Thumb Loops: Cannot Believe I Just Figured This Out!

[Jbear 113]

Got a pair of Vapor 1xPro's on Sideline. Was discounted because the thumb loops were cut.  HOLY S**T!  Came home after my first game with them...hacked every pair of gloves I have!  The improvement in feel and mobility is unreal!  No change at all in protection and all of my gloves feel 💯% better...YMMV of course.

Better late than never 🤣

[Miller55 333]

There is definitely a difference in protection, I hope you never find out about it because it's not pleasant. However, you're right it is very minimal. 

[Jbear 113]

I'm not doubting you, but...I've looked, pried, smacked, and jabbed from every angle I can think of and nothing seems different with regard to protection.  What am I overlooking...just so I can say..."Wow!  You were right!" later😅

[althoma1 574]

3 hours ago, Jbear said:

I'm not doubting you, but...I've looked, pried, smacked, and jabbed from every angle I can think of and nothing seems different with regard to protection.  What am I overlooking...just so I can say..."Wow!  You were right!" later😅

When you don't cut the loops your thumb stays with the protection - if it's a lock thumb then it doesn't move and if it's a flex thumb then the protection moves with your thumb. When you cut the loops you're creating a gap in the protection that say a stick blade could fit into if someone was slashing you in the hands. It doesn't mean a stick will find it's way in there, but it leaves a protection gap. 

[Cavs019 708]

You’re also much more prone to hyper extension with the loops cut.

I hate how cut loops feel and the solution is buying gloves with good flex thumbs. 

[Jbear 113]

Seems like it would be the opposite with regard to hyper extension.  I  hear you guys, but...the gloves I'm using don't seem to be showing gaps.  Anyway, I understand the risks...I wear a half-shield...I know the risks there too.

Like I said...I'll be right here telling you you were right if I get whacked up🤕😉

[the_game 452]

I’ve been cutting my loops since forever. Never had any major issues in terms of protection. every now and again your bottom hand thumb can be exposed to a slash or another players stick riding up. Again nothing major, kinda feels like missing with a hammer and hitting your thumb.

There’s an inherent risk with hockey in general. I’ll take my chances with some thumb loops cut amongst all the other risks. 

[Miller55 333]

On 2/7/2021 at 10:01 AM, Jbear said:

I'm not doubting you, but...I've looked, pried, smacked, and jabbed from every angle I can think of and nothing seems different with regard to protection.  What am I overlooking...just so I can say..."Wow!  You were right!" later😅

I hope you never say it. Until college I cut the loops. I found that the real danger is two things- you can catch a puck in there and it might just be my poor luck, but somehow pucks tend to find the gaps in my padding. Just Wednesday I took a shot straight to my stomach and I wear Eagle shoulders that don't have any abdominal protection. The more common issue I had was in corners and puck battles, I find that the most common issue is the blade jams or gets whacked and it somehow catches a weird angle on the lower hand thumb and you end up with some bruising and over time it tends to just build up.

When the thumbs are attached it seems like they just get held a bit tighter to the glove thumb and you don't get all that repeated impact. It's not like specific shots, it's more that thing where once the whistle blows you're like, oh damn, my thumb hurts and I didn't take a shot and you just try to figure it out. Most of the time I assumed it was just from rough battles in the corner and just catching a bad angle on the thumb. But I tended to have a few a game like that and over time you get these really sore bruises and I just got to the point where it hurt to hold my bottom thumb in the stick. I stopped cutting loops and I haven't really had issues since. Ymmv obviously, could have nothing to do with loops and maybe it's just my grip angle or lower hand position idk, just my .02

Granted, I have bought pro stocks since then with deleted or cut loops and I will still use them. But I have gotten more cautious over the years. 

Edited February 8, 2021 by Miller55

[VegasHockey 1280]

8 hours ago, Cavs019 said:

You’re also much more prone to hyper extension with the loops cut.

I hate how cut loops feel and the solution is buying gloves with good flex thumbs. 

+1

[puckpilot 312]

8 hours ago, Jbear said:

Seems like it would be the opposite with regard to hyper extension.  I  hear you guys, but...the gloves I'm using don't seem to be showing gaps.  Anyway, I understand the risks...I wear a half-shield...I know the risks there too.

Like I said...I'll be right here telling you you were right if I get whacked up🤕😉

Not here to lecture or judge.  Just here to share a worst case scenario.

All gloves have "gaps" in protection. It all depends on the angle from which the stick come's from. I have top of the line 1S gloves, and I had the pinky on my bottom hand broken and the tip partially amputated from a slash coming from my right side, while in mid-shot. The result was exactly like what Crosby did to Methot. 

If you look at your glove, even closed, there's always a small spot right around the tip of the pinky and thumb that are a bit exposed because of the angle when they're facing upward. When you cut the thumb loop, that'll expose the thumb even more because the protection won't move down with the thumb when you grip the stick.

It's been about a year since my finger got exploded, and though I've regained function in the finger, it's still not 100% right. I don't think it ever will be.

OK, I'll STFU now. 

[start_today 770]

What’s the incentive for modern gloves that don’t have flexible thumbs? I bought a pair of CCM HGTKXP and the thumb is straight and doesn’t move.

