Gloves for sparring

[Corrmick]

Hmm, would it be possible to have these links updated or removed at some point? A good 50% of these links are broken currently.

My wife is considering getting the Gate Mayhem gloves due to the overlapping fingers, but to me they just don't seem heavy duty enough for steel sparring like my Warrior Superfreak 2 Gloves are. Are the Gaits the same gloves used by numerous people in the GHFS videos?

[ShaunnM.W.]

My wife is considering getting the Gate Mayhem gloves due to the overlapping fingers, but to me they just don't seem heavy duty enough for steel sparring like my Warrior Superfreak 2 Gloves are. Are the Gaits the same gloves used by numerous people in the GHFS videos?

No - those are not the gloves in the videos - The ones you are thinking of are the Brine Supercrosse and though the look similiar - there is one HUGE difference. The Brine's have hard plate's over the padding. The Gait's have just padding, and it makes a big difference.

[Magnus Hagelberg]

some are actually Gaite. But I would steer clear for the same reason as mentioned above. you need the hard shell.

[tabiris]

I've decided to pool up my resources and bought these babies:

http://sparringglove.com/offer.php

They did cost me quite a lot (180 eur), and have not used them all that much yet, since they're not even a week old - however, the protection they provide is superb. Also, thumb mobility is very, very good. I received a newer model, which has some extra padding and a more mobile thumb (it's connected to the rest of the glove by a band - it seemed silly at first, but it does work), and i honestly don't think i'll be sorry I decided to spend so much money on them.

If you guys wish, i can also post some pics. But not today, time is short.

[bigdummy]

I had a chance to try out the gloves that AEMMA uses a couple of weeks ago, and they were remarkable. They are home-made leather gloves, with a stiff hour-glass shape for the hand, but articulated thumb and fingers made of overlapping scales, all of quite thick leather. They were less bulky than my brine supercrosse, close to the same weight (maybe a little heavier) and I was hit in the hand several times with an aluminum waster without feeling a thing. My only critique is that the top finger doesn't have any side of the finger protection.

But I'd say they are the best gloves I've personally seen so far.

BD

[Magnus Hagelberg]

not of the shelf then I suppose.

Pictures otherwise or it didn't happen

[Hugh]

this may well have been considered and subsequently discounted before but has anyone tried Kote (kendo gloves)?
I've never examined a pair close up so have no idea about gaps in the protection etc. Obviously they should be ok for use with shinai.
Maybe synthetic sparring swords too?

Just a thought.

[admin]

They have been tried. Unfortunately they don't work well, for a variety of reasons. The cuffs are very stiff as they cut from the elbow and shoulder more than the wrist, the padding is not really enough for nylons and because they are formed in a gripping shape, they are rubbish for any sort of grabs or disarms.

[Motley]

I had a chance to try out the gloves that AEMMA uses a couple of weeks ago, and they were remarkable. They are home-made leather gloves, with a stiff hour-glass shape for the hand, but articulated thumb and fingers made of overlapping scales, all of quite thick leather. They were less bulky than my brine supercrosse, close to the same weight (maybe a little heavier) and I was hit in the hand several times with an aluminum waster without feeling a thing. My only critique is that the top finger doesn't have any side of the finger protection.

But I'd say they are the best gloves I've personally seen so far.

BD

This is what I use and have fro about 2 years now. I'll see if I can dig out some pictures, I used to have some online but I think I removed them. I use them with steel swords, I think they are made out of 12 oz leather slightly hardened.

The only problem is they are handmade by one guy in his spare time and pretty labour intensive so he goes though phases where he makes them and phases where is doesn't.

Dan.

[Motley]

Not a good pic but here you go from when they were new.

