STX Stallion 500 Gloves

[fatwabbit 93]

Background: Played inline hockey for about 16 years (up to State and Nationals), took a 3+ year hiatus with kids, and then got back to playing Ice Hockey (C Grade & Beer League) last year. Went from Gear-obsessed player to now part-time gear whore. Previous gloves are too numerous to list, but have used the top end offering of each of the various product lines for a large number of different manufacturers. Most recently my gloves were a Warrior QR1 before switching to the STX Stallion 500. I also have a pair of STX Surgeon 500, and both pairs of STX were 14". With previous gloves, if the gloves were too snug, I would have cut away the internal padding.

Fit:  I'm normally a 4-roll glove user, as I prefer a looser fitting glove. The Surgeon 500 gloves were too snug and were cast aside very quickly. The Stallions were an awesome fit from the start, marketed as a tapered finger fit to a wider back of the hand fit.... There was no limitation for wrist movement, and gave me very good mobility. The fingers did not feel any restriction nor snugness,  I've been practicing circling around and quick turns on my weaker side for the past few weeks (top hand going under) and these do not hinder any movement. 10/10

Protection:  The protection on these gloves are excellent, and I've tried using my stick to hit the back of my hand and have not really felt anything. I've played about a dozen or so games with the gloves and have taken hacks and slashes to the back of the glove, and so far they continue to provide me excellent protection. One point to note is during one play, I was tripped pretty badly and landed on the thumb of my right hand. While it was sore, the hyper-lock did its job and prevented hyper extending my thumb. Point to note that I also took a inline slapshot off that same thumb before and protection of the gloves then also prevented injury. 10/10

Weight:  Very lightweight gloves, have not actually weighed them myself. However due to the material of the palm it tends to absorb quite a fair amount of moisture during the game (both sweat and water). They dont feel waterlogged, but noticeably heavier as the game progresses 8/10

Durability:  No complaints about durability at this stage. Gloves have seen about a dozen games, and more than a dozen drop-ins and training sessions. No piling of the material, and I've used sticks with both Tacki-macs and standard cloth tape. There were a few stray strands of thread, but no damage after cutting those off. 9/10

Intangibles: Nothing flash about these gloves. They get the job done, and I do feel more reassured that the protection of these gloves are excellent. Maybe its a psychological thing, but I value protection over performance. 8/10

Conclusion:  Excellent pair of gloves, I was a little skeptical trying out STX especially without the distribution network in this part of the world. These have performed well, and considering the injury I potentially could have sustained when i fell heavily on my thumb, they have given me reassurance to keep using them. 45/50