Where do you recommend starting when it comes to getting equipment for HEMA? Sometimes a couple of my friends get together and screw around with longsword sparring, but one guy in particular is a goddamn giant of a man with little to no self-restraint and whips a plastic sword like he’s trying to kill me. Almost three years ago, I took a hit to the knuckles and, while nothing was broken, it swelled up to the point where I had difficulty bending my finger for a week. Haven’t opted to spar with him much since until I get some proper equipment.
Hi! There’s lots of recommendations I can make. Firstly, your friend needs to calm down. Safety and respect matter. Now, if you have plastic swords you could start with Red Dragon gloves, an affordable option and good for synthetic blades. The gabriels are expensive, high end, so not the first to go for. Next, a mask with overlay, because concussions are not fun. 350n rating is all you need. AF brand is a decent wntry level. Those two things will help you stay safe against giants. As for fighting the big man, get in close, or use thrusts and dance at a distance. Remember footwork. Speed will be your friend.
@@LaurenDangerShaw Thank you so much, Lauren. I find that he uses his height and reach advantage a lot, and is more or less a one-trick pony when it comes to his move repertoire (i.e., he does a one-handed thrust like he’s using a rapier (he’s that big) or batter-swings really, really hard). Learning how to counter the thrusts has helped a lot (constrain/counter-thrust has worked most of the time) so I’ll be looking for instructors closer to me to work on my footing. Cheers!
Ah, limited tricks, using strength and reach, so you get footwork and speed and physics to easily win. Lateral step with a beat to set aside his attack and then counter. I hope you find some good instructors nearby and become a giant slayer!
How easy would you say it would be to repair or tinker with the gloves? I find inner gloves tend to wear out very quickly and I'd want to be able to replace them with ease.
Hi! I’d say quite difficult. They are attached at a lot of points including riveted at the fingertips. They do have a reinforced palm with the silicone grip dots and the finger tips are well protected, though I can see where the fingers closer to the palm could wear. I only have two months of use so I can’t say how long they will last, but so far, the inner gloves look the same as the first day I got them. I wish I could offer more advice and hopefully I can do a six-month update.
@@LaurenDangerShaw Thank you for the information! I'm glad to hear that the inner glove remains in good condition. My Thokks are showing significant wear after eight months of continuous use and the ProGauntlets have an abysmal inner glove. So, as long as replacing the glove is doable, I could manage. I've worked with rivets before. Still need to learn how to sew, though. Hahaha.
@@MarshallBouchard rivets and a few stitch points. I'd say it will be work but if you have experience, certainly possible. Not a 30 minute project, anyway.
How do Gabriel 2.0 compare to Sparring Gloves Mittens when it comes to protection? I've heard Sparring Gloves Mittens are not the most robust gloves on the market, so I've been wondering if any 5-finger gloves have caught up to them when it comes to protection? Many peeps do use Sparring Gloves Mittens in Longsword competition despite that they are apparently not the most protective gloves. That's why I'm curious
I had written a big long reply but I should keep this simple. In my opinion, Gabriels are about the same as SG mittens right now, with the exception that a pinky hit against SGs will be easier to take than against the Gabriels. If you are good at preventing most hand hits, Gabriels will be great. If you get hit in the hands a lot, bulkier clamshells are probably the way. HF Black Knights being top tier at the moment. Finally, as for why people use SG mitts over bulkier but more protective clamshells, it’s about mobility. Lower profile gloves let you have a better grip on the sword and be a bit more nimble. So people will go with that option. Also, lower bubble over the hand, less likely to have a hand hit called. Hopefully that helps a bit but please ask more if you like!
@@LaurenDangerShaw Thank you for a very fast and precise reply! Well I was gonna go for the SP mittens because of the reasons you've listed above, and to me if gloves will provide at the very least same level of protection I'm willing to consider buying them. Now it'll all depend on if I'll have the money to spend on Gabriel 2.0, esp after buying rest of the gear (I'm a beginner, and relied on loan equipment for long enough). Either way, thank you very very much for a reply! I finally think I have gloves 100% figured out :)
Well, Gabriels are expensive, but at the moment might be easier to get than SG mittens, though you can order custom SGs and still be cheaper. If you have any other questions, do let me know!
Great review. Do you have any recommendations for washing these? I'm assuming they can be hand washed in cold water with a clothes' detergent but I wasn't able to find any official instructions.
I am glad you liked the review! As for washing, I use cool water, not too cold, and an anti-bacterial soap. A small brush for gentle scrubbing (must be gentle) and rinse carefully under the tap, set them on a towel to drip dry and at the end, spray some sort of Febreze or anti-bacterial spray inside, let dry once more (is much quicker) and away you go to sweat them up once more. Hopefully that helps!
Thanks for the finger sizing and showing the fit with the Blackfencer sidesword.
You are most welcome and I am glad I could include that info for you!
Rhymes are always appreciated
Gloves look great!
Then I’ll rhyme some more, with what I have in store!
Thank you for this review
You’re most welcome. I hope it is helpful
People (like David Itto) bought them and used them for the entire tournament and said they were really happy using them for Messer and Longsword. :)
Right! David did, and of course Alexa did as well. Great gloves right out of the bag. Which I forgot to mention: a cool carry bag!
