The Zackees turn signal gloves review is the task we have taken up today…
This led turn signal bike lights gloves review is long overdue overdue however (for an awesome piece of technology that has redefined the very concept of cycling and has brought back the glory and prestige that the bike once had).
In view of the above, this review will be super detailed and will leave no stone unturned…every bit of detail that you should know and understand will be sufficiently covered here.
As it is usual too, be sure that this review is completely unbiased – since this is an independent (3rd party) review site and we have nothing in common with the company, Zackees.
Shall we proceed?
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Zackees Turn Signal Bike Gloves Review: An Executive Summary
Cycling gloves have been around for a pretty long time.
However, the concept of bike gloves with turn signal is a relatively new idea. This idea has been tested, run and popularized by Zackees, a company (and idea) headed by Zach Vorhies, a former Google engineer and cycling enthusiast.
The led gloves themselves, to be fair and honest, are like any good traditional pair of cycling gloves that can be found in the market.
However, the distinguishing features that put it in a unique league of its own where it rules supreme include:
- Its led turn technology that actually indicates to traffic the direction a cyclist wearing them wishes to turn.
- The unique switch that controls the led turn signals.
- The powering mechanism that makes certain that you have the power to actually activate the lights. In this case, it is a set of rechargeable coin batteries that actually come with a charger and can last well beyond a week (of heavy use) and 3 weeks (of moderate-light use).
The Zackees turn signal light gloves, are without doubt, the clear market leader when it come to led turn gloves.
However, you do not need to take our summary for it, kindly read the super detailed review we have put up and then, decide for yourself.
Let’s proceed.
Pros Of The Zackees Led Turn Bike Gloves
Carefully mentioned below are the pros of the Zackees led turn cycling gloves.
These are the points that endeared me to the product and I trust, will also make you fall in love in no time 🙂
- The led turn gloves are actually machine washable. This means that, you can wash your dirty gloves right in the washing machine without any fear of damage.
- The quality of the textile the glove are made of is top notch; being largely made of breathable Mesh Lycra Spandex and reinforced leather. This will certainly ensure that you use your gloves for a long time to come.
- The Zackees led riding gloves are super bright and cannot be missed even on a very bright day, thanks to the 54 lumen LED’s deployed. It is thus ideal for both day and night use.
- The rechargeable coin cell batteries are both long lasting and quite small. This is quality and convenience combined.
- The switch for activating the LED turn indicators is quite easy to reach and operate, being placed between the thumb and index finger. This makes the whole process of use and operation super easy.
- The Zackees turn signal gloves for cyclists is also fashionable and futuristic. It is well ahead of its time and the respect they ensure for their riders is out of this world.
Now, the cons…
Cons Of The Zackees Led Turn Bike Gloves
Like all great things, this excellent led gloves have some cons or drawbacks that we sincerely believe would have made the pair of gloves better were they absent.
These are:
- The signal is only ‘one way’. It would have been smarter (for single lane roads) to also have the turn indicator in the palm. This way (like a true car), incoming traffic would also be duly notified of turn intentions.
- The battery compartment is open and prone to sweat. If not properly dried up after use (especially when used in the tropics or humid regions), corrosion sets in. A better, closed design would avert this.
Here you are: two cons 🙂
First Things First: Why Do You Even Need Cycling Gloves In The First Place?
If you are not a seasoned cyclist or one who has used gloves when cycling and understands their importance, it is easy to ask why you even need them in the first place.
This is completely understood.
However, after understanding the importance of cycling gloves, it would be natural to seek to know exactly what to look out for in gloves, dedicated for this purpose, whether they are led powered or not.
The next paragraphs are completely dedicated to this.
Why You Need Cycling Gloves
The temptation to go cycling without a pair of dedicated cycling gloves is great, especially if you are uninitiated into the reasons why cyclists use them or are a brand new cyclist.
However, as a seasoned cyclist, here are my reasons why you need dedicated bike gloves, with or without the turn signal or led technology.
Here:
1. To aid in breaking a fall…should there be need: bicycles do not come with seat belts 🙂
This means that, an accident that implicates either an impact or a slip will mean that you’ll be dislodged off your bike completely.
When this happens, the first – and natural instinct is to open your palms so that you break the fall and suffer less.
This reflex, survival instinct is natural and in most instances, will reduce the damage that reaches other parts of your body.
However, without good biking gloves on; you may be wounded/hurt beyond your wildest imagination especially if the road surface is hard or particularly rough.
So, riding gloves first serve as a safety measure/guard.
