Sprawl
11-30-2007, 09:38 AM
Battram Nexus Gloves - Initial Review.
After a few uses I think its safe to write up the first review of the Nexus glove combo i purchased.
What i ordered: Stock Nexus gloves with Fury Graphics to match my pads. I know so little about the differences in gloves and didn't need anything in particular. I did have a few requirements. I needed to be able to Close the glove, handle a stick, and it to be protective.
The ordering process was easy. I sent Scott the necessary PM's. Filled out the web based form for Tischa and the next thing i know, My gloves are being worked on. Even with the extremely short production time scott has (Unmatched anywhere i've seen), It's impossible to wait when you know the product will be so damned cool!
Scott Shipped the gloves on Wednesday last week Via Canpar. And lo and behold, Friday afternoon when I returned home from work was this box all wrapped up with a "from BATTRAM" sign. Christmas came early! I ripped the box to shreds to get inside. Their they were. Shiny new Gloves.
First note when i first picked them up. I have never had gloves that looked this good before. I don't mean the graphics either. I mean the professionalism and the quality looked Pro level. The stitching was immaculate and there wasn't a loose thread to be seen. Opening them up, you see the true level of build quality.
The inside of the catcher offers a plethora of options and strappings. The first thing i noticed was that inside the Catcher, your hand fit snuggly into a "glove" inside it. It appears to be made of a elastic like material (Neoprene?). On this glove there are two straps. one on the back of the hand and one nearer to the fingers that are both velcro and highly adjustable to tightness. They made the catcher when adjusted right feel like they "Fit like a glove". Perfect to my hand. Backhand protection is also very thick and durable and never seems to get in the way. There is another wrist strap to adjust the tightness on the wrist plus the wrist protective "wrap" i guess it's called is velcro and can be tightened and loosened.
First wear I did notice that the glove itself was incredibly stiff. Out of the box, closing it was hard. There is a break in there, but the materials are so thick that it was stiff. I spent about 3 hours from the time i got home till when i went to pickup hockey just opening and closing, Opening and closing for hours. (Unfortunately had to take it off to eat though!). I was afraid break in time would be weeks. However, I put a lot of weight on the closed glove and kept it in my bag for a day between plays, and now i can open and close the glove flawlessly
The Blocker itself is i think the best part of the combo. Besides looking absolutely amazing. It is comfortable as hell! This being my firts glove with a real sidewall, first couple wears I was having problems. I kept getting it cought on my C/A And couldn't quite get the hang of moving it around. Thats when i noticed that the sidewall and the size of the wrist can be completely resized. Instead of being sewn into a hard size, It is again velcro adjustable. Loosening this allowed me to get the right angle and right size for fitting my C/A perfectly. However this doesn't loosen the glove itself on the hand as there is aditional adjustment on the wrist itself to allow the glove to fit perfectly still. The blocker fits comfortably on the hand and i have full range of motion.
The feel on the blocker is different than i've felt before. The palm features a thick padding that at first i thought was pathetic and going to get in the way. By the 2nd use it was proving to be helpfull to my game. it allowed me to quick change my grip on the stick faster allowing for faster poke checking and quicker stick manuevers.
Stick handling with the blocker and catcher is great. Immediately i was able to grasp the stick and start getting some decent movement of pucks. The blockers ability to give wide range of motion of the wrist and hand position on the stick plus the catchers angles allow for some decent shots and Everyone i've played with has noted my confidence and ability to handle the puck has improved drastically in the 4 games i've now played with them.
I am more than pleased with the protection on the gloves. Having never owned a set of pro gloves before (Bauer Seniors, Sherwood 9960s) i got used to feeling every shot that hit the palm region of the catcher or the backhand of my blocker. And in the case of my Bauer's actually being caused pain and injury. These gloves will stop a bullet and you won't feel them. I Can barely feel the shots I've had so far. Pucks just hit the blocker and go exactly where i expect them too. Catcher is a little harder to get a feel on for catching, but so far the pocket has swallowed the shots it needs too, And the wrest were easily out of harms way. I'm getting used to the smaller glove size, as coming from an extra large pocket to a Spec one is definately a large adjustment for me. So far with the early review (4 ice sessions) i'm loving the gloves. I can't think of a single thing to complain about right now. And unlike other gloves i've had, When i smother a puck, It creates a "perfect seal" around the puck and have not yet had a single puck squirt out from under. A definate bonus when people like to push and take those last couple chops
Great product. Great Service, Great People.
I know the post was long but thanks for reading.
