Can a short-cuff glove be Level 2?

No. Level 2 requires a cuff extending at least 50 mm past the wrist line, so short-cuff gloves top out at Level 1 regardless of their materials or armor. A short glove marked 1 KP still has impact-tested knuckle protection.

Is a boot marked 1 2 2 2 weaker than one marked 2 2 2 2?

Not in materials. The first digit only records upper height, so 1 2 2 2 is a short boot that reached level 2 on the abrasion, impact-cut and rigidity tests. The taller boot covers more of the leg, which is a coverage difference rather than a strength difference.

What does KP mean on a glove label?

The knuckle armor passed a standardized impact test. It is optional at Level 1, so a plain 1 means any hard knuckle shell on the glove is untested. At Level 2 the test is mandatory, and labels may print either 2 or 2 KP for the same certification.

My boots are marked EN 13634:2015 — what does that mean?

They were certified to an earlier edition that used a single overall boot level instead of today's four digits. The 2017 revision removed the overall level and made the height digit mandatory, so a 2015-marked label reads differently and cannot be compared digit for digit.

Do WR or SRA marks say anything about crash protection?

No. WR records water resistance and the SRA family records outsole slip resistance, tested on standard wet surfaces. They are useful properties, but the crash-relevant results live in the four digits and the IPA/IPS impact marks.

Updated 2026-07-18

Glove and boot codes: reading EN 13594 and EN 13634

How to read the sewn-in labels on motorcycle gloves and boots: glove levels 1 and 2, the KP knuckle mark, the four-digit boot code, and the optional letters that follow it.

Two labels, two logics

Motorcycle gloves and boots are certified as personal protective equipment under EU Regulation 2016/425, and per notified body SATRA, new gear sold in the EU and UK as protective since 2018 is expected to carry that certification.^[4]^[8] The two standards read differently on the label. Gloves follow EN 13594:2015 and earn a single overall level, 1 or 2, printed beside a motorcycle-rider pictogram.^[3] Boots follow EN 13634:2017 and get four digits instead, each scored 1 or 2 independently — there is no single overall boot level.^[6]^[7] If CE labels are new territory, start with how to read a CE label; this guide covers the glove and boot specifics.

Glove levels: what separates 1 from 2

The level digit summarizes a battery of lab tests, and Level 2 raises the bar on every one of them.^[1]^[3]

Cuff length. Level 1 requires a cuff at least 15 mm past the wrist line; Level 2 requires at least 50 mm — a true gauntlet. A short-cuff glove can only ever be Level 1, whatever its materials.^[1]^[2]
Impact abrasion. Samples are dropped 50 mm onto a moving abrasive belt. Level 1: no sample under 3 seconds, with a mean of at least 4 seconds across four samples. Level 2: no sample under 6 seconds, mean at least 8 seconds.^[1]^[3]
Tear strength. The palm must hold 25 N at Level 1 and 35 N at Level 2; the back of the hand and cuff, 18 N and 30 N.^[1]^[3]
Restraint. The fastened glove has to stay on under a 25 N pull at Level 1 and a 50 N pull at Level 2.^[1]^[4]

Seam strength and blade-cut resistance step up between the levels in the same pattern — the cut index rises from 1.2 to 1.8 on the palm face, and Level 2 adds a 1.2 requirement on the back of the hand.^[1]^[4]

KP: the knuckle mark

KP means the glove's knuckle armor passed a standardized impact test: a 2.5 kg flat-faced striker delivers one 5 J impact to each of the four knuckles.^[1]^[2] At Level 1 KP, no single strike may transmit more than 9 kN and the mean must stay at or below 7 kN; Level 2 tightens that to 5.0 kN for any single strike and a 4.0 kN mean.^[1]^[4]

Reading the label: a plain "1" is a certified glove with no tested knuckle protection — any hard shell on it is untested styling. "1 KP" is a Level 1 glove whose knuckle armor passed. At Level 2 the knuckle test is mandatory, so "2" and "2 KP" mean the same thing; whether the letters are printed varies by certifier.^[1]^[3]