2. Gloves help keep the palms warm, especially in cold weather: Cyclists use their bikes all year round, irrespective of the weather…
…great chances are that this is your usual cycling pattern too.
This means that, you’ll be riding your bike both in winter (if you live in the temperate regions) or harmattan (if you happen to live in the tropics).
During such cold periods, your cycling gloves will be your companion and you’ll particularly appreciate this Zackees turn signal bike gloves review and smile 🙂
The primary reason why you need to protect your hands/palms during cold weather is that, unlike the legs, they do not turn and activity is very limited for them. In such a condition, it is only natural that cold takes over 🙂
3. Gloves drastically reduce the pressure on your ulnar nerve: this is pretty simple and straightforward.
With a thick barrier preventing the pressure from from the handle bar from being easily transmitted to the upper arm, your ulnar nerve is saved, especially when you are particularly on a rough road and the bicycle you are using is not fitted with shock absorbers.
When this happens, you are sure to prevent the numbness that follows when the ulnar nerve is tickled perpetually. Gloves are thus a smart way of ensuring that you do not loss feelings in your arms/fingers when you go cycling.
This is especially true when the road is rough and the bike is not particularly suited to tackle on the challenges of the rough road.
4. Gloves also dampen general finger vibrations: no matter how beautifully fitted a bicycle is, it is still a bike – and will cause you to suffer your hands generally due to the vibrations of the handlebar.
Like the immediate point above, this also causes general numbness of the fingers and hands, a situation which good gloves can easily help arrest.
Sadly, if gloves are not deployed, such numbness can easily affect the whole hands. This will make them lose feeling and easily slip off the handlebars.
If such a reality is ever to be yours, you’ll be experiencing an accident straight that could have been nicely prevented with a simple pair of gloves.
5. Cycling gloves can also save you from blisters: if you are a cyclist (and have been cycling for some length of time), you’ll agree that it is quite easy to develop blisters when riding…
…especially, for long distances, using touring bikes.
Riding gloves thus provide insulation between your hands and your bike’s handlebars, ensuring a firmer grip and overall, ensuring that you sail through a blister free riding experience.
6. Riding gloves also help preserve your handlebars/grip: this is simple and very straight to the point.
Sweat is a source of corrosion, as nothing it comes in contact with for any reasonable period ever stays the same again.
This is the same with a bicycle’s grip and handlebars: holding them with sweaty palms is a sure way to guarantee corrosion.
This will certainly reduce the value of your bike when you wish to trade it in or will reduce it’s general aesthetic value. Both scenarios are completely unpleasant and uncalled for.
With gloves however, you can easily remove them and wash – completely dispensing of the dampness and salt that may have accumulated on them.
Isn’t this a smart reason why you should wear gloves when you mount your bicycle?
What To Look Out For When Buying Cycling Gloves
Having detailed out why you need cycling gloves in the first place, it is instructive next to face, squarely, what you need to consider when picking up your pair of gloves.
The following points are important to take note of, if you are to pick the best riding gloves that will serve you for years to come:
- Gloves manufactured with thick and durable textile;
- Riding gloves that are made of materials that are also absorbent (so that the sweat from your body will be nicely contained);
- Gloves that fit you closely (this means, the manufacturer needs to make the gloves available in different sizes if this is to hold) &
- Gloves that are easily washable (after all the sweat accumulation, you’ll need to select gloves that can easily be washed).
Fortunately, the Zackees LED turn signal riding gloves meet all the standards set above:
First, the materials that the gloves are made of is highly and can easily last years, even with daily, vigorous use. Remember, the material is Lycra Spandex and it is reinforced with exceedingly durable leather.
Second, the gloves are highly absorbent – and have no challenge soaking the sweat emanating from your palms, irrespective of the sweat you generate.
Third, the Zackees gloves come in 5 awesome options for all hand sizes (not the traditional 3): X-small, small, medium, large and X-large. Getting your fit will thus not be a problem at all.
Last, the Zackees led riding gloves are not only washable, they are MACHINE WASHABLE.
You can thus be rest assured that after a hard morning/day of cycling, you can easily, drop the pair of gloves right in the washing machine together with the other laundry and get them back out in a giffy looking new and superior 🙂
General Features/How The Zackees LED Turn Biking Gloves Work
The Zackees LED turn gloves are equipped with a 54 LED indicator panel that blinks when they are activated by the revolutionary and unique activation plates.
These plates are placed between the thumb and index finger and a single click activates them.
The strategic position of the activation plates ensures ease of use and makes the process of igniting the turn indicators super easy, especially when you, the rider decides to keep you hands still on the handlebar grip as you attempt to indicate a turn.