I will upload new photos of the internals tonight!
After a few uses I think its safe to write up the first review of the Nexus glove combo i purchased.
What i ordered: Stock Nexus gloves with Fury Graphics to match my pads. I know so little about the differences in gloves and didn't need anything in particular. I did have a few requirements. I needed to be able to Close the glove, handle a stick, and it to be protective.
The ordering process was easy. I sent Scott the necessary PM's. Filled out the web based form for Tischa and the next thing i know, My gloves are being worked on. Even with the extremely short production time scott has (Unmatched anywhere i've seen), It's impossible to wait when you know the product will be so damned cool!
Scott Shipped the gloves on Wednesday last week Via Canpar. And lo and behold, Friday afternoon when I returned home from work was this box all wrapped up with a "from BATTRAM" sign. Christmas came early! I ripped the box to shreds to get inside. Their they were. Shiny new Gloves.
First note when i first picked them up. I have never had gloves that looked this good before. I don't mean the graphics either. I mean the professionalism and the quality looked Pro level. The stitching was immaculate and there wasn't a loose thread to be seen. Opening them up, you see the true level of build quality.
The inside of the catcher offers a plethora of options and strappings. The first thing i noticed was that inside the Catcher, your hand fit snuggly into a "glove" inside it. It appears to be made of a elastic like material (Neoprene?). On this glove there are two straps. one on the back of the hand and one nearer to the fingers that are both velcro and highly adjustable to tightness. They made the catcher when adjusted right feel like they "Fit like a glove". Perfect to my hand. Backhand protection is also very thick and durable and never seems to get in the way. There is another wrist strap to adjust the tightness on the wrist plus the wrist protective "wrap" i guess it's called is velcro and can be tightened and loosened.
First wear I did notice that the glove itself was incredibly stiff. Out of the box, closing it was hard. There is a break in there, but the materials are so thick that it was stiff. I spent about 3 hours from the time i got home till when i went to pickup hockey just opening and closing, Opening and closing for hours. (Unfortunately had to take it off to eat though!). I was afraid break in time would be weeks. However, I put a lot of weight on the closed glove and kept it in my bag for a day between plays, and now i can open and close the glove flawlessly
The Blocker itself is i think the best part of the combo. Besides looking absolutely amazing. It is comfortable as hell! This being my firts glove with a real sidewall, first couple wears I was having problems. I kept getting it cought on my C/A And couldn't quite get the hang of moving it around. Thats when i noticed that the sidewall and the size of the wrist can be completely resized. Instead of being sewn into a hard size, It is again velcro adjustable. Loosening this allowed me to get the right angle and right size for fitting my C/A perfectly. However this doesn't loosen the glove itself on the hand as there is aditional adjustment on the wrist itself to allow the glove to fit perfectly still. The blocker fits comfortably on the hand and i have full range of motion.
The feel on the blocker is different than i've felt before. The palm features a thick padding that at first i thought was pathetic and going to get in the way. By the 2nd use it was proving to be helpfull to my game. it allowed me to quick change my grip on the stick faster allowing for faster poke checking and quicker stick manuevers.
Stick handling with the blocker and catcher is great. Immediately i was able to grasp the stick and start getting some decent movement of pucks. The blockers ability to give wide range of motion of the wrist and hand position on the stick plus the catchers angles allow for some decent shots and Everyone i've played with has noted my confidence and ability to handle the puck has improved drastically in the 4 games i've now played with them.
I am more than pleased with the protection on the gloves. Having never owned a set of pro gloves before (Bauer Seniors, Sherwood 9960s) i got used to feeling every shot that hit the palm region of the catcher or the backhand of my blocker. And in the case of my Bauer's actually being caused pain and injury. These gloves will stop a bullet and you won't feel them. I Can barely feel the shots I've had so far. Pucks just hit the blocker and go exactly where i expect them too. Catcher is a little harder to get a feel on for catching, but so far the pocket has swallowed the shots it needs too, And the wrest were easily out of harms way. I'm getting used to the smaller glove size, as coming from an extra large pocket to a Spec one is definately a large adjustment for me. So far with the early review (4 ice sessions) i'm loving the gloves. I can't think of a single thing to complain about right now. And unlike other gloves i've had, When i smother a puck, It creates a "perfect seal" around the puck and have not yet had a single puck squirt out from under. A definate bonus when people like to push and take those last couple chops
Great product. Great Service, Great People.
I know the post was long but thanks for reading.
I will upload new photos of the internals tonight!