Boot digits: height, abrasion, cut, rigidity

After the motorcycle pictogram and "EN 13634:2017", the boot label carries four digits read left to right: upper height, impact-abrasion resistance, impact-cut resistance, and transverse rigidity. Each is rated 1 or 2 on its own — the 2017 revision removed the old overall boot level — so mixed scores are normal. A "1 2 2 2" boot is short but reached level 2 on every protection test; the leading 1 speaks to coverage, not material strength.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Digit 1 — upper height. Level 1 covers the ankle: the taller of the two measured points falls between 103 and 121 mm depending on shoe size. Level 2 reaches well up the lower leg: 162 to 192 mm by size band.^[5]^[9]
Digit 2 — impact abrasion. Samples are held against a 60-grit belt moving at 8 m/s, with the boot split into two zones. Level 1: 1.5 seconds in zone A and 5 seconds in the more exposed zone B. Level 2: 2.5 and 12 seconds.^[6]^[7]
Digit 3 — impact cut. A blade dropped at 2.8 m/s may penetrate no more than 25 mm for level 1 or 15 mm for level 2.^[6]^[7]
Digit 4 — transverse rigidity. The boot is crushed sideways in a press, with force read at 20 mm of sole deformation: at least 1.0 kN for level 1, 1.5 kN for level 2.^[7]^[9]

The optional letters after the digits

Letter codes may follow the four digits. Each records a separate tested property, marked pass/fail rather than leveled.^[7]^[8]

WR — the whole boot resists water penetration in a standardized wet test; a tested claim, not a lining brand name.^[8]^[9]
FO — the outsole resists fuel and oil, which attack ordinary rubber.^[8]
SRA / SRB / SRC — outsole slip resistance. The test surfaces are generally described as carrying over from general safety footwear — wet ceramic tile with detergent for SRA, steel with glycerol for SRB, both for SRC — though that carry-over is less firmly documented for this standard.^[7]^[8]
IPA / IPS — ankle or shin armor passed a separate impact test; corroborated figures put the transmitted-force limit at 5 kN for the ankle test. The base certification does not require impact armor at all, so these marks are worth looking for; see armor levels for how impact protectors are rated elsewhere on the body.^[8]^[9]
WAD — the insole absorbs little water and dries readily; B — the upper passed a breathability test. Both are comfort claims.^[7]^[8]

Spotting moto-style gear that was never tested

The check is the sewn-in label, not the look. A certified glove carries the rider pictogram, "EN 13594:2015", a level digit, and KP where earned; a certified boot carries the pictogram and four digits.^[3]^[6] Moto-styled gloves and boots with armored looks but no such label make no certified claim — hard knuckles, ankle cups and sliders on unlabeled gear have not been through any of the tests above. Two other things to watch for on the label itself: EN 13594:2002 marks come from an older glove edition with a different level scheme,^[2] and EN 13634:2010 or :2015 boot marks predate the four-digit system — the 2015 edition still used a single overall level.^[5] Our label decoder can walk you through any tag you find, and methodology explains how we handle disputed figures.

Common questions

Can a short-cuff glove be Level 2?: No. Level 2 requires a cuff extending at least 50 mm past the wrist line, so short-cuff gloves top out at Level 1 regardless of their materials or armor. A short glove marked 1 KP still has impact-tested knuckle protection.
Is a boot marked 1 2 2 2 weaker than one marked 2 2 2 2?: Not in materials. The first digit only records upper height, so 1 2 2 2 is a short boot that reached level 2 on the abrasion, impact-cut and rigidity tests. The taller boot covers more of the leg, which is a coverage difference rather than a strength difference.
What does KP mean on a glove label?: The knuckle armor passed a standardized impact test. It is optional at Level 1, so a plain 1 means any hard knuckle shell on the glove is untested. At Level 2 the test is mandatory, and labels may print either 2 or 2 KP for the same certification.
My boots are marked EN 13634:2015 — what does that mean?: They were certified to an earlier edition that used a single overall boot level instead of today's four digits. The 2017 revision removed the overall level and made the height digit mandatory, so a 2015-marked label reads differently and cannot be compared digit for digit.
Do WR or SRA marks say anything about crash protection?: No. WR records water resistance and the SRA family records outsole slip resistance, tested on standard wet surfaces. They are useful properties, but the crash-relevant results live in the four digits and the IPA/IPS impact marks.