Rapha's epic cap is awesome. I got the black one with the white stripe, and I love it. They don't mention it on their site, but the white stripe is reflective (not just because it's white). I bet those gloves will last.

pearl izumi. i have the full finger gel race lites. they are nice.

I like my Specialized Body Geometry gloves. They have a lot of padding at the base, where the nerves are. Padding is minimal elsewhere for a good grip and road feel.

I'm on my second pair, it's a great glove. But I am really looking for a glove that has armor for going through auto glass, and it should grip necks well too.

I usually wear motorcycle gloves for that very purpose. I did have some $50 dollar ones that lasted for a year, before the fingers got holey and they reeked. I bought a pair of Joe Rocket Super Moto gloves, but can't recommend them. They have a nice gel insert on the palms, but the material they used to cover it didn't last a ride. It looked like it was made of cotton balls. I seen people recommend Cutters football gloves, especially the linebacker/runningback gloves.

I've ridden with Thor and Aplinestar gloves for a while. They've got little to no padding, but the palms grip cork tape or grips nicely. The MX gloves with the padded backs are nice for mountain biking, or just about anything. I've been shot across the back of my hand and knuckles with a paintball gun while wearing them and didn't get a welt. If you're into that whole kevlar thing, you can pick up a pair of sport gloves for about half the price of the bike-specific version. They don't have the terrycloth snot rags, but whatever.