The best summer motorcycle gear moves air without giving up the material between you and the road: perforated deerskin gloves for the highway, fingerless gloves for around town, and a denim or lightweight vest doing the work of a jacket without the heat. This roundup collects the Legendary USA summer lineup and matches each piece to the riding it serves best, because the right answer in August depends on where and how you ride.
What Summer Gear Has to Do
Hot-weather gear has one job with two halves: keep you covered, and keep you from cooking inside that coverage. Airflow is the mechanism: moving air carries off sweat and heat, which keeps your grip dry and your attention on the road instead of your discomfort. Every piece below solves the same problem a different way, and the honest tradeoff is always the same: more airflow means less material somewhere.
Summer Gloves, Three Ways
ILL Dozer Perforated Deerskin Gloves
The ILL Dozer perforated outseam deerskin gloves are the workhorse pick for full-finger summer riding. Perforation across the glove moves air at speed, outseam construction keeps stitching off your sweaty palm, and the deerskin breaks in to your hand within a few weeks. This is the glove for commuters and highway riders who want their fingers covered in July.
Ventilated Touchscreen Deerskin Gloves
The Ventilated Touchscreen Deerskin Gloves take the same hot-weather logic and add touchscreen-capable fingertips, so a route check at a gas stop does not mean pulling a glove off. Short-wrist cut, vented deerskin, made for the rider whose phone is their navigation.
Fingerless Deerskin Gloves
The Fingerless Deerskin Gloves are maximum airflow and bar feel: leather on the palm where grip and abrasion coverage matter most, nothing over the fingers. That is a real tradeoff, and exposed fingers are exposed, but for slow cruising and short summer hops, the fingerless glove has been a fixture of American riding for generations. Know what it gives up and it serves you well.
Vests: The Summer Rider's Layer
Ole Blue Revolution Denim Vest
The Ole Blue Revolution blue denim vest covers the torso against wind chill and morning cool without trapping heat like a jacket, leaves your arms free, and carries patches the way only denim does. When afternoon heat arrives, it rolls into a saddlebag. A black version, the Revolution, runs the same build for riders who want the darker fade.
Black Jack Lightweight Cordura Vest
The Black Jack lightweight Cordura vest is the technical alternative: lighter than denim, quick to shed, and built from tough Cordura fabric for riders who want a minimal summer layer that still reads as riding gear. It is the pick for hot climates where even denim feels like too much by noon.
Putting the Kit Together
A working summer kit for most riders: perforated deerskin gloves for any ride that touches the highway, fingerless gloves in the saddlebag for slow days, and a denim vest over a breathable base layer. Layering is its own discipline in the heat. The full method is in the summer motorcycle riding layering guide, but the short version is to dress for the coolest hour of your ride and shed from there.
If gloves are the piece you are still deciding on, the deeper comparison of vented, perforated, and solid designs in the best summer motorcycle gloves guide is worth the read before you order. Everything above, plus the rest of the summer lineup, is in the full Legendary USA motorcycle gear collection.
What Are the Best Motorcycle Gloves for Summer Riding?
The best summer motorcycle gloves are perforated or ventilated American deerskin, because deerskin is the one common riding hide that does not stiffen after repeated sweat-and-dry cycles, and perforation vents it without turning it into mesh. Three Legendary pairs cover the range of summer riding:
- Highway and long days: the ILL DOZER Outseam Gloves at $135.00. Perforated across the back of the hand and fingers, with outseam construction that moves seam allowances to the outside so nothing chafes across a 400 mile day.
- Everyday summer riding: the Ventilated Touchscreen Deerskin Gloves at $110.00. Ventilation panels plus a touchscreen thumb and index, so it handles heat and still lets you work a phone at a gas stop.
- Town, slow cruising and hot stop-and-go: the Fingerless Deerskin Gloves at $67.50. The most airflow and the most bar feel, with leather still across the palm.
If you buy one pair for summer, buy the ventilated full-finger glove. It is the pair that works on the most days.
What Motorcycle Gloves Are Best for Hot Weather?
Hot weather changes what you should be optimizing for. Below about 80 degrees you are choosing a glove. Above it you are managing heat, and three things start to matter more than they did in spring.
- Airflow through the back of the hand. The back of the hand is where heat leaves. Perforated or ventilated panels there do most of the cooling work, which is why the ILL DOZER Outseam Gloves feels dramatically cooler than a solid glove at the same weight.
- Color. A white or light glove sits noticeably cooler in direct sun than a black one. That is why the Holy Blanco Ventilated Gloves at $110.00 and the ILLEST DOZER White Outseam Gloves at $135.00 exist. On a black-topped afternoon it is a real difference, not a styling detail.
- A dry palm. Sweat is the actual hot-weather safety problem, because a wet palm slips on the grip. Deerskin absorbs and releases moisture better than coated synthetics, so the palm stays usable. This is the argument for wearing gloves in July rather than skipping them.
For pure heat, the ranking is fingerless first, perforated full-finger second, ventilated full-finger third, and each step up trades a little cooling for a little more coverage. Most riders end up owning two of the three and choosing by the day.
