- Joined
- Jan 26, 2009
- Messages
- 24
Hey gang,
I decided to add a second pair of gloves to the EDC-clothing collection. I usually carry a pair of 5.11 NFO gloves and they are excellent. But I also wanted some cooler looking ones that the mall ninja kids like to wear
I'd been looking at Oakley's SI Assault gloves for a while and recently found a nice deal on them when I also bought some Oakley SI Ballistic glasses. These originally were intended as dirt biking gloves, but achieved some fame as military gloves - so much so that Oakley sells them through government channels as well. The reviews of the SI Assault's range from 'crap' to 'best gloves ever', so it's a bit of a gamble getting these. For me, the jury is still out since I haven't broken them in yet.
These have a few neat features, but also some issues with fit and durability. First off, they are tight and run small. I have larger then average hands, so for most gloves I need at least a Large. These Oakleys run small, in that I had to purchase an XL and the fit is still quite tight.
Now, my 5.11 gloves fit my fingers just fine, but these are a bit odd. The XL length is good for most of my fingers, but the thumb is quite large compared to my 5.11's, so I end up with a 'floppy thumb'. It's not really an issue on most tasks, but I wouldn't want to do fine tasks that way. Dexterity is otherwise good, due to the stretching materials on the fingers.
Some people reported that the area between thumb and index finger has relatively poor stitching and is a failure point. We'll see.
They also feature carbon fiber knuckles that protect your knuckles from impact. They are decently placed for my fingers, but I'll probably need to break them in in order to get the best fit.
There's plenty of ventilation in the Assaults. Each finger has a special vent and the palm is vented leather. The rest is a mix of neoprene, leather, stretchable materials, etc. etc. They also have a nice velcro closure on the wrist. These are not fireproof, not waterproof, not slash- or stab proof, so mostly… regular gloves. I wore them in some light freezing conditions the past few days, and so far I like them.
All in all, I really like the look of these and we'll see how well they break in and endure.
I decided to add a second pair of gloves to the EDC-clothing collection. I usually carry a pair of 5.11 NFO gloves and they are excellent. But I also wanted some cooler looking ones that the mall ninja kids like to wear
I'd been looking at Oakley's SI Assault gloves for a while and recently found a nice deal on them when I also bought some Oakley SI Ballistic glasses. These originally were intended as dirt biking gloves, but achieved some fame as military gloves - so much so that Oakley sells them through government channels as well. The reviews of the SI Assault's range from 'crap' to 'best gloves ever', so it's a bit of a gamble getting these. For me, the jury is still out since I haven't broken them in yet.
These have a few neat features, but also some issues with fit and durability. First off, they are tight and run small. I have larger then average hands, so for most gloves I need at least a Large. These Oakleys run small, in that I had to purchase an XL and the fit is still quite tight.
Now, my 5.11 gloves fit my fingers just fine, but these are a bit odd. The XL length is good for most of my fingers, but the thumb is quite large compared to my 5.11's, so I end up with a 'floppy thumb'. It's not really an issue on most tasks, but I wouldn't want to do fine tasks that way. Dexterity is otherwise good, due to the stretching materials on the fingers.
Some people reported that the area between thumb and index finger has relatively poor stitching and is a failure point. We'll see.
They also feature carbon fiber knuckles that protect your knuckles from impact. They are decently placed for my fingers, but I'll probably need to break them in in order to get the best fit.
There's plenty of ventilation in the Assaults. Each finger has a special vent and the palm is vented leather. The rest is a mix of neoprene, leather, stretchable materials, etc. etc. They also have a nice velcro closure on the wrist. These are not fireproof, not waterproof, not slash- or stab proof, so mostly… regular gloves. I wore them in some light freezing conditions the past few days, and so far I like them.
All in all, I really like the look of these and we'll see how well they break in and endure.
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It's not really a review though - my personal standard is that one should use the product for an extended period before writing a real review. This is mostly first impressions. I'm particularly interested to see whether they stretch a bit to improve the fit somewhat.