Friday, 20 February 2009
Weight Lifting Gloves
Boy have I had a hard time finding a pair of weight lifting gloves! My previous ones were simple leather Saranac gloves, not much padding but they lasted for several years. The leather eventually rotted out forming huge holes. But I can definitely say that the Saranac gloves were awesome.
Now onto the replacement. I tried four different types of gloves.
Harbinger 143
Harbinger 1260
Harbinger 1215 Big Grip II
GoFit Diamond-Trac
The Harbinger 143 gloves were OK. They didn't have too much padding, but fit very snug and were difficult to get off. Also, the fingers were short.
The Harbinger 1260 and 1215 were both unusable due to having too much padding in the palm and knuckle area. The padding is comfortable for pressing exercises (e.g. bench press), but makes it all but impossible to do pulling exercises (e.g. pull ups, curls, deadlifts, rows, etc.). You can try them yourselves, but save some money and take my word for it.
The GoFit Diamond-Trac gloves are the best of the bunch for my needs. They have a little padding in the palm, but not enough to interfere with your grip. They are lightweight, so I'm not sure how long they'll last, but I'll reserve judgment on that. They do make my hands sweat, because the neoprene on the back doesn't seem to breathe well. They run a little larger in size than the other gloves. Also, I like that they have a finger tab to help you pull off the gloves.
Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful. Harbinger Pro FlexClosure Wash & Dry Glove (Black, Medium)
I recently started casually lifting at the gym. After getting into heavier weights, I found that my limits were more based on what pain my hands could take from holding the metal weights and bars, instead of what my muscles could lift. So I bought these gloves and couldn't be happier. Now I can focus on lifting the weight rather than worrying about my hands getting torn up.
I'm new to weight lifting, but even for light to moderate weights these gloves make a big difference.
I'm sure other gloves would do the trick too, but these had a great price and look. They run small, so order a size up if you're uncertain.
I am satisified with these gloves. However, I had to cut the area between the ring finger and index finger because it was sewn too closely. When my hand was in the glove that area bit into my hand. I am uploading a photo so can see what I am talking about because I may not be explaining myself very well :)
Other than that I like the gloves. They smelled of heavy chemicals when I got them. Just FYI, you might want to wash them with your unimportant laundry to get the toxic smell out. I did not wash mine. And these gloves do not turn my hands black. That's nice.
Had I first tried them on at Sports Authority I may not have bought them. But after making the small cuts in the gloves they perform fine.
I am a Gym Rat, working out 4+ times a week for 2 hours a day. I do about 1 hour of free weights then 1 hour of Cardio. My last pair of Harbinger Gloves were stolen from me at the Gym while I showered. They were $40 Harbinger Model 1250(Grey colored,with wrist straps). I loved those gloves, but I did not want to spend another $40 for gloves I may lose or have stolen, so I found these on Amazon for under $15(Harbinger Model 143,Natural). I am very pleased with these gloves. The color natural was better looking in person than in the pics. While these did not have wrist straps, they were as nice as the 1250 Model. Very Well Made, Great Job Amazon!!!! Comfortable and Durable. I have been buying weight lifting gloves for over 20 years, and these can hang with the best. I take a large and these were true to size. Also NO Bleeding from Dye inside the gloves that stains your hands after you sweat the first few times you use them. Also these gloves keep your hands cool while you lift, making your gloves less likely to smell of sweat after you take them off. I apply some talcum powder to my hands before I put the gloves on. And the gloves look and smell very clean. I was very impressed with the stitching, it was very obvious that these were not cheap gloves. I would expect to pay at least $30 for these gloves, not $13.49!!! So I truly felt that I got a bargain. I may just buy another pair at this price as a backup pair. So if you are on the fence about buying , and need a quality, affordable pair of workout gloves, I can't see you going wrong with these.
These gloves can be found Online or at some Sporting Goods Stores, though you won't find as cheap as Amazon is selling them for. I don't know if this is Amazon's normal price??, or if the $13.49 was just blind luck on my behalf??
I hope this review helped.
I've used Harbinger gloves in the past, and recently got these. But I had to return them because the stitching at the wrist near the label pulled away after two wearings, and it seems like other parts of the stitching will do the same soon. They were also very small; I got an XL based on my prior pair being XL, but these felt like M or L.
These are great gloves! I have no complaints about them, but I do think I should take a moment and address a common complaint that almost kept me from buying them. Several people have commented that the gloves run small. These complaints are frankly idiotic. These people have obviously never owned anything made of leather. NEWS FLASH -- it stretches! Yes, the gloves are small and do pinch at first, but after about a week's worth of wear at the gym they fit perfectly. There's no reason to order one size too big, because if you do you run the risk of them being too loose, which would cause them to rub and cause blisters, which is the whole point of buying them in the first place!
Buy these gloves in the right size, and if you have more patience than a preschooler you'll love them!'
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