Top Picks, Shop Direct
Summer picks are chosen for one thing: how the piece handles a hot afternoon without leaving you uncovered. These four span the summer range, from the coolest and most affordable glove in the lineup to the perforated pair built for highway heat, plus the denim vest that does a jacket's wind job without a jacket's heat.
| Product | Why it fits | From |
|---|---|---|
| Fingerless Deerskin Gloves | The coolest glove Legendary makes and the least expensive way to keep leather on your palms in July. Full airflow across the fingers, full bar feel, deerskin palm. Rated 4.92 out of 5 from 126 reviews. | $60.00 |
| Ventilated Touchscreen Deerskin Gloves | The one-pair summer answer. Ventilation panels handle the heat, the touchscreen thumb and index handle the phone, and it stays comfortable from morning to night. Rated 4.95 out of 5 from 117 reviews. | $120.00 |
| ILL DOZER Outseam Gloves | Built for highway heat. All-over perforation moves the most air of any full-finger pair, and outseam construction keeps seams off your fingers on long days. Rated 4.9 out of 5 from 99 reviews. | $140.00 |
| Legendary Ole Blue Men's Denim Vest | Blocks wind chill in the morning and at speed without trapping heat like a jacket, leaves the arms free, carries patches, and rolls into a saddlebag when the day turns hot. Rated 5.0 out of 5 from 50 reviews. | $65.00 |
The practical summer kit is one ventilated full-finger pair, one fingerless pair for town, and a denim vest that lives on the bike. That covers a hot morning, a hotter afternoon and the cool hour after sundown without you having to choose between comfortable and covered.
Prices shown are current at time of writing. Orders over $150 ship free.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What motorcycle gear should I wear in hot weather?
- Hot-weather riding gear should move air while keeping material between you and the road: perforated or ventilated leather gloves, a denim or lightweight vest over a breathable base layer, and gear you can adjust as the day heats up. The mistake to avoid is riding bare: skipping gloves and layers entirely trades a few degrees of comfort for zero coverage. Summer-specific gear exists so you do not have to make that trade.
- Are fingerless gloves or perforated gloves better for summer?
- Perforated full-finger gloves are the better all-around summer choice because they cool the hand while still covering the fingers, which fingerless gloves leave exposed. Fingerless gloves win on pure airflow and bar feel, and they remain a fixture of American riding for around-town use. A practical split: perforated deerskin for the highway and commuting, fingerless for slow cruising and short hops. Many riders carry both through the summer.
- Is a denim vest good for summer motorcycle riding?
- Yes. A denim vest is one of the most practical summer garments a rider owns. It blocks wind chill at speed and morning cool without trapping heat the way a jacket does, it leaves the arms free, and it carries patches. Over a t-shirt it adds a working layer of fabric across the torso. When the day heats up, it rolls into a saddlebag. That flexibility is why the denim vest never left American riding.
- What is the best leather for summer motorcycle gloves?
- Deerskin is the standout summer glove leather. It stays soft through constant sweat-and-dry cycles where other leathers stiffen, it breathes better than most hides, and it breaks in to a molded fit within a few weeks of riding. Perforating deerskin adds direct airflow on top of those qualities. Goatskin is a tougher, slightly stiffer alternative that also handles heat well. Heavy cowhide runs hot and suits cooler seasons better.
- Do I really need gloves for summer riding?
- Yes. Hands go out first in almost any fall, in July as much as January, and sweaty bare palms also slip on grips and fatigue faster from vibration. Summer gloves exist precisely so heat is not a reason to ride bare-handed: perforated deerskin, ventilated designs, and fingerless gloves all keep leather on the palm while shedding heat. Pick the coverage level you can live with, but keep leather between your palms and the road.
- What are the best motorcycle gloves for summer riding?
- The best summer motorcycle gloves are perforated or ventilated American deerskin, because deerskin does not stiffen through repeated sweat-and-dry cycles and perforation vents it without turning it into mesh. For highway and long days, the Legendary ILL DOZER Outseam Gloves at $140.00 are perforated across the back of the hand and fingers with outseam construction so seams do not chafe. For everyday summer riding, the Ventilated Touchscreen Deerskin Gloves at $120.00 add a touchscreen thumb and index. For town and slow cruising, the Fingerless Deerskin Gloves at $60.00 give the most airflow and bar feel. If you buy one pair, buy the ventilated full-finger glove.
- What motorcycle gloves are best for hot weather?
- In genuine heat, three things matter most. Airflow through the back of the hand does most of the cooling, which is why an all-over perforated glove like the ILL DOZER at $140.00 feels far cooler than a solid glove of the same weight. Color matters too: white deerskin reflects sun instead of absorbing it, which is why the Holy Blanco Ventilated Gloves at $115.00 and the ILLEST DOZER White Outseam Gloves at $140.00 run cooler on a black-topped afternoon. Finally, a dry palm is the real hot-weather safety issue, because sweat makes a bare hand slip on the grip, and deerskin manages moisture better than coated synthetics.
Summer riding rewards the rider who geared up for it instead of stripping down for it. Perforated deerskin on your hands, denim or Cordura on your back, and a plan for the hottest hour of the day. That kit will carry you through August, rally season included, without asking you to choose between cool and covered.