As any dyed-in-the-wool hockey player knows, off season is merely a “break between seasons”. Yes, it’s true that players “indulge” in summer diversions like roller blading, hiking, swimming, biking or even pounding some weights to build some extra muscle for increased strength and hits. But the hard-core hockey aficionados know that these “recreational pursuits” are stop-gaps, and that the real focus is all about the next season on the ice.
Getting your gear checked out, replacing old tired or damaged gear means a bottom up review of skates, pads, jerseys, stick and certainly your hockey gloves. The good news for your hands is that hockey gloves continue to exploit some of the coolest technologies and new materials. And what do the players get? Better “touch”, a sure grip on the stick plus increased protection from hand injuries…unless you “drop your gloves” for some more friendly 1-on-1 dialogue.
Fast Hands & Quick Control. Hand-eye-stick-puck speed defines the games. The winners dominate in some or all of the speed measures. No small part of hand speed is driven by the hockey glove design itself.
Players need to identify a hockey glove that is both light and offers as complete side-to-side-and front-to-back motion as possible. Grip on your stick should be “light” and natural, rather than forced. Getting the right “touch” and stick control can come down to hockey glove choice. Wrong glove spells disaster. The right glove might be the game-winning edge you’re looking for.
Padding Protection From Slashers. Puck-hungry opponents might be tempted to high stick you, or slash at your stick. Brutish in delivery, the slash typically ends up crashing onto a player’s hands. What do you need? Serious protection from bone breaks, bruises or cuts.
Best quality performance hockey gloves exploit the light weight protective padding offered by either high density foam or air-cell materials. This is just what you’ll want to reduce risk of injury to your hands, wrist and forearms.
Protecting Your Thumbs. Face it. Going 20 mph full-bore into another player or the boards is a sure-fire strategy for attracting serious game-ending injuries to your hands. Thumbs are especially vulnerable to compression injuries. Players realize that hand injuries “come with the game”, however equipment choices can lower the hand injury risks. Most of the performance gear designers have tinkered with hockey glove designs that permit more-or-less un restricted movement, yet offer an anatomically-shaped thumb lock on gloves in order to reduce the chance of hyper-extension thumb and ligament injuries.
Goalie Catch Gloves. There’s a world of designs, sizes and fitments for goalie catch gloves. And, yes, price does track quality, so be prepared to get the quality goalie catch glove that matches your game level and expectations. Anatomically shaped gloves are the key overall design feature. Next, consider a deep well formed pocket…the “catch zone”… A contoured wrist shape allows your goalie’s hand to articulate back-and-forth with the least restriction. Look also for specially shaped knuckle pads that are not overly restrictive in terms of movement.
21st Century Materials. Here’s the action details you have to keep in mind when buying hockey gloves. Sweat and moisture. Water is everywhere so you’ll want to look at the performance synthetic leathers and nylon grade materials that are abrasion resistant, yet absorb little water. GoreTex is the top-shelf material-of-choice option for managing heat and moisture.
Grip. Most of the synthetic or true-leather palms and fingers are treated to created a tacky sure-grip outer surface. You’ll need it in order to keep the right “game feel” on your stick.
Rapid Break-Ins. You want a short break-in period for your hockey gloves. High quality materials are virtually game-ready and offer ease-of-motion both side to side and front to back, without being bulky feeling or crimping your hands.
Hockey gloves are all about playing performance and injury prevention. See the top ice hockey brands, get the right prices and sure-grip fit for high performance out on the ice. For more info please go to:-
Selecting The Top Hockey Gloves: http://www.wise4living.com/sgloves/partners.htm
Technical Stuff On Hockey Gloves:: http://www.wise4living.com/sgloves/hockey.htm
Author Robin Derry is publisher for http://www.wise4living.com/ a specialty information site that gives solutions to health, household, sport, travel and legal needs.