Are these the ultimate HEMA gloves? A Long-term review of the Thokk WeaponMaster® Gauntlets "PRO"
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- Опубликовано: 6 июн 2023
- Long-term review of the Thokk WeaponMaster® Gauntlets "PRO" by Michael Thomas and Nick Thomas of the Academy of Historical Fencing. With a combined total of around 700 bouts we've extensively tested these gloves, and with every possible type of sword both synthetic and steel.
From the website:
www.thokk-research.com/produc...
-This product is intended for HEMA fencing with both steel an synthetic weapon simulators.
-For the use at high intesity with Longsword simulators, it is recommended to use it with the "Longsword Badass Design" add-on, which on top of increasing protection from impacts also protects the sides of the fingers, the areas between the fingers, and the thumb.
-For rapier fencing and other similar complex-hilted, light weapon simulators that do not require much impact protection, it is possible to replace the standard "heavy" lining with the optional "light" lining. 
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in my club we love thokks, though we have seen two people now get fractured knuckles in longsword sparring, without excessive speed. We now only use them for single sword use, but they are a fantastic glove for sure
Fractured knuckles? Well, that's a deal breaker for most people.
Good long term review. I'll stick with my Infinity Gloves for longsword or against a katana. I do like the Thokks for lighter weapons. I was also lucky to get my Thokks from a former club member who decided to go in a different direction for $125 US.
Been thinking of getting into HEMA this coming Autumn. But at EUR 299.50 (C$432.79; U$326.86) plus shipping, customs and tax (add at least $150 to C$580) just for gloves I think the equipment expenditure may be prohibitive for an old man on a fixed pension. What would be very interesting is an up-to-date overview of what is currently available regarding equipment on a budget? Thank you for the review. Cheers!
That's a nicely done review, thank you
I've had a plate in the wrist of my SG mittens shatter similarly. In that case, I did notice immediately and stopped fencing with them without taking injury (except for a light bruise on the wrist). The shattering of the plate took the energy out of the blow. Sparring Gloves replaced the cuff of my glove without hesitation and I had them back within a month after the incident.
I believe your reasoning of the thumbplate shattering in an earlier blow is very reasonable and that the blow that injured you was not the one that shattered the plate. Very unfortunate that you did not notice the failure before getting injured. That is a downside of having plates hidden in textile. A failure in an exposed plate like on progauntlets or SPES heavies is much more noticeable.
Just got a pair. Can't wait to get stick in!
Great review! Just a note that this glove cannot go into SIGI's PRO sabre because the bowl guard protrudes pretty far into your knuckles. THOKK is pretty thick on the knuckles
Good to know.
my HEMA club had purchased 12 or 13 pairs when the sales begin, every issues which mention in this video was happened to our gloves, broken thumb piece, broken stitch, too long finger length.
And I find two more issue between my club. As I wear AL light with Kvetun forearm protector, the opening of glove seems too small, it keeps push against my jacket and forearm protector, I can only roll up the sleeves to ease this issue a bit. The second issue is poor size QC, I find the finger length of my L size is way different with my friend's L size. There is almost 1 cm difference.
If Thokk just puts a strap on the wrist sail it would be a jutge improvement for forearm protection
I guess now the next big question, for the next video, is : can we buy SupFen version cheaper and be happy enough with it so we don't have to buy a pair of Thokks? :)
Can't wait :)
SupFen video is recorded and going up in the next few days!
@@MichaelGThomas nice :)
Good detailed review ! I also heard about plates breaking on reddit :( That's a huge problem.
Mine came without a backhand plate too I put a two pieces of hard foam the and it did the trick, I use them for rapier, sabre and plastic longsword and some controlled drilling with steel longsword, I like them but I would never recommend them because of that.
Interesting.
the failures make sense tbh. you can't really get something that is both tough and flexible. like I am sure the fabric would have been resistant on it's own but given how it's used to hear it might have already been under tension and compromised it. the smaller plate that broke also makes sense cause it is smaller, it just has less area to distribute force too so makes sense it wouldn't be as resistant as full hand shells. it being a flawless product meant for everything is imo a bit too ambitious and I am not sure it's even possible, at least not in the suggested price range. the glove seems to me to be great for the type of fencer that does a lot of diverse weapons but not too often. Tho it does look very risky when using long sword, tho they do have the extra plate for on top when using heavy weapons right? were you folks able to test that?
yeah good point !
We mentioned the addon in the video. It’s called the longsword badass and fits over the glove. We didn’t buy these, but other members of our school did. The extra protection was solid, but the durability was very poor. Most broke after a couple of fights, some broke just fitting them on/
I don't agree there on the failures at all. The HEMA market has seen bucker loads of different gloves and you can have a reasonably durable glove and be protective. Cheap Newton rated Sport fencing gloves can manage 3-4 times or more as much use before the thumb goes through for example. This is a materials choice issue, and not a cost one either, as countless significantly gloves work fine in this regard. Same goes for the thumb plate, it's not about the size, it is the material choice. The same thing happened with the back of hand plates, a lot of those broke early on too and Thokk merely changed to a different material and fixed the problem. So the plate issue was about the material being too brittle. I wouldn't say any of this was overly ambitious at all, the gloves have been working great, they just need a few changes in choice of material, and we know more resilient materials are out there for no extra cost, as we have seen them used and seen Thokk themselves make such a simple change.
Overhyped + overpriced + questionable durability + give false sense of security. I know 2 guys who ended up with broken fingers fighting with single-handed swords. I use mine only with basket-hilted sabres and sideswords after replacing the inserts of the inner gloves with high density foam.
The first five finger heavy glove to actually do the job for a range of weapons is hardly overhyped. They have to work out some dirability issues relating to material choices, and let's not forget this is the first ever version. They did what no other HEMA maker has ever managed. It's an excellent gloves which needs a few teething issues sorted out.
You use Thokks inside a baskethilt? How big is the hilt?
@@MichaelGThomas Kvetun Easton
Which fingers broke?
My experience in AHF with Thokks has left my fingers remarkably well protected for the size. Did the hits land on the soft padded section of the little finger?
@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing It's my own personal opinion. I really wanted to like them, as I was one of the early backers, but after a near miss finger fracture and then two other mates fracturing theirs, I stand behind everything I said in my previous post. I switched to the Gabriels 2.0 gloves and love them across all weapons. Got them within 3 weeks of placing my order. Prompt communication, reasonably priced, smaller profile, insane mobility and so far no issues with durability.
Charlie being shocked that racism exists is kinda hilarious
Huh?
my biggest gripes are crap materials, foam is insufficient, surface tearing and holes happened very quickly, taped em up and still going. back of palm is barely enough padding, with a terrible wrist gap so I had to add more foam. fingers are far too long, but manageable, however plastic finger plates are also oddly cup shaped so they sting more and bruise easily. the velcro holding the inner glove disintegrated, so have to pull on it every time you don the glove. fantastic dexterity, but still not safe enough, maybe v 2.0 will be better... but sup fen has thokk-offs that already fill this shortcoming for half the price, sad reality of being a pioneer.