HOM Glove review

[Ordway]

Did the first real test of the glove last night. Several hours of bouting plus a lesson. Observations:

1. Man, the black stuff coming off the rubber is a real annoyance. Even though I'd washed the glove once, my hand still turned black, and it is leaving purply-black prints on my sabre grip.

2. The padding seems to really work as advertised! I got at least one solid hit to the thumb and didn't even feel it! Yay! The density of the padding does really seem to absorb the shock of the hit very effectively.

3. The grippy texture was fine, actually I think I might like it. (Other than the smudge issue...)

4. The fingers felt a bit too tight (probably because the material is thicker. I felt that my hand was a bit squashed at first. I might suggest a very slightly looser cut. But not too much, since then the glove will be bulkier. Actually, just lengthening the fingers would probably help quite a bit, since that would relieve a bit of the tension from the end of the fingers to the main part of the hand, and it wouldn't feel so tight.

5. Flexibility seemed quite good.

6. It seems to handle sweat differently than my other glove. Not sure exactly how (will pay more attention on Thursday). It didn't get soaked through like my other glove usually gets. However, I seem to recall my fingers slipping a bit inside the glove. When you put in the liner, I recommend using something that is slightly absorbent and non-slippery (i.e. don't line it with nylon.)

It felt a bit too snug and a bit awkward in the first half hour or so, but then it felt good. Got a lot of interest from other club members. The prevailing opinion was that the purple color looked like a Power Rangers glove, but that blue would look very nice.

A foilist (Heidi Runyan actually) tried it out briefly and liked the idea. She commented that she thought it would be a good idea to have the padded material (the kind that the fingers are made of, not the extra-heavy padding) also used in the area where the thumb joins the back of the hand. As it is, there's a gap where the only material is the one layer of black grippy type material, with no padding. She said that she'd like to see the protection there too, as she could see getting hit there.

Will report back more later... might not be right away. If the glove works out well on Thursday night I'll be using it on Saturday at the Boardwalk, but since I'm flying out on Friday & leaving directly from work, I may not have a chance to post intermediate comments.

[Purple Fencer]

Did the first real test of the glove last night. Several hours of bouting plus a lesson. Observations:

1. Man, the black stuff coming off the rubber is a real annoyance. Even though I'd washed the glove once, my hand still turned black, and it is leaving purply-black prints on my sabre grip.

Working on that...probably gonna put in a liner.

2. The padding seems to really work as advertised! I got at least one solid hit to the thumb and didn't even feel it! Yay! The density of the padding does really seem to absorb the shock of the hit very effectively.

YAY!! That's what I wanna hear!!

4. The fingers felt a bit too tight (probably because the material is thicker. I felt that my hand was a bit squashed at first. I might suggest a very slightly looser cut. But not too much, since then the glove will be bulkier. Actually, just lengthening the fingers would probably help quite a bit, since that would relieve a bit of the tension from the end of the fingers to the main part of the hand, and it wouldn't feel so tight.

I think it may be just your hands, Holly...I was getting complaints the OTHER way...that the fingers were too long. Actually, what was happening was teh fit at the thumb was right on, but it left a little gap where the fingers meet the hand. I just suggested a fix to my maker...waiting for him to get back to me on that.

6. It seems to handle sweat differently than my other glove. Not sure exactly how (will pay more attention on Thursday). It didn't get soaked through like my other glove usually gets. However, I seem to recall my fingers slipping a bit inside the glove. When you put in the liner, I recommend using something that is slightly absorbent and non-slippery (i.e. don't line it with nylon.)

So noted...

It felt a bit too snug and a bit awkward in the first half hour or so, but then it felt good. Got a lot of interest from other club members. The prevailing opinion was that the purple color looked like a Power Rangers glove, but that blue would look very nice.

A Power Ranger?? *snort* LOL!

A foilist (Heidi Runyan actually) tried it out briefly and liked the idea. She commented that she thought it would be a good idea to have the padded material (the kind that the fingers are made of, not the extra-heavy padding) also used in the area where the thumb joins the back of the hand. As it is, there's a gap where the only material is the one layer of black grippy type material, with no padding. She said that she'd like to see the protection there too, as she could see getting hit there.

Yeah...I know the Runyons. I was afraid padding in the area she talked about would hinder flexibility...but I'm running some new test models in the future and will give that a shot.

Will report back more later... might not be right away. If the glove works out well on Thursday night I'll be using it on Saturday at the Boardwalk, but since I'm flying out on Friday & leaving directly from work, I may not have a chance to post intermediate comments.

