I saw the new version of the gloves which looks like they fixed all the sensitive spots and added additional padding and changed the material of the back of the hand plate. I'll let you know how it feels once it's delivered to me!
Don't know if it is the same version, but we handled a pair just a few days ago that were much more stiff than the ones we have. Didn't try them in sparring, so we'll wait for your thoughts!
They made an addon that they sell with the sf impact resistant glove that fits any glove appearently. It seems like it covers the spots that the glove itself doesn't, so im concidering these for sabre. They seem more dexterous than spes heavies because of the split fingers, but more protective than the red dragons im currently using.
SPES HEAVIES are entirely different type of gloves. Can't use a saber decently with SH for exemple. So yeah, you have to trade some protection for agility. There is no way around that. ATM , with all these flaws, SupFen gloves and Thokks are still the best gloves on the market for some weapons in my opinion. I would gladly buy something better, but from what i have seen, there is nothing better
Ive yet to see the addon in real life... I''m curious but a bit skeptical about it. It ressembles the old hand of glory gloves that was sold years ago and is still on the website. If i remember well, it wasnt that great.
I got them as a cheap alternative to hard polymer longsword gloves (I prefer five finger freedom to mittens, and in the HEMA world that comes at a price), and so far haven't been disappointed. Admittedly, they aren't of the _greatest_ quality, and the center hard shell could extend down to where the weak spot on the wrist is, but they are adequate, imo, for light to medium sparring if you're not trying to hand snipe. They're also at a decent mid range cost without having to buy clams, hooves, or $400 Gabriels...
Edit: spelling fixes Good thing I found this review piece. I was about to buy them... Getting good gloves for historical fencing is such a pain in the arse nowadays... I got the red dragon Dreadnaughts instead. Good protection but they need to have the rivets changed every now and then.
Some questions: 1. How would you modify these gloves to be a bit more protective in those areas of concern you've addressed. 2. What do you think about Purpleheart's version with leather covering the exposed areas? 3. Would you say these are at least decent for bolognese and sabre? That's what I'm on the lookout for mainly, and don't want to shell out double the money for a heavy glove I cannot even use because it won't fit in the guard of a sidesword or sabre.
1. Thicker and more resistant leather and/or padding 2. We have nevr tried anything by Purpleheart 3. Decent or synthetic simulacrums but some hits could be painful. Not advised for steel. For the last year we're been using the SupFen master gloves as general gloves for synthetic simulacrums and they've been working fine.
I use them for my off hand in single rapier if I plan on aggressive hand parries. They seem quite good for that. Of course, rapier is the most polite sword to get cut on the hand by.
What would you recommend for spada da lato or saber? I've found these guys bulky for my swords but suitably protective. I have taken a bad hit or two but I haven't found anything more protective that doesn't also make it impossible to hold my swords properly. These ones already struggle for me since I wwar Large size gloves
For synthetic or steel sowrd? For synth we're currently pretty satisfied with the SupFen master gloves, while for steel Thokk's turned out to be more protective than these, although just as bulky and more expensive.
Pretty harsh review... These gloves are one of the best 1H gloves on the market. Unperfect? Yes but they are as good as Thokks for half the price. What is better for saber or 1H at this time? Not much. Having 5 fingers mobility and perfect protection is something that will never exists. Can't have it all :( Been using these for more than a year now and never got any big injury. It does not matter if you can "feel" a hit. What matters is the protection against serious wounds. Do you have a pair of gloves for 1H that is better than this? Because i can see in a lot of your videos people using gloves even less protective like RD or Kevlar light gloves The only thing i could not try yet are the gloves from HF Armory ....
Those of us who use Thokk gloves said that the SupFen are less protective, not too much, but enough to be noticed at the first use. We don't study saber so we can't comment on that, but we've heard from more than one person that they are satisfied by the SupFen, which is good to know. Again, as already stated in the video, it's not like they don't ptoect at all, but they have significant flaws that could lead to injuries, especially when using steel blades. Talking about injuries, you say that you "never got any big injury", does it mean you actually got injuried using them?
@@saamfvg some hits did sting a little, if hitting some of the weakest spots indeed. Same with Thokks really, but you might be right in saying that Thokks can be slightly better at protection some parts. I can get on with that but it's not a huge difference No gloves on the market can protect you 100% from injury. What i like about these and Thokks is that the protection is "good enough", "nearly all the time" while preserving agility. I can't use a 1H sword without that agility. I can use my longsword with big bulky clamshell gloves like spes heavies, but i cannot do that with a saber or broadsword for exemple. At this time, i don't think it is possible to create gloves that will protect you 100% without impairing your ability to handly your weapon correctly (wrist movements for exemple..., and freedom to position your fingers correctly on the blade). For many years, everybody used Red Dragons because there was nothing better. Nowadays, we have much better options like Thokks and Supfen impact gloves. I think it will be many years before we get something better.
