Gloves: inside-out vs. regular + Kevlar vs. Amara + thin vs. thick

SlalomSteve

Looking to buy my second-ever pair of gloves. I've found a good number of discussions about or recommending specific gloves, and there's pieces of answers to my questions distributed here and there in those threads, but I didn't find a complete, general discussion, all in one place. So not looking for debate on, for example, which Kevlar gloves are best. Brands/models as reference is fine, but just seeking here the general characteristics of different constructions/materials.

In terms of performance/grip, comfort/wear on the hand, and wear of the gloves/handle:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of inside-out vs. regular?
- It looks like all of Radar's hi-end gloves are inside out (or "seamless"). All of Connelly's are regular. And HO has a version of each for their top gloves.

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Kevlar vs Amara palms? (tangential comments on HO's "BlueTec" palm also allowed, or some other material I'm not yet aware of )

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of thin vs. thick gloves?

THANK YOU!

MDB1056

Gloves in our sport are for grip and feel of the handle. If you think about it the perfect gloves would be ones that provided amazing grip but would be super thin for ultimate feel and dexterity. Inside out gloves are thick and bulky, very poor dexterity, you can’t even bring your fingers together because of all the excess bulk material ( the inside out seams). So functionally in my opinion the inside out gloves are awful. I’ve tried them and again for what a skier wants gloves for they fail miserably. Bought Radar inside outs at a screaming deal price and gave them away. Why anyone would buy when again counter to what you want gloves to do is beyond me. The best gloves for grip, durability, and dexterity I’ve found are Connelly’s Claw 3. Have tried many others including HO Tail, Radar, earlier Connelly Claw versions, etc. The Claw 3 is greatly improved over any of Connelly’s earlier gloves too which had problems. Their best ever and I have to say the best I’ve used - ever.

aupatking

@MDB1056 comments are a perfect example of gloves being personal preference. My all-time favorite gloves are the Radar inside-out Vapor K Boa gloves. I just bout the Engineer gloves and have one set on them. The jury is out, but I like them so far. I have the Amara (Vapor A) ones as well, but don’t like them as much. Some people will say the same for the MSN thin gloves, that they are the best ever. I haven’t tried them, so can’t say.
For reference, I LOVED the old HO 41 Tail Kevlar gloves, but got tired of the Velcro closure on the back of my hand never staying on. The Boa closure of the Radars solved that

aupatking

Also, the inside-out makes them feel more form-fitting on my fingers, to me

jimski

MSN the best ever

Hockdog

HO Legends.

APB

All the way with boa a

Stefan

ProGear gloves are really good if you like thin ones.

DavidN

Stokes gloves are awesome!
Amara palm, thin, durable.

acmx

@DavidN how do the Stokes gloves fit? By their size chart I am XXL normally wear Large

SlalomSteve

Me: "Instead of telling me your favorite pizza place, can you explain how using different flours affects the crust of a pizza?"
BoS members: "Pizza Hut." "Naw, it's Papa John's." "I love Jet's Pizza."


seriously, I do appreciate all your responses, but specific models is not what I'm looking to learn, and we're mostly just duplicating threads now, as debate about specific glove recommendations are covered in a variety of other threads.

I'm looking for the general characteristics of different materials/constructions, regardless of brand.
So if you like the thin Amara MSN, what is it about a thin glove in general vs a thick glove that you like, and has there been any trade-offs? What is it about an Amara glove in general that you prefer to Kelvar, and were there any trade-offs? etc.

Onside135

It’s summer time...just ski, man.

Shakeski

pre curled, inside out, Radar Ergo's

skibrain

@SlalomSteve for me the amara palm gloves have slightly better traction/grip on a rubber handle, but they last only 1/3 what a Kevlar does. Kevlar gloves on the other hand wear out even quality handles. But the Kevlar glove durability wins out for me. That said, almost Any glove I use gets shoe goo cement patching once palms burn through for last month of its life.

igkya

@SlalomSteve I agree with skibrain that the kevlar gloves are tougher and last longer, but for me they wear out the handle grip quicker and I don't like the feel of them on the handle compared to the amara, which is softer and gives me a better grip.

I think the In-out gloves fit a bit better and don't notice any problems with the grip, but it's negligible.

Thinner gloves give a better feel of the handle but tend to wear out quicker, depending upon how to hold the handle.

In the end, it's a personal choice and fit and grip are the most important aspects to me, last is cost.

jjackkrash

I've never had a problem holding on to the rope; too much grip and holding on too long is generally what gets me hurt. What I want a glove to do is whatever it takes to keep callusses from building up and then ripping, which makes for a miserable ski season. I have not had a problem with severe calluses since I went to kevlar liners + Radar gloves with the Boa. I'll use this set up until it stops doing what it is supposed to do.