Great! Looking forward to it! Thanks!

[Purple Fencer]

Remember when I showed you my glove earlier? I had to restitch a part of it because it came loose during a saber bout one night. The portion that came loose resembles the piece of grip material you have on your glove, as shown. How much practical testing have you done on the different grip pattern? While I have seen your glove firsthand, and definetly believe it to be a superior product, I'm a bit uneasy about the pattern because when that bit of material came loose on my current glove, I ended up getting a nasty blister on my thumb, which ended up effecting my game for about a week afterward.

About the only way I can get any real product testing is from people like Holly Ordway or others who have purchased the glove...I could do testing personally, but I prefer to get feedback from real world use.

[Ordway]

I think it may be just your hands, Holly...I was getting complaints the OTHER way...that the fingers were too long.

Really? I find it hard to believe that my fingers are a good 1/4 to 1/2 inch longer than everybody else's... but that's how much extra fabric is above the actual connection between my finger and my hand.

One thing I noticed is that with the extra thickness of the glove material, there's more "substance" to the fingertip seam. So it does feel that the finger is projecting a bit further out than it does with a thinner glove.

I compared my Uhlmann glove to this one. It looks like the Uhlmann might be very slightly longer in the fingers, but not enough to account for the difference in fit. I think that the difference is that your glove's thicker material, being folded into the tips of the fingers, reduces the available empty space for the finger itself.

That would account for both MY perception (fingers too short) and the OPPOSITE perception (fingers too long) - the space inside is smaller, but the space taken up by the solid fold of material at the tip of the finger is longer.

Thinner seams might address this. Or have the heavy glove material stop slightly before the final joints of the four fingers, so that the fingertips as well as the underside of the hand is made of the thinner palm material.

[Purple Fencer]

Right...but next time you put the glove on, notice the thumb/hand junction. If that junction is tigth against the glove, but the fiungers still have that gap, then I've already advisxed my maker of a possiblt solution...just move the thumb about 1/2 cm closer to the fingers.

What's happening in the thumb stops the glove from going on further.

Still working on it...if you come to teh Citrus Open April 30, show me so I can see if I understood corectly.

[Ordway]

Right...but next time you put the glove on, notice the thumb/hand junction. If that junction is tigth against the glove, but the fiungers still have that gap, then I've already advisxed my maker of a possiblt solution...just move the thumb about 1/2 cm closer to the fingers.

What's happening in the thumb stops the glove from going on further.

That would make sense if I had the gap at the base of the fingers AND at the tip. But what actually happens is that my fingers go all the way to the end of the finger - pressing up against the fabric - and there's still like 1/2 an inch of "webbing" between one finger and the next. Can you visualize what I mean?

Still working on it...if you come to teh Citrus Open April 30, show me so I can see if I understood corectly.

I won't be there, alas. I'll be at PCCs, though.

[Purple Fencer]

That would make sense if I had the gap at the base of the fingers AND at the tip. But what actually happens is that my fingers go all the way to the end of the finger - pressing up against the fabric - and there's still like 1/2 an inch of "webbing" between one finger and the next. Can you visualize what I mean?

Ahhhh yes...got it now. Will work on it.

I won't be there, alas. I'll be at PCCs, though.

Which I WON'T be at,,,but you've clarified.

[hpfencing]

Yeah...I didn;t notice that until after they'd been recieved. I'll have a white liner put into the next run. That as well as a lesser amount of the rubber should cut that down a bit.

On the washing...cold water and hang dry so you don't shrink the padding.

Aside from that...how'd it work?

Will the liner be sewn into the glove?

[Purple Fencer]

Will the liner be sewn into the glove?

Yeah....it's all sewn together.

[Ordway]

Fenced Thursday night's practice plus a whole tournament using the new glove. Overall impression is definitely positive.

Key points after further use:

1. Thankfully, the black rubbing off is dying down... I think. It is still doing it a bit, but much less so than the first couple of uses.

2. The flexibility is good. I pretty much forgot I was using this glove and not the limp Uhlmann one, while I was competing.

3. Final verdict on the grippy texture is that I like it. It adds control but doesn't feel sticky. I also suspect that it will not "pill" like the fabric on my Uhlmann glove, and so it will probably be a whole lot more durable, since the first wear point on the other glove is the thumb where it meets the grip (the fabric pills and then wears through).

4. Shock absorption seems to be working as advertised. Fortunately, there were no brutes or Conan clones in the tournament (a women's event) so it was not tested severely, but I do have a lot more confidence that the typical stop-hit to the hand is NOT going to hurt.

