, leather or mesh?
None of the gloves here uses Alcantara — it is a rim material. For the palm, a thin synthetic leather with printed grip gives the most feel; mesh gives the most airflow; a rubber-coated microfibre gives the most grip when damp.
Is Alcantara used in sim racing gloves?
Not in any of the twelve models tracked here. It is common on wheel rims, where it absorbs moisture — one of the reasons to wear gloves.
Is real leather used?
No. The GCOM SRG1's "AX leather" is a polyester fabric. Every palm in this comparison is synthetic.
What is the difference between breathable and moisture-wicking?
Breathable fabric lets air through; wicking fabric moves liquid water away from the skin. Syncmesh is the only brand here claiming wicking.
Does printed silicone grip wear off?
No manufacturer publishes a service life. Avoid scrubbing the palm when washing, which is what lifts a print.
Which brands publish full fabric percentages?
Syncmesh and Trak Racer, for both palm and back. GCOM publishes its back composition and names the palm material.
GCOM care source: manufacturer support.