Glove Recommendations

[BretMan]

Wellphyt,

To answer your questions...

The Nokona Diamond Heart gloves likely were being produced in the Mass. plant. That plant opened a few years ago when Nokona entered into a partnership to expand their production capabilities. Unfortunately, that deal has fallen through and that plant was plagued with quality issues. Nokona was recently purchased by Cutters, the football glove company. It is my understanding that they intend to move all production back to Texas.

The "deerskin" lining on gloves is not actually made from deer hides. Look closely at the ads and you'll see that these gloves use "deer-tanned cowide". "Deer tanning" is a leather tanning process for creating very soft, pliable leather- like deerskin, but not made from deerskin. This creates a lining that is supposed to be more comfortable to the hand, but it won't be as durable as thicker, conventionally tanned leather. Using a deer-tanned cowhide lining also aids in the break-in process, without having to sacrafice by using thinner, softer leather in the outer shell of the glove. I use a Rawlings glove with a deer-tanned cowhide lining and it feels fine to me. I also take good care of my gloves, so I haven't seen any deterioration in the lining. But I wouldn't expect a deer-tanned cowhide lining to take the same wear and abuse a thicker, heavier leather would.

Of the gloves you listed, personally I prefer the Rawlings HOH. But that is a personal preference! I have used Rawlings gloves for many years. They just seem to fit me better. The A2000's are great gloves, but for whatever reason the fit just doesn't feel as good to me. Of course, that's just me and every person is different. The Worth gloves I've had a chance to try on feel good and seem well-made. Then again, Rawlings bought the Worth brand several years ago! Many of their gloves are made with the same materials Rawlings uses, and some of the same technology- they're just made in different plants.

 

[Wellphyt]

Wellphyt,

To answer your questions...

The Nokona Diamond Heart gloves likely were being produced in the Mass. plant. That plant opened a few years ago when Nokona entered into a partnership to expand their production capabilities. Unfortunately, that deal has fallen through and that plant was plagued with quality issues. Nokona was recently purchased by Cutters, the football glove company. It is my understanding that they intend to move all production back to Texas.

The "deerskin" lining on gloves is not actually made from deer hides. Look closely at the ads and you'll see that these gloves use "deer-tanned cowide". "Deer tanning" is a leather tanning process for creating very soft, pliable leather- like deerskin, but not made from deerskin. This creates a lining that is supposed to be more comfortable to the hand, but it won't be as durable as thicker, conventionally tanned leather. Using a deer-tanned cowhide lining also aids in the break-in process, without having to sacrafice by using thinner, softer leather in the outer shell of the glove. I use a Rawlings glove with a deer-tanned cowhide lining and it feels fine to me. I also take good care of my gloves, so I haven't seen any deterioration in the lining. But I wouldn't expect a deer-tanned cowhide lining to take the same wear and abuse a thicker, heavier leather would.

Of the gloves you listed, personally I prefer the Rawlings HOH. But that is a personal preference! I have used Rawlings gloves for many years. They just seem to fit me better. The A2000's are great gloves, but for whatever reason the fit just doesn't feel as good to me. Of course, that's just me and every person is different. The Worth gloves I've had a chance to try on feel good and seem well-made. Then again, Rawlings bought the Worth brand several years ago! Many of their gloves are made with the same materials Rawlings uses, and some of the same technology- they're just made in different plants.

BretMan - thanks for the reply. I didn't know that "deerskin" was actually deer-tanned cowhide. Also didn't know that Rawlings owned Worth. I bought my daughter a Louisville Slugger TPS about a year ago and she is getting some bad brusing on her palm in the usually place. When I bought it, it felt like it had pretty decent padding, but it's not doing the job now. So I'm thinking of getting her a higher quality glove.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

getting some bad brusing on her palm in the usually place.

I was lax during a lesson this summer and got hit in the palm. It is no fun to have that bruise. Rest was the only thing that helped it.

I own a lot of gloves and mitts and none have padding in the palm. I just missed the ball and didn't get it in the pocket. Check your DD's glove and see if the pocket is large enough for the ball and if the glove is broken in correctly.

 

[BretMan]

A lot of people ask me about the padding in a glove, usually in relation to a ball stinging the hand. You might be surprised to learn that the typical glove has no padding at all in the palm area!