Can you move the thumb enough to twist an arming sword in your grip? (e.g. for Nucken, i.e. to hit with the short edge)
Hi! I believe so. I can certainly point the thumb over the guard and along the blade. Seems to be okay for dropping the short edge from a high bind.
Where do you recommend starting when it comes to getting equipment for HEMA? Sometimes a couple of my friends get together and screw around with longsword sparring, but one guy in particular is a goddamn giant of a man with little to no self-restraint and whips a plastic sword like he’s trying to kill me. Almost three years ago, I took a hit to the knuckles and, while nothing was broken, it swelled up to the point where I had difficulty bending my finger for a week. Haven’t opted to spar with him much since until I get some proper equipment.
Hi! There’s lots of recommendations I can make. Firstly, your friend needs to calm down. Safety and respect matter.
Now, if you have plastic swords you could start with Red Dragon gloves, an affordable option and good for synthetic blades. The gabriels are expensive, high end, so not the first to go for.
Next, a mask with overlay, because concussions are not fun. 350n rating is all you need. AF brand is a decent wntry level. Those two things will help you stay safe against giants.
As for fighting the big man, get in close, or use thrusts and dance at a distance. Remember footwork. Speed will be your friend.
@@LaurenDangerShaw Thank you so much, Lauren. I find that he uses his height and reach advantage a lot, and is more or less a one-trick pony when it comes to his move repertoire (i.e., he does a one-handed thrust like he’s using a rapier (he’s that big) or batter-swings really, really hard). Learning how to counter the thrusts has helped a lot (constrain/counter-thrust has worked most of the time) so I’ll be looking for instructors closer to me to work on my footing.
Cheers!
Ah, limited tricks, using strength and reach, so you get footwork and speed and physics to easily win.
Lateral step with a beat to set aside his attack and then counter. I hope you find some good instructors nearby and become a giant slayer!
How easy would you say it would be to repair or tinker with the gloves? I find inner gloves tend to wear out very quickly and I'd want to be able to replace them with ease.
Hi! I’d say quite difficult. They are attached at a lot of points including riveted at the fingertips. They do have a reinforced palm with the silicone grip dots and the finger tips are well protected, though I can see where the fingers closer to the palm could wear.
I only have two months of use so I can’t say how long they will last, but so far, the inner gloves look the same as the first day I got them. I wish I could offer more advice and hopefully I can do a six-month update.
@@LaurenDangerShaw Thank you for the information! I'm glad to hear that the inner glove remains in good condition. My Thokks are showing significant wear after eight months of continuous use and the ProGauntlets have an abysmal inner glove. So, as long as replacing the glove is doable, I could manage. I've worked with rivets before. Still need to learn how to sew, though. Hahaha.
@@MarshallBouchard rivets and a few stitch points. I'd say it will be work but if you have experience, certainly possible. Not a 30 minute project, anyway.
@@LaurenDangerShaw Thanks for follow up! I find this very encouraging and I'm strongly considering getting a pair.
How do Gabriel 2.0 compare to Sparring Gloves Mittens when it comes to protection?
I've heard Sparring Gloves Mittens are not the most robust gloves on the market, so I've been wondering if any 5-finger gloves have caught up to them when it comes to protection? Many peeps do use Sparring Gloves Mittens in Longsword competition despite that they are apparently not the most protective gloves. That's why I'm curious
I had written a big long reply but I should keep this simple.
In my opinion, Gabriels are about the same as SG mittens right now, with the exception that a pinky hit against SGs will be easier to take than against the Gabriels.
If you are good at preventing most hand hits, Gabriels will be great. If you get hit in the hands a lot, bulkier clamshells are probably the way. HF Black Knights being top tier at the moment.
Finally, as for why people use SG mitts over bulkier but more protective clamshells, it’s about mobility. Lower profile gloves let you have a better grip on the sword and be a bit more nimble. So people will go with that option. Also, lower bubble over the hand, less likely to have a hand hit called.
Hopefully that helps a bit but please ask more if you like!
@@LaurenDangerShaw Thank you for a very fast and precise reply!
Well I was gonna go for the SP mittens because of the reasons you've listed above, and to me if gloves will provide at the very least same level of protection I'm willing to consider buying them. Now it'll all depend on if I'll have the money to spend on Gabriel 2.0, esp after buying rest of the gear (I'm a beginner, and relied on loan equipment for long enough). Either way, thank you very very much for a reply! I finally think I have gloves 100% figured out :)
Well, Gabriels are expensive, but at the moment might be easier to get than SG mittens, though you can order custom SGs and still be cheaper.
If you have any other questions, do let me know!
Great review. Do you have any recommendations for washing these? I'm assuming they can be hand washed in cold water with a clothes' detergent but I wasn't able to find any official instructions.
I am glad you liked the review! As for washing, I use cool water, not too cold, and an anti-bacterial soap. A small brush for gentle scrubbing (must be gentle) and rinse carefully under the tap, set them on a towel to drip dry and at the end, spray some sort of Febreze or anti-bacterial spray inside, let dry once more (is much quicker) and away you go to sweat them up once more. Hopefully that helps!
hand protection matters. all it takes is one little hand injury to wreck a person's performance for life
Hands are so fragile! One student slip-up and doom follows. I shall not take the chance.