Easton Pro+ Custom Gloves (2015)

[Lemieux 66]

BACKGROUND

Four-roll gloves are classic - both in terms of ft and look - and I always thought that the coolest model was by Easton. I’ll have to admit - I wanted to look like an NHLer (that’s why forums like this exist, isn’t it?!), and it seemed like everyone wore these gloves. (Kudos to Easton’s pro and marketing departments for making that impression!)

In particular, Easton has had good representation on my home team, the Edmonton Oilers, particularly during the 2006 Stanley Cup run: Hemsky, Horcoff, Stoll, Torres, Staios. (And some of them rocked white fingers on their gloves, too!)

Look at all the Easton gloves!

Shawn Horcoff, who was a beast in 2005-2006, scored a triple-OT winner in his sweet Easton gloves.

I’ve been dreaming up custom Easton gloves as far back as 2011 when Pro Stock Hockey Gear announced a program called “The Works”. Unfortunately, that option closed before I was in a position to place an order (Easton closed their Canadian factory), so I thought that my dream glove would never materialize. (The PSHG would taunt me for my missed opportunity with photo galleries for the Works, the Synergy 800, and the EQ50.)

One of the many mock-ups I made on PSHG’s customizers.

But news of custom Easton gloves renewed my interest, so when I was in British Columbia this year, I had to stop at The Hockey Shop in Surrey. Once I slipped my hand into the new 2015 Pro+ glove, I was hooked. And after chatting with the internet-famous Jesse and talking gear with him, my mind was made up.

This is the glove that set me on my path towards this custom order.

SPECS

Model: Pro+
Fit: Narrow
Size: 14” -1/2" cuff

Foam: EVA dual density
PE insert: 1.5 mm
Thumb: flex

Palm: Pittard digital 0.85 mm
Overlay: Pittard digital 0.85 mm
Gusset: Poly knit black (stretch)

Palm fit: standard
Finger length: standard
Gusset height: -1/4"
Cuff length: -1/2"

Embroidery: CHRISLE9
Pinky side: LET’S DO THIS!

Easton Pro+ glove, front and side.

Easton Pro+ glove, back.

FIT

My first impression was very positive when I slipped on the narrow version of the Pro+ gloves. It was my preferred fit: narrow without being tight. For years, Easton’s finger length would be too short or too long for me, but this version of the glove had finger lengths that fit me perfectly. Nice!

Easton Pro+ glove, 14”, narrow fit.

I am very fortunate that I was able to try the glove in person and make personalized tweaks. The Hockey Shop had the four variations of the Pro+ glove: standard, narrow, wide, and short.

Pro+ glove in wide (orange), short (baby blue), standard (gray), narrow (gold).

The order form illustrated the fit options:

Cuff length, finger length, palm fit, gusset height.

I opted to decrease the gusset height by 1/4". That eliminates excess material. This feature is on another pro glove that I own, and I knew that I liked the more responsive feel in my fingers. Seems to be a popular option nowadays, especially for those who are repalming their gloves.

Finger gussets, -1/4" height.

Short cuffs look cool. Easy as that! Options were to go +1/2" or -1/2". I’m not concerned about slashes to my wrist, so no need to be like Zach Parise.

Cuff, -1/4".

Palm fit could go +1/4" or -1/4". Finger length could go +1/4" or -1/4". I went standard for both of these options. Again, it was nice to try on the glove in person and decide whether or not I wanted to change these options.

PROTECTION

Since I don’t play in a competitive league, I did not maximize the protection options. Standard features were good enough for me.

Easton describes the “EVA dual density” option as “lightweight + comfortable”. The other main option was “EPP”: “lightweight + protective”. These two options are chosen pretty equally, so it came down to personal preference.

The PE insert comes as 1.5 mm (standard), which works out to be ~60 g, or 2.0 mm, which is 80 g. It’s possible to order without the PE inserts, too.

The hockey glove thumb is designed around an important feature: preventing hyperextension (i.e. pulling it back too far). That’s why gloves usually brag about their “lock thumb”. Flexing the thumb, on the other hand, is a specific feature that requires extra parts for flexing and preventing hyperextension. I’m not sure that I involve my thumb as much as I think I do, but I like the idea of flexing the thumb when I want to, so that’s why I chose that option.

Flex thumb, unflexed.

Flex thumb, flexed.

WEIGHT

A single glove weighed 380 g (or 13.4 oz) on the scale I used. There’s a good heft to them.

For the sake of comparison, Total Hockey’s website lists the weights for other comparable four-roll 14” gloves: the Bauer Nexus 1000 is 326 g (11.5 oz) and the Warrior Dynasty AX1 is 300 g (10.6 oz).

