The Giro Monaco II Gel Gloves are Giro’s second iteration of a glove than does no wrong. It is generously padded, well ventilated, soft, durable, and washable. If padding is important to you, then the Monaco II should be a no-brainer. Giro has sewn in padding for the heel, the knuckles, and the thumb. It’s their 3mm Technogel cushion, which is dense, with the right mix of squish and support, and stays soft over time. There are three sections of padding, one in each piece of their three-piece palm construction. Giro realized that, for many gloves, padding gets bunched up and too big. So they split it up into three regions to pad what actually contacts the bar. The padding is sewn into soft, supple, durable, and washable Pittards natural leather. It feels nicer when you pull it on, it feels nicer when it gets sweaty, and if it gets too soaked with sweat, you can always wash. Air dry, please. The back is made of a four-way stretch mesh. Coverage enough that you don’t need sunscreen, but venting enough that you’ll barely notice its there. The thumb is covered in microfiber. It might not be polite to admit, but the thumb is what most use to wipe their nose while riding. And this material is soft and gentle on skin. Velcro does the securing. The Giro Monaco II Gel Gloves are a stalwart because they protect well and look good.