I've disassembled a lot of gloves to repair them and what I usually find inside the palm area is...nothing. The typical fielder's glove has nothing but the thickness of the outer shell leather and the thickness of inner lining coming between the player's hand and the ball. Some (but not all) catcher's mitts and first base mitts might have a thin piece of leather sandwhiched in between, or maybe a thin piece of felt. On well used catcher's mitts, it's not unusual to open them up and find that the thin layer of padding is disintegrated.

What seems to happen with most gloves is that, as they are used, the repeated smacking of the ball in the palm compresses the leather there, causing it to become thinner. So you start out with little protection in that area and, over time, whatever protection was offered by the shell itself diminishes. This can be an even bigger problem with gloves that are designed for easy break-in, that come with thinner, pre-softened leather.

Some gloves do come with a small "shock pad" in the palm, usually right where the index finger rests, but certainly nothing like the thick felt padding you find in the heel, thumb or pinky areas. That can help take out the sting, but I've seen those pads wear out and become less effective. If gloves did have thick padding in palm, it would make them much more difficult to close, the player might lose some of the "feel" for the ball and it could also create a problem with "rebound" as the ball bounces off the padding.

Some of the problem can be how the glove happens to fit on the player's hand and where the player happens to catch the ball. Depending on the the size and fit of the glove, the sensitive part of the player's hand might or might not just happen to lie right in the pocket where the ball smacks. The fit of the glove can make the difference between the ball smacking right at the base of the index finger, resulting in a bone bruise, or hitting more near the fingertip where it isn't nearly as painful.

If the ball hurting your hand is a big problem, there are products out there that can help. Wearing a regular batting glove can help and there are even batting gloves with extra padding added just for this purpose. There are gel pads with adhesive backing you can cut and fit into your glove yourself and even padded "sleeves" that slide over the fingers that you can buy. One of the repair services I offer is to open up a glove and add extra padding inside, then lace it all back together to hold it in place.

One more old trick: You can try placing two fingers in the pinky slot of the glove, then sliding the other finger over one slot, leaving the index finger slot empty. This can move the index finger away from the pocket just enough to keep it from being hit. This can also have the added benefit of creating a larger pocket area in the glove. It can also help increase the "squeezing" leverage of the hand, making it easier to open and close.

 

[Wellphyt]

Ok...I'm learning all kinds of stuff here.

The pain is at the base of the index finger. X-rays are negative. IMO it is brusied or she has soft tissue damage. I've seen the bruise guard gloves that look like batting gloves. Problem is that the TPS gloves have narrower finger stalls to fit a female hand so wearing a batting glove underneath makes the fit too tight.

She never had this problem until we bought this glove. We downsized from a 12 1/2" to a 12" because she is playing Shortstop. The 12 1/2" seemed big.

I will have her try moving her fingers over. I just tried it and it seems like a possible short term solutions.

Thanks for the help, you guys/ladies are great.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

We downsized from a 12 1/2" to a 12"

I personally never use a glove smaller than 13 inches in softball. It is sometimes hard to fit a 12 inch ball in a 12 inch glove. I don't personally think that a small glove is as important in softball as it is in baseball with a 9 inch ball.

As long as her glove has good loops for the little finger and thumb, she can handle a big glove. You may need to adjust those, so that a bigger glove fits her better.

With a small glove she probably is getting nailed with the ball on that fatty pad of her finger. I shoved a small kitchen sponge in there, that I cut to fit. Sponge is almost the wrong word. It is round and is for cleaning and it is blue with a microfiber clothe. Of course, rest was the best cure.

Good luck.

 

[softballdad97]

I have used the two fingers in the pinky part of the glove for nearly forty years and have noticed that a great deal of professional ballplayers do the same. I used to stick the index finger out of the glove method till I was about twelve and I dove for a ball and nearly broke the index finger. Wound up with a heck of a sprain and never stuck it out again, I went to the two finger method and never looked back. The two finger method increases the size of the pocket, positions it just enough so that when the ball slams into the pocket that the index finger does not bear the brunt of the force and helps to wrap the glove around the ball quicker. When using a catchers mitt I employ a two and two method with the empty index finger slot, it works great.

 

[Perfect Circle]

One more old trick: You can try placing two fingers in the pinky slot of the glove, then sliding the other finger over one slot, leaving the index finger slot empty. This can move the index finger away from the pocket just enough to keep it from being hit. This can also have the added benefit of creating a larger pocket area in the glove. It can also help increase the "squeezing" leverage of the hand, making it easier to open and close

i like it!!!