Is the Troy Lee Designs Air glove worth it for MTB and MX?

How the Air glove's mesh and cuff actually work

The whole glove is built around one decision: cut everything that isn't airflow. The top of the hand is micro mesh, not a padded panel, which means air moves through the glove instead of around it. That's the mechanism, and it's the same reason a mesh jersey beats a heavier one on a hot lap: less material between your skin and moving air means less heat trapped against it. The cuff is where they spent the weight budget instead. It's a double sided lined, compression molded cuff, so it holds its shape at the wrist without adding bulk to the rest of the glove, and that's what keeps a light glove from feeling floppy when you're gripping hard. There's no armor plate on these knuckles and no reinforced palm panel in the spec sheet, and that's not an oversight, it's the same design call as the mesh top: this is a warm weather, moderate impact glove, not a gravity or downhill glove. The ambidextrous, touch screen compatible build is a small convenience layer, useful for checking a trail map mid ride, but it doesn't change what the glove is built to do. Sizing runs true to a standard hand chart, which matters more here than on a padded glove, because a mesh glove that's loose does nothing for you and one that's tight restricts the exact airflow you bought it for.