Gloves for sparring

[Roger N]

We are switching to these in GHFS now, since the Brines are out of stock. They are quite good and some even think that they are better than the Brines, although I'm not sure I agree. Unfortunately these too are not produced any more.

Also, since some of the advanced fencers are moving towards more full contact with steel, a few Ensifers are being ordered right now. Apparently, they are the best.

[Axel]

Someone put this link up a while ago...

http://laxworld.com/catalog/product/id/CODM

Question is, were they any good? Anyone know? Because the price is pretty damn good.
Good enough that i'd consider getting a few pairs as an "it'll do for now" stopgap measure.
Advice, anyone?

For that price I'd wager they'd work alright...mind you the size seems a bit limited.

The major downside with these is that they don't have the hard plates on their fingers like the Brines have.

[craftyfighter]

Someone put this link up a while ago...

http://laxworld.com/catalog/product/id/CODM

Question is, were they any good? Anyone know? Because the price is pretty damn good.
Good enough that i'd consider getting a few pairs as an "it'll do for now" stopgap measure.
Advice, anyone?

For that price I'd wager they'd work alright...mind you the size seems a bit limited.

The major downside with these is that they don't have the hard plates on their fingers like the Brines have.

hmm...well that sucks

[Roger N]

Well, then again, if you are thinking of the "unbreakable" plastic that protected the knuckles, that cracked the first week I used my Brines, which actually made them a bit dangerous to my opponent. I haven't really noticed being hurt more with the Gaits, although it could also be because I protect my hands better, or because fewer opponents target the hands right now.

But, there are more gaps on the back of the hand on the Gaits and that can be dangerous if you spar with steel that have no cap for the point.

Also, the thumb has no "scales", like the rest of the fingers do, which is odd and unfortunate.

Looking at the price and the alternatives they are a good option, but they are certainly no perfect solution, so when sparring with people who wear these you need to keep that in mind, as with most gloves today.

[Hugh]

Some useful information. Thanks.
The lack of hard-shell finger protection is a shame but presently we're just sparring with nylon wasters so hopefully not too much of an issue.
A bit of modification could always happen...
I'm much more inclined to take a needle and thread (and some cuir bouilli) to a pair of gloves which only cost €20 than to a pair which cost five times that.

[Fab]

Some useful information. Thanks.
The lack of hard-shell finger protection is a shame but presently we're just sparring with nylon wasters so hopefully not too much of an issue.

Nylon wasters broke 3 fingers (or 3 different people) in a single morning last Summer in Germany - and some of them had heavy gloves.

[Hugh]

i know the feeling. I've had a finger broken (or at least damaged badly enough to cause permanent disfigurement)... twice. same finger.
Whatever new gloves i end up with, a bit of reinforcement on the 2nd knuckles is a must!

[Axel]

Well, then again, if you are thinking of the "unbreakable" plastic that protected the knuckles, that cracked the first week I used my Brines, which actually made them a bit dangerous to my opponent.

No I was not thinking about the knuckles, I was thinking about the fingers.

[Roger N]

OK. Didn't know there was a hard shell in the fingers as well... But, the Brines certainly have a better protection with sturdier padding and a bit wider coverage over the invididual fingers. Wish mine didn't get ripped apart the way they did...

[Axel]

OK. Didn't know there was a hard shell in the fingers as well... But, the Brines certainly have a better protection with sturdier padding and a bit wider coverage over the invididual fingers. Wish mine didn't get ripped apart the way they did...

Yeah there is, the overlappping finger scales has some sort of hard plate over a soft material in them, that is what allows them to take some punishment from steel. Wider cover on the sides would be ideal though.

[Hugh]

still waiting for Gait gloves to arrive, and finding my fingers/knuckles being hit often while working on certain techniques, I bodged together some hand protection which proved very effective for nylons.
It's simple and cheap. While it's not too pretty, it's effective and fairly quick to make.


using an old pair of motorcycle gloves, i cut a slit across the back of the hand (close to the wrist) and inserted a piece of camping mat in the same shape at the back of hand and fingers area.
I then cut up a cheap faux leather belt (€3 or so) and put a panel across the knuckles. Using the same belt, I slid finger-wide strips into the index finger and fore finger. in order to prevent these finger panels from twisting, i cut two slits across each finger and laced the leather out, over the knuckle and back in again.
The finger strips are long enough so they reach the middle of the back of the hand when relaxed and still extend beneath the knuckle guard when making a fist... so no gaps and plenty of protection to the knuckle area.

the result was effective protection of 3mm thick hard-ish leather on top of 7mm foam padding.

I only did the first two fingers on my right hand as that was the risk area for last night's training but the extra fingers will only take 5 minutes.
on my left hand, i just used the foam padding and only bothered doing the hand and, to make sure it worked ok, the wrist.
again, time was short and they were made for a specific training session but i'm pretty happy with the result.
They are a bit stiff. The gloves feel like they're a size smaller due to the padding so ideally I would have used gloves which were a larger size than my normal.

will upload some pics as soon as possible.

[admin]

Hi Hugh, could you make this a new thread in the main forum please. It's very interesting, but this is the reviews section, and this isn't really a review of a product.

[Hugh]

Apologies!
Will do... of course... reviews. ahem.

[admin]

Nick just told me that these gloves are good:
http://www.uklacrosse.com/warrior-lockd ... i2740.html

[admin]

Nick also recommends these for inside the thumb and little finger of gloves:
http://www.millichampandhall.co.uk/acat ... ories.html

[admin]

Nick just told me that these gloves are good:
http://www.uklacrosse.com/warrior-lockd ... i2740.html

Paul in SG1 has bought a pair of these and we got a look at them last night. They are really good - they have better padding, a hard plate protecting the end of the thumb and they have hard plastic plates on top of the finger padding. The edges of the index and little fingers still don't have much protection, but slightly more than the cheaper gloves.

All in all I would say these are well worth their price and a big improvment on the Tempo2 type gloves. They are not hugely bulky, but seem to give a lot more protection. The only obvious downside that I could see was that the plate for the end of the thumb can conflict a little with a sabre guard (although only a bit), but you'll be very glad to have that plate with medieval style hilts!

[Hugh]

sounds promising. How's the thumb mobility? can it manage a german thumb grip?

[admin]

I think so, yes.

[David Rawlings]

Had a look at some o these on Tuesday, the student who has them says the mobility is fine (for thumbing the flat).

[admin]

Yep.
To be more detailed - the end of the thumb has a sort of curved hard plastic plate added. If you are holding a sabre hilt with the thumb up the backstrap then this pushes against the underside of the sabre guard, which means you have to move your hand a little further down the grip to accomodate it. The plate does not however restrict the thumb from making contact with the surface of the grip in any way - it just projects at the end. Hence it does not mess with a Liechtenauer style thumbing the forte at all.