Beyond “some players like the way it feels,” is there a specific reason someone might want the straight thumb? 

To me, it feels slightly less protective because the glove doesn’t stay flush with your thumb, and it’s just less comfortable. 

Usually there’s a trade off where something is less comfortable gives you clearly more protection. But, this doesn’t seem like an obvious improvement. 

[Miller55 333]

1 hour ago, start_today said:

What’s the incentive for modern gloves that don’t have flexible thumbs? I bought a pair of CCM HGTKXP and the thumb is straight and doesn’t move.

Beyond “some players like the way it feels,” is there a specific reason someone might want the straight thumb? 

To me, it feels slightly less protective because the glove doesn’t stay flush with your thumb, and it’s just less comfortable. 

Usually there’s a trade off where something is less comfortable gives you clearly more protection. But, this doesn’t seem like an obvious improvement. 

I think it's for hyperextension protection. All CCM pro stocks come with them unless otherwise noted. It's pretty much the only downside to CCM pro stock gloves, because even their flex thumb is not amazing

[pucks_putts 13]

8 hours ago, puckpilot said:

Not here to lecture or judge.  Just here to share a worst case scenario.

All gloves have "gaps" in protection. It all depends on the angle from which the stick come's from. I have top of the line 1S gloves, and I had the pinky on my bottom hand broken and the tip partially amputated from a slash coming from my right side, while in mid-shot. The result was exactly like what Crosby did to Methot. 

If you look at your glove, even closed, there's always a small spot right around the tip of the pinky and thumb that are a bit exposed because of the angle when they're facing upward. When you cut the thumb loop, that'll expose the thumb even more because the protection won't move down with the thumb when you grip the stick.

It's been about a year since my finger got exploded, and though I've regained function in the finger, it's still not 100% right. I don't think it ever will be.

OK, I'll STFU now. 

I had this EXACT thing happen to me many years ago! I’ve never heard of anyone else going through this until the Methot thing, and now you. My buddy said my pinky looked like a broken hot dog!?! I didn’t lose the tip of my pinky but it was close and it looks pretty jacked up now. I digress... just wanted to shout out to a fellow ‘destroyed bottom hand pinky finger’ bro. 

[start_today 770]

3 hours ago, Miller55 said:

I think it's for hyperextension protection. All CCM pro stocks come with them unless otherwise noted. It's pretty much the only downside to CCM pro stock gloves, because even their flex thumb is not amazing

How does not flexing protect against hyper extension? Does the joint create a potential weak spot, whereby the thumb could be pushed backwards

(not arguing, but just trying to understand) 

[Miller55 333]

14 minutes ago, start_today said:

How does not flexing protect against hyper extension? Does the joint create a potential weak spot, whereby the thumb could be pushed backwards

(not arguing, but just trying to understand) 

Hyper extension is when your thumb bends backwards. If the thumbpiece on the glove won't move then your thumb can only bend so far back, this preventing hyperextension in a good number of cases

[puckpilot 312]

2 hours ago, pucks_putts said:

I had this EXACT thing happen to me many years ago! I’ve never heard of anyone else going through this until the Methot thing, and now you. My buddy said my pinky looked like a broken hot dog!?! I didn’t lose the tip of my pinky but it was close and it looks pretty jacked up now. I digress... just wanted to shout out to a fellow ‘destroyed bottom hand pinky finger’ bro. 

 

Yeah, a broken hotdog is exactly how it looked. They were able to sew it back together, but there’s s possibly permanent crease in my flesh now. 

*socially distanced, jacked up finger fist bump*   😛

[Jbear 113]

I had the tip of my pinky sliced off from a skate. It's crazy how white your bone is! They reattached it...demerol is awesome! It's not pretty but I can still pick my nose...that's what counts. 

[Tucker16 37]

I cut some of mine. I have had a few lock thumb pairs I couldn’t stand. There was zero movement. I love the franchise loops. They are so much longer and comfy. Never had issues on my HG12, CLs, sherwoods or Easton. Was too short on my HG98 and HGTK. Flex thumbs on my 97s and it’s fine. 
 

I think it’s personal preference yeah it does open you up to some chance of getting your thumb whacked but sometimes comfort is important. 

[flip12 714]

For those who want to keep their loops cut, what about adding some padding to the thumb pouch? It wouldn't help with the hyperextension risks, but it would minimize damage from impacts.

[BruinDust 42]

I cut the thumb loops off a pair of gloves once. All I managed to do was ruin a pair of gloves. Didn't like the thumb loops gone at all. 

[Jbear 113]

There's definitely no "one size fits all" to this, and I'm certainly not trying to convince anyone to do it. Just to be clear.

[marka 526]

Howdy,

When I was a kid, I was sure that the thumb loop was there to stick the end of the stick through.

🙂

Mark

[SirJW 207]

Me too...

[VegasHockey 1280]

On some of the gloves I have with a locked thumb I take them to a leather repair guy that will cut the loops and add a small amount of material to lengthen the thumb about 1/2" which gives me all the mobility I need. 

[start_today 770]

Is there anything tricky about resewing cut thumb loops? Just get a piece of leather and speedy stitcher and have at it?