To turn off the indicator, you only need to touch back the activation plates and the indicators goes off. However, if you happen to forget, the system is programmed to shut itself down after a reasonable time after each activation.
This built in protection system guards against both accidental touches and also covers situations when you, the rider, may have forgotten to switch off the system after having activated it directly.
The whole unit is powered by two rechargeable coin cells that are easily removable and can last for a whole week of intensive use.
The unit comes with an extra pair of coin batteries and a charger is also standard. The charger is meant to restore juice back to a weak/dead pair of batteries and the extra pair of batteries are meant to ensure continuous use of your gloves when the other pair is either recharging or spent.
The material of the gloves themselves are made up of reinforced leather, which largely covers the palm. The other parts of the gloves is made up of breathable mesh Lycra spandex.
Zackees Turn Gloves Alternative: Anything To Rival Them Yet?
Developed in late 2013, the Zackees riding gloves were introduced to a market that had hitherto seen nothing like them before, save the LED turn signal reflective jacket 🙂
However, it is clear that competition in this area is quite slow as no other company has presented anything near the original concept of Zackees.
If you are thus looking for an alternative to this turn cycling gloves, you may need to wait a little longer…because, at the moment, there is none.
Sorry for the bad news 🙂
Winter Cycling Gloves: Does Zackees Make Them Too?
This is a super valid question, especially since you will need to use your bicycle (and cycling gloves) during the winter too.
The Zackees brand of cycling gloves also have a winter edition that covers all the fingers and are made to resist snow and the elements.
Accordingly, they are completely waterproof and additionally, are designed with very thick leather that is capable of withstanding the typical snow scenario as is obtainable in the Western hemisphere.
All you need to do is to select “winter black” when you proceed to checkout on the order page at Amazon.com. There, you will be presented with the winter variant of this model of cycling gloves.
It’s as easy as that 🙂
Suggested Improvements To The Zackees LED Turn Gloves
Earlier, we pointed out two major cons to this otherwise awesome riding gloves:
- The open battery compartment &
- The one way placement of the LED indicators.
First, the open battery compartment gives way to sweat and other unwanted elements easily.
Inside, corrosion takes place quickly and rust becomes standard.
The manufacturer of these gloves, if it is serious, should close up this space in a subsequent update so that the battery chambers will not be exposed to various corrosive elements as is the case with the present model in the market.
Second, the one way placement of the LED indicators means oncoming traffic is completely excluded in the overall scheme of things and may not take proper notice of you, when you attempt to negotiate a turn as a cyclist.
This is not supposed to be so. An awesome traffic turn/indicator ‘indicates’ to both incoming and outgoing traffic without any effort or ado. However, this is not the case with these gloves, at least not without some serious efforts on the part of the cyclist who already has to contend with traffic.
This shortcoming can be achieved by positioning some bright turn indicators right in the palm of the gloves.
This way, both outgoing and incoming traffic will be served in the most brilliant of manners. Safety would also be enhanced – right to very appreciable levels.
We therefore wish to see some serious improvements with these in the future.
Our Opinion: Should You Buy The Zackees Cycling Gloves?
Yes – if you can afford it.
Being without competition of any sort, we have painstakingly looked at the gloves themselves before we decided to publish this ‘Zackees turn signal bike gloves review’.
Aside the two minor cons we have indicated right above, we are confident that these gloves will not only save your life, they will do so both with class and utmost sophistication 🙂
What else can one ask for, especially when the gloves are ultra durable and are engineered to last forever?
How We Reached Our Verdict
Reaching the verdict above wasn’t easy – and we had to rely on a ton of realities to come to the conclusions we did.
First, we tested the gloves ourselves and were completely satisfied with their performance.
Second, we asked for the first hand opinions of friends and acquaintances who are also using the same cycling gloves &
Finally, we took a look at the reviews of other users online and summed them up both against our personal experience and the experience of our friends and acquaintances.
The result is what you have before you right now: the most comprehensive Zackees turn signal bike gloves review ever published anywhere online.
Final Words
Our world is in dire need of innovation, especially innovation geared towards safety and life preservation. That is why, Venture Beat rightly opined that the Zackees LED cycling gloves are the best thing to happen to cyclists right after the helmet.
We completely agree with them and it is on the strength of our agreement that we recommend the Zackees bike gloves with turn signal 100% to you, the minor cons it has notwithstanding.
We are very optimistic that you will find these gloves the singular best safety investment you’ll make relating to cycling right after the purchase of your bicycle directly.