DURABILITY

The glove shell is made with “ProLite Tex”, which Easton describes as a “lightweight and durable knit fabric shell”. (There was not an option for a synthetic leather, which would have been nice for the white sections.) It holds up well enough, presumably, as these gloves are the same ones as pro orders.

The palms are Pittard digital palms. It’s a popular pro option because it’s thin and grippy. It’s marketed as a performance product, so users need to be aware that it may wear out more quickly than other materials. For the overlay, which goes across the palmar creases of the palm, I chose to go with the digital material.

Digital palm with digital overlay.

For all of the talk about feel, this palm feels thicker than I expected! It’s listed as 0.85 mm on the form. Maybe I need to break in the palms a bit more to get a better assessment of it. Maybe I could’ve gone without the overlay.

Other options from Easton included Ax Suede white (0.75 mm, found on their retail 2015 Synergy glove), Velukid brown (0.8 mm, a microsuede material that they call “Tactik” on their retail 2015 Stealth glove), Apco beige (0.8 mm, a “very soft beige microsuede material with lots of usage in the NHL but not the most durable”), Apco grey (1.0 mm), Nash beige (1.0 mm), and Nash sure grip. I believe that the retail Pro 10 glove has grey Nash with a Nash sure grip overlay.

The gussets (the space between the palm and the foam padding) are black stretch poly knit. Many people opt for mesh gussets for improved ventilation, but I get the sense that mesh gets chewed up pretty fast. I think that the poly knit will do just fine, and, in fact, it’s a common option on pro and high-end retail gloves. The gussets usually match the palm material, but Easton doesn’t do digital gussets because of durability issues.

Black stretch poly knit gussets, -1/4" height.

One option intrigued me: a hybrid gusset! It starts with either a poly knit or mesh gusset at the base of the fingers, but the fingertips are covered with the palm material. You actually see it on the retail Pro 10 glove, and it’s also seen on other retail gloves. (Look for it!) I ultimately didn’t go for it because I’ll want to repalm my gloves eventually and don’t want them to be unnecessarily complicated for the repair job.

Retail Easton Pro 10 glove, with hybrid gussets. Look closely between the fingers next time... (Photo credit: Total Hockey)

Speaking of repalming, when it happens, I’m going with Pat Rivest at Custom Pro Repair. He used to work for Warrior before the Montreal factory closed down, so now he’s opened up a shop. He was their main pro glove person, so he’s as good as you can get for getting a factory-level job. Check out his work on his Facebook page or the Sports 2K thread.

COLORS

Honestly, being able to have custom colors was the tipping point for making the order. My favorite team glove is the Washington Capitals, such as the Warrior Luxe and the CCM CL, and so I put them into Edmonton Oilers colors with a few tweaks.

Some design elements include a white cuff roll (like Jacks 97), white side block (like with the Lighting (classic) and the Devils), bright cuff+flare cuff that contrasts with the back rolls (like Eagle PPF in “design 7” or Jurinko’s Warrior gloves), and outline logo (something that I really liked from classic Eagle gloves). The outline logo is the same thing that I did on my goalie equipment, so there’s that continuity with my custom gear!

Contrasting colors to make a statement!

One small change that I’d consider is adjusting the binding at different locations. Check out the binding on the retro Calgary gloves: yellow with red cuff, but red with red backrolls.

EMBROIDERY

There’s the standard embroidery on the cuff and an additional spot on the pinky side padding. “Let’s do this!” is a personal slogan that I’ve added to other custom gear, like my catcher and my mask. There’s an option to add a team logo, and Easton accepted my personal “rice man” logo!

CHRISLE9.

LET’S DO THIS!

“Rice man” logo.

ORDERING

It feels like the current go-to person for custom hockey gloves is Jesse from The Hockey Shop. He’s done a lot of custom work, especially with Eagle, so his reputation preceded him when I stopped in the store. His industry knowledge, coupled with a personable attitude and professional work ethic, made for an easy process. He answered emails in a timely manner, and he always looked for answers to anything he didn’t know. He was clear to outline what he could and couldn’t deliver, and I appreciated the honesty. I’d be happy to recommend him and direct people to his services.

After all the details were in, Easton created a mock-up that required my approval. Once done, the order was in! The factory is in China, and took about three weeks for production and 1 week to ship to me in Canada. Very smooth transaction.

Easton’s mockup.

CONCLUSION

I’m very happy that the option for a custom Easton glove is available to the public, and they’ve delivered very well on making the glove to my specifications. I can’t wait to hit the ice with them! I plan to provide an update about on-ice performance once the season starts up.

The ordering process was great with Jesse from The Hockey Shop. A look at his track record reflects his commitment to customer service, and I recommend him for custom work.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Lemieux