5. It seems very breathable, surprisingly. Even after a hard day's fencing it barely felt damp with sweat, not soaked like my glove usually is. Neat.

Overall, I definitely like it. If I were to give grades, I'd say my previous glove (the Uhlmann washable) was a C for protection and an A for fit; this one is an A for protection and a B- for fit. Looks like it wins out, but I will also be looking forward to seeing what the next iteration is like. Hopefully even better! In the meantime though, I am going to keep using this glove for both practice and competition, yay.

[mrbiggs]

Overall, I definitely like it. If I were to give grades, I'd say my previous glove (the Uhlmann washable) was a C for protection and an A for fit; this one is an A for protection and a B- for fit. Looks like it wins out, but I will also be looking forward to seeing what the next iteration is like. Hopefully even better! In the meantime though, I am going to keep using this glove for both practice and competition, yay.

This one is $25 rather than $40, though, which would be my main incentive for choosing it over other types.

[Ordway]

This one is $25 rather than $40, though, which would be my main incentive for choosing it over other types.

I suspect the pronouns weren't clear in my final paragraph... I meant that I am going to be using the HOM glove. (The fact that it is cheaper too is a nice bonus.)

[mrbiggs]

I suspect the pronouns weren't clear in my final paragraph... I meant that I am going to be using the HOM glove. (The fact that it is cheaper too is a nice bonus.)

Yeah, I understood you, I was just emphasizing the bonus.

[Purple Fencer]

This one is $25 rather than $40, though, which would be my main incentive for choosing it over other types.

I REALLY don't like overpricing my own gear. If you're gonna be paying $50-$60 for a glove, it better damn well have something special to it. With an H.O.M. product, you're NOT paying for the name of the brand.

I probably could get away with going $35 or $40 on the Armor One, but I want to make it easy to get it out into use, and a higher proce on a relatively unknown brand may drive people away.

A $60+ glove from me would be the Armor 800 when it finally comes out...but the actual price will depend largely on the cost of the material.

And an update there...I had a sample made with Dyneema from the wrist to fingertips, but had some flex problems at the finger/hand junction...looks like the material's too thick/stiff for use in that area.

Now...I COULD go spandex in between the fingers and it'd probably work allright, but I'd be leaving the finger webbing open to injury. The maker advised me that they're testing out a new ballistic material that is thinner and more supple than the current Dyneema, but it didn't quite reach 600N.

I'm getting a sample and REALLY hope they can increase to 800+N...I'll keep everyone advised.

And back to the Armor One...I sold about 5 of them between the SoCal Wuals yesterday and the Citrus Open today. one guy doping sabre got a whack on the thumb abd didn;t feel a whole lot.

VINDICATION!!!

[Inigo_Montoya]

A $60+ glove from me would be the Armor 800 when it finally comes out...but the actual price will depend largely on the cost of the material.

And an update there...I had a sample made with Dyneema from the wrist to fingertips, but had some flex problems at the finger/hand junction...looks like the material's too thick/stiff for use in that area.

Now...I COULD go spandex in between the fingers and it'd probably work allright, but I'd be leaving the finger webbing open to injury. The maker advised me that they're testing out a new ballistic material that is thinner and more supple than the current Dyneema, but it didn't quite reach 600N.

I'm getting a sample and REALLY hope they can increase to 800+N...I'll keep everyone advised.

I think the new ballistic material sounds great even if its not 800N. It would nice to be 800N but even 600N would be a huge improvement over the current durability and protection of gloves out there. A glove made out of this material would be great for epee. I would pay for a glove that would not get worn out as quickly as other gloves do. I go through an allstar glove every 6-10 months (at $40 a pop, it adds up). This ballistic material sounds very promising.

[Purple Fencer]

I think the new ballistic material sounds great even if its not 800N. It would nice to be 800N but even 600N would be a huge improvement over the current durability and protection of gloves out there. A glove made out of this material would be great for epee. I would pay for a glove that would not get worn out as quickly as other gloves do. I go through an allstar glove every 6-10 months (at $40 a pop, it adds up). This ballistic material sounds very promising.

I agree, but I'm aiming for the eventuality that FIE may require an 800N glove (I have NOT heard anything about this -- not even from Dan DeChaine -- I'm just planning ahead). That way, if it happens, I'll already have a proven product and will only have to pay for homologation of the material (ouch!) and any design changes mandated by the FIE. If I go for a 600N version now, I may find that the 800N material causes difficulties...instead, I'm finding those difficulties now, so I won't be in a rush later.