MarkTimm

The best approach is to go to your local ski shop, find the gloves that fit the best and then go through all of the handles and find the one that feels the best with the gloves.

MDB1056

@SlalomSteve - making this way too hard. Go buy some, try them, see what you like. Simple.........

SlalomSteve

@MDB1056 certainly a good point lol. I just get a kick out of the technical side of things, my brain thinks in variables and spreadsheets. I'm sure I'll figure out a preference over time, I'm just trying to avoid having to ditch a mostly-new glove that didn't work out, as I'm on a pretty tight budget.


I've yet to have any issues with callouses, maybe because I grip more in my fingers? (and I'm only running 15off, 30-32mph). My current gloves are Straightline Tournament, medium. Amara grip, don't really know if they are thin or thick. There's no holes, some wear on the palm, but my main reason for another pair is I think I need to size down to a smaller glove. These get pretty loose now when wet.

There's two boat shops about 40mins from me (Skipper Bud's and Munson Ski). My understanding is that neither has a prolific selection - Bud's only has HO gloves, Munson I know has Radar, not sure what else. But I'm gonna swing by both tomorrow and see what feels good.

skialex

@SlalomSteve size matters, if you can put the gloves on at the store, they are probably too big. I prefer amara palms over Kevlar, softer and better grip. Thin but not the thinnest, thin like HO Legends or Masterline pro curves. I use inside out legends now, not sure if they are better than traditional legends, feel a little bulkier without any issues though. HO 41tail (Kevlar) and Legends have a big opening and are easier to put on than other gloves that I’ve used. I like them super tight, use size S.

MDB1056

@SlalomSteve curious - where do you ski? I grew up in your area. Know it well

SlalomSteve

Last year I was at Laurie's Quarry, this year at Hidden Beach (not an official AWSA club).

Killer

Most important aspect to gloves is they need to be tight fitting. Most common mistake I see people in gloves that are too big. They should be incredibly difficult to get on when brand new.

If wear a medium in just about any other sports glove (winter, biking, snow,etc.). But I wear small in most Waterski gloves.

Inside out is new over the last few years. I like them but you're not getting more buoys from them...

I use both kevlar and amara. Was kevlar forever but Mostly prefer thinner amara now. If I'm looking for some extra grip for a set I'll use kevlar, eg tournament. They will wear out your handle quicker and can your hands too depending on the glove/fit.

Anderson

I'd echo the comments about how you grip the handle may impact your thoughts on gloves. I used to ski with the handle gripped tightly in the palm of my hands and I had problems gripping the handle and bad calluses forming. Then 5 or 6 years ago I started heavy (for me) deadlifting in the winters as part of my workouts. You can't hold 500 lbs squeezing the bar in your palms and so you learn how to hold weight with your fingers (btw, same mixed grip as we used in skiing). Once I gained that skill, any problems with my gloves went away. FWIW - the black version of the 41 tails works for me (good combination of durability and I can feel the handle well enough).

coach3

HO fits my hand well, but the inside out by Radar is a great idea, and I am trying a pair now. Thin Amara with a Large radius handle is the best combo for grip and blisters.

Stevie Boy

Gloves are a personal preference for me it comes down to, do you want to buy more gloves (Use Amara Gloves) or do you want to buy more Handles (Use Kevlar Gloves).
Actually I use both Amara Gloves in Florida and Kevlar in the UK

Garn

I'll add one other aspect to the glove discussion. I am a big supporter and user of the clincher style glove. I love how it helps with grip since it transfers the pull to your wrist. And I never have to worry about blisters. I have tried all of them and I think the best ones out there are the Radar. I used to use Masterlines but it took 20 minutes to hook up all the velcro.

DaveD

In another thread, someone said that if you can put your hand in the glove when it's dry it's too big. Since reading that, I switch from large gloves to medium and the callouses were minimized. Even with the Kevlar gloves, if they are too big you will have problems with callouses. I prefer Pro Gear, MSN, and Legends because they don't wear out my handle that cost twice as much as the gloves.

harrison_343

try Stealth Gloves, they look after your hands well and great grip on the handle

WoodySkier

Radar Boa K, best gloves ever made hands down.

LOTW

I've tried many but not all over the years, I think sizing is very important as well as break in. They feel and work differently once well broken in. Some gloves, usually the Kevlar are much harder on my hands especially in warm, Orlando, water. We usually have much cooler water in Canada and poor conditions so we don't get the consecutive days of skiing in, especially this year! One thing that does annoy me is when gloves get wet and start to slip off, they all seem to do this once you're skiing. Yes, Kevlar eats the handle, the amara feel good but don't seem to grip as well and harder on your hands. I'm 11 sets into a set of Stealth gloves, quite happy, taking some break in time and they are sliding down off my hands while skiing. What I really wish for is this cold, windy, rainy weather to leave and to be able to sit around and complain about my callouses and worn out gloves!