[Dithyrambus]

Mike Cartier posted these gloves over at the HEMAA forum, they seem a decent glove for light sparring with longsword and rapier (my primary need at this time) and certainly reasonable in cost. Anyone ever tried these, is so, thoughts?

http://www.amazon.com/Mechanix-SHD-91-0 ... B002XISTXC

[Sven1]

Mike Cartier posted these gloves over at the HEMAA forum, they seem a decent glove for light sparring with longsword and rapier (my primary need at this time) and certainly reasonable in cost. Anyone ever tried these, is so, thoughts?

http://www.amazon.com/Mechanix-SHD-91-0 ... B002XISTXC

these are oil rig worker gloves, also suitable for mechanics. they provide some protection from cuts, scrapes, preasure with shar and edgy tools etc. but offer no protection from impact. I use them as a base glove for steel gauntlets. if you want to use these alone you're asking for it...

[admin]

Mike Cartier posted these gloves over at the HEMAA forum, they seem a decent glove for light sparring with longsword and rapier (my primary need at this time) and certainly reasonable in cost. Anyone ever tried these, is so, thoughts?

http://www.amazon.com/Mechanix-SHD-91-0 ... B002XISTXC

These are very interesting - a lot of US Amazon stock is not practical to buy from the UK (and in some cases not available for international purchase), but out of interest I went through the process of preparing an order for these and even with shipping and handling the total came out at £32... very interesting!

[Hugh]

they don't look like they have much padding...

[Hugh]

and on the subject of gloves:
Lacrosse gloves seem to be an excellent compromise at this time... But I have no experience with them.
Sizing is of some concern. I have perfectly good forearm protection so need sizes for some gloves which fit well on the hand (rather than sizes based on how far up the arm they go).
I have pretty average sized (adult male) hands... Any recommendations? 10"? 12"? 13"?

Many thanks,
Hugh

[snowcelt]

One thing from Swordfish this year is that lacrosse gloves don't cut it with steel swords. Not sure if the official report is out yet .For regular training they might be ok though. However, they seem to be fine for nylon swords. Just a thought. It will be interesting to see if the gloves used by Hema-ites will change by Dreyn or SWASH, etc. The Ensifer ones look the biz even if they're expensive. I'd consider it a good investment though.

[admin]

they don't look like they have much padding...

Steel gauntlets have no padding. Padding is not the be-all and end-all of protective clothing. It may well be that the right choice for HEMA gloves is hard plates and very little or no padding. One of the problems with lacrosse type gloves is that they are massive and have lots of padding, yet they still don't protect the hands in all the ways that we would want.

[admin]

I have pretty average sized (adult male) hands... Any recommendations? 10"? 12"? 13"?

13"

10" are for girls and children.

[admin]

The Ensifer ones look the biz even if they're expensive. I'd consider it a good investment though.

And this is the crux. YOU might find them worth the money, I might find them worth the money, but until they are a price that the majority of our club members are willing to pay they are pretty much irrelevant. I would not be able to convince more than one or two people in my club to pay that much for a pair of gloves, so for all practical purposes they don't exist for us.
Sooner or later (and I hear it is getting sooner) there will be a pair of affordable HEMA gloves available. In my view Ensifer are shooting themselves in the foot by not grabbing the market right now by mass-producing a version of their glove at a reasonable price. They are going to loose all their potential customers to someone else.

[Dithyrambus]

they don't look like they have much padding...

Steel gauntlets have no padding. Padding is not the be-all and end-all of protective clothing. It may well be that the right choice for HEMA gloves is hard plates and very little or no padding. One of the problems with lacrosse type gloves is that they are massive and have lots of padding, yet they still don't protect the hands in all the ways that we would want.

I tried on a few pairs of lax gloves at a local sporting goods shop, couldn't bring myself to spend from $60.00 - $100.00 for gloves so bulky and lacking in protection, little square pads on the fingers but with plenty of space in between for a blade to slip into. The oil rig gloves seem a reasonable amount of protection for light (friendly) sparring and drilling, though perhaps not a good choice for free-play or tournament use. I would like to have a pair of Ensifer gloves, but like most I simply cannot afford them.