Gloves = cold + ultimate
Tue, 01/12/2010 - 09:18 — wavy
I'm wondering what type of gloves are best in which to play ultimate when
it's cold. I looked at two types of football gloves. Those seem good
but can they be too sticky? I also looked at baseball batting gloves.
Any helpful opinions would be appreciated.
To spare everyone's email, please reply only to me and not reply all:
mischlich@juno. com
Thanks,
Dana
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factor of 10
Hi Dana!
Long time no see! Happy New Year to you!
Lucky for you, I've spent a lot of time delving into this very issue. I use
gloves in cold and wet weather for ultimate and double disc Court (DDC -
which I bring up as it is a vastly more demanding catching and throwing
sport than ultimate by at least a factor of 10 as throws are intended not to
be caught and are at vastly higher speeds than ever seen in ultimate with
bouncy discs that take erratic flight patterns, and one usually must dive to
make a one-handed catch).
Football wide receiver gloves. The tackiness is great for catching and for
throwing. Slightly more tacky than human skin in warm weather, with mild
change in colder weather. Will help the flick's stability (more Z's). Fine
in any condition. Solid in wet weather as the tackiness does not change
much. Helps in cold weather but the backs are generally vented mesh so do
not provide much insulation, and your hands can still get cold. Best for
slightly cool weather and wet weather. Many of the world's top DDC players
use these gloves in warm dry weather, so it would be easy to use them all of
the time in ultimate. I own these, and am fine using them in any weather for
ultimate or DDC.
Baseball gloves - actually leather palms. Beware of seams on the fingers
which should be avoided at all costs. Some (few) will offer smooth fingers
which is fine for throwing. These gloves tend to be slightly slicker than
human skin, and become slightly slicker still with wear. Sold individually
rather than in pairs. They are the easiest transition for those not accustom
to wearing gloves, though I think inferior to receiver gloves given some
acclimation. Also these have mesh backs which offer no insulation against
cold. Many top DDC players also use these. I own these as well, and only use
them in warm, dry weather for DDC (not ultimate) which is a high-speed
tipping thing. I don't recommend them for ultimate and have in fact never
worn mine for ultimate.
Also, scuba gloves (3mm neoprene) with unbroken suede leather palms and
fingers are great in very cold and wet weather. ($32+). I find in 40 degree
weather with a drizzle, catching is slightly superior to catching in normal
warm weather with no gloves for those high-speed stab catches. Throwing is
different (not worse) and takes some acclimation. Flick is good. Power
backhand can be over grabby causing slight turnover. I only wind it an issue
with throws over 70 yards. If you could find 2mm scuba gloves, that might be
even more awesome.
Hope that helps!
John