Driving gloves are an essential part of driving, and if you’re not using them, you should be—regardless of what or how you drive. Gloves give you greater control of your car, reduce hand fatigue, provide comfort in extreme weather, and they act as a barrier between your hand and your car’s interior to protect it from the oils and sweat that will degrade it over time. Plus, they look cool, and you’ll look cool wearing them. And most cars have a built-in place to store them from the factory, it’s called a glove box. Whether you’re on a race track, a spirited drive through some back roads, or just running to the grocery store to pick up a gallon of milk, you need to be wearing gloves.

Over a decade and a half ago I bought my first pair of driving gloves at Nordstrom. They were the store brand and had the classic look of full leather, tiny holes in the fingers, holes for the knuckles, and a button strap around the wrist. The display table was full of these gloves in three different colors: black, brown, and a yellowish tan. But there was one pair, and one pair only, that was a slightly different color—somewhere between the yellowish tan and brown colors, I’d call in cognac. I loved the color, and I’m guessing it was probably a mistake as the table had hundreds of gloves, with just about equal amounts of each color, except for this one pair. It probably didn’t get the right amount of dye to make it brown. Luckily, they were my size, so I bought them. They’ve been great gloves, but after I got my 308 GT4, I thought it was time to treat myself to some new gloves (after all, my Nordstrom gloves were 16 years old now).

Driving gloves are surprisingly hard to find in stores. I don’t know if that’s normal or due to covid or if I just don’t know where to shop. Admittedly, I haven’t shopped for gloves in a very long time, when I bought my Nordstrom gloves I wasn’t even looking for a pair, I just saw them at the store and had to have them. And I’m not really a fan of going to stores and trying anything on that someone else may have just handled. The internet was where I turned, but it’s also weird to buy anything I may wear that I haven’t actually felt or tried on in person. I was completely dependent upon ratings and reviews, lists (like “top 10” style lists), and product descriptions. But first, I thought of what I liked best about my store-brand Nordstrom gloves. I thought they were soft, I loved the classic look, and their color, but above all I liked the way they fit.

Unlike winter gloves, there was no space between the end of my fingers and the inside tips of the gloves. There was no excess play in the leather, so no weird deformities or shapes were present when wearing them. They fit as if they’re really just an extra layer of skin. I wanted to find gloves this good or better. After a few days of scouring the internet, I decided on a pair of “Triton Driving Gloves” from a company in Spain called Café Leather. The color is called “Roasted” (though I think most manufacturers would call them Cognac), and they sported the classic look I was going for. I received them very fast, and from the moment I opened the box, it was clear they were of high quality. However, there was a bit of a problem…

This is why I don’t like buying gloves, or anything I wear, online. The gloves were €120 ($135 USD) and the reality is they don’t fit right. They met all the other requirements, they were very soft—so soft, in fact, they made my Nordstrom gloves feel like cardboard in comparison. They were the right look, right color, everything. They just didn’t fit right. The Café Leather website offers a size chart and shows you how to measure your hand so that you order the right size. I did this, but somehow, the gloves are just a bit too large. There’s gaps between my fingertips and the inside of the gloves, there’s too much excess material in the palms so when I move my thumb it creates unnatural folds in the leather. Despite their good quality and excellent materials, they just don’t fit. Unfortunately, I can’t return them as I opted for the “personalization” (a €20 ($23 USD) option) to have “308” on the strap of my gloves. I literally threw away €140 ($158 USD) on ill-fitting gloves.

Alas, I started my quest again. In my previous searches, there was a style that I had noticed, and had even seen a few times on the hands of other drivers, but had never really seriously considered. What I saw were “stringback” gloves and they were popular throughout the 1950s and 1960s amongst racing drivers. The leather palms and fingers would keep a good grip on the wooden steering wheels of the time, and the back of the glove was string which would keep their hands cool and dry. I was always on-the-fence as to whether or not I liked the look of stringbacks, but I was definitely starting to fall to the “like” side of that fence. Then I found the “Heritage” stringback driving gloves from The Outlierman.

The Heritage gloves were $250 gloves, which was considerably higher than what I paid for the Café Leather gloves, and my Nordstrom gloves were only $35 (of course, that was 16 years ago). If these “Heritage” gloves didn’t fit, then I’d be out over $400 on two pairs of gloves. I mulled this over for a few days, but couldn’t shake it. The whole theme of The Outlierman is all about motoring accessories. They’re not a clothing company that makes driving gloves, but rather, they’re a fine automotive accessory company with a genuine passion for driving. Using their measuring system, I ordered a pair of these gloves and waited with bated breath for them to arrive.

The gloves arrived from Italy very fast and the packaging was beyond impressive. The gloves were wrapped in a delicate tissue inside a very nice custom made leather pouch. I pulled the gloves out and they were stunning to see in person, and somehow even softer than the Cafe Leather gloves (which were impressively soft). I slid them on and they… (apologies in advance) fit like a glove. This is the way gloves are supposed to fit. They’re perfect, my fingers reach the ends so there’s no extra material bunching up when you try to pick something up, there’s no play in the palms, it forms to the shape of your hand. The first time I drove with these gloves on, they settled in and adapted to their new environment, almost as if they’re a living organic life-form that knows the job it needs to perform. The stringback kept my hands cool and comfortable, which was perfect for summer driving in a vintage Italian car with vintage Italian car air conditioning. These gloves are so unbelievably soft, it felt like I wasn’t wearing any gloves at all but I was getting the full benefits that come from wearing gloves. Where have these gloves been all my life?

A couple of years later, I still use my stringback gloves while driving the 308 GT4. I still use my Nordstrom gloves when driving my other, normal cars. However, I did find myself longing for the classic full leather style of my Nordstrom driving gloves, so I took another look at yet another pair of gloves. Since I had such a great experience with The Outlierman, I looked there and found a pair of bespoke peccary leather driving gloves. These are limited edition gloves, hand made, and crazy expensive at $640. I did have a generous birthday coupon sent to me from the company, so I decided to treat myself for my birthday. Just like the Heritage Stringback gloves, these arrived super fast and in the same quality packaging. They felt incredible to the touch, but when I put them on they were just a bit too snug. I contacted the company and they immediately facilitated an exchange for the next size up. That would have arrived just as quick as the initial order, but DHL dropped the ball on that and got them to me almost four weeks later. Regardless, once they arrived they were as perfect as good be. The look, feel and performance of these gloves is second to none. These quickly became my favorite driving gloves.

It’s worth noting that The Outlierman also excels in customer service, I was constantly informed of the status of both of my orders and when I asked questions, a response was quick and friendly. When buying from an online store for the first time, you’re almost always put on that store’s mailing list, and this was the case with The Outlierman as well. However, I was sent some emails about things that were actually interesting (not the typical junk you get from most others). Most of them had to do with driving rather than trying to sell me something. They’ve earned me as a customer for life, I’m that impressed with their product and their customer service. So if you’re looking for driving gloves, I can’t recommend The Outlierman enough. If you aren’t looking for driving gloves, then you must have a pair already. And if you don’t have a pair of driving gloves… why not?