MiniHelm27

First off let me just say I'm happy to be part of the group here at MSH, love the articles and reviews I've read on here! So here's my first crack at a gear review, my new gloves; Warrior Projekt Gloves, '11 model Size: 14" Time used: 2 months (Tier II Junior A) Fit: Right out of the box these just felt right at home on my hands. I was expecting almost a lacrosse style glove, but these are much different, and have a pretty unique fit to them. I'm VERY picky about the fit of my gloves since I do plenty of passing and dangling, they have to feel just right, and they have to feel that way FAST. These gloves have fit the bill for me and far exceeded my expectations as far as comfort, fit, and break in time. However, even though these gloves fit me extremely well, they do have a pretty unique fit and I would highly recommend trying them on at your LHS before buying. But if these gloves are the right fit for you, it really doesn't get any better than these. Warrior nailed it. 9/10 Weight & Mobility: I was very pleasantly surprised with how much movement I have in these gloves. The 3 piece blooming cuff gives you great mobility and doesn't limit your stickhandling at all, or give you that "confined" feeling. As far as the weight goes, they're primarily nylon with the exception of some small stripes of synthetic leather, so very light. I'm usually very picky about mobility in gloves but these really do feel great for my style of play, and fit my personal preference to the letter. 10/10 Protection: This is the main reason why I looked to the Projekt gloves in the first place. I take quite a few nasty slashes to the hands, and I'm also very defensive forward, so I try to block plenty of shots. A buddy of mine got these and really kept pushing me to try them out, and man I'm glad I did. I've taken alot of those same slashes, along with a few shot blocks to the top of the hand, and I was shocked that didn't feel a thing. The protection in these gloves is is unreal, definitely worth the money for the protection alone, not to mention that it's a great pair of mitts on the offensive side of the puck as well. 10/10 Durability: So far these gloves have held up great in all areas, although 2 months isn't quite long enough to make a long term assessment on them. But considering the amount of play time I put on them (8+ hours/wk) they're holding up where I've had gloves fail by this point before. No cosmetic damage or tears in the nylon, and the palms are some of the most durable I've ever had (I do tend to sacrifice durability for a thinner palm though) Overall with the hours and hours of hard miles I've put on these, I think the durability is great. 9/10 Palm: The palms on these gloves are better than the standard (non custom) Franchise gloves in my opinion. When I first tried them on at the LHS I thought they just pretty broken in because quite a few people had tried them on. When I got my pair I took them out of the box and the palms were already very soft and supple without that normal almost "elastic" feel that some new gloves have. I personally never feel like my palms are broken in to my standards until I have at least 12-15 hours of play time on them. These were to that point within 6 skates I believe (maybe 7, wasn't counting) but within a week after getting them they were starting to feel just right, just where I like them. They also put a slightly thicker nash section in the high wear area of the palms which is standing up great to the amount of stickhandling abuse I put on my palms (usually have a small hole in the palm within a couple months) So when you factor in the lightning fast break in time, EXCELLENT feel on the puck, and the soft supple feel of the palms, what more can you ask for? 10/10 Ventilation: I'm sure by now I either look like the softest critic on earth, or look like I'm madly in love with my gloves. The answer is #2 (wedding date TBD) The ventilation is great, and the gloves are very breathable. The mesh gussets and blooming cuff give such a nice airflow through the glove, and the liner is light and does a pretty nice job wicking away moisture on the top of the hands. Definitely the most well ventilated gloves I've used up to this point (Vapor XXX, Bauer 4 roll '09, and Warrior Franchise being the most recent) 9.5/10 Aesthetics At first I wasn't really into the look of these gloves since I was coming off 2 pairs of more traditional looking 4 roll gloves. But the look definitely grows on you, the almost skeletal look is pretty sweet once you're used to how different the overall shape of the glove is. The color scheme across the gloves definitely looks good, and my team colors just happen to be black, white, and silver so that works out nicely! I also think the graphics across the cuff roll and on the thumb look great, the subtle visual effects on the Warrior name and the 'W' on the thumb give the letters almost a three dimensional appearance. Nicely done on Warrior's part, really glad they got away from that weird design on the Eraser glove. 9/10 Overall: I spent 4 seasons with my Vapor XXX gloves and those firmly held the crown until these came along. They haven't quite taken that title, but if the durability on these is even 2 seasons worth, I'll use them for 4.. and I still might be too stubborn to let them go, time will tell. So far these gloves are just so far beyond dirty, in my humble opinion. They're a fairly unique fit, but when they're right, man are they right! Phenomenal protection and ventilation, easy to break in, killer durability throughout the entire glove/palm, and a pretty damn sweet look to them as well. In my personal experience with them these are just the right gloves for me in all areas. I HIGHLY recommend them if they fit you right, you won't be disappointed with these! 9.75/10 (sorry for splitting hairs, but the .50 just wasn't doing it for me)