- Sep 5, 2012
- 53
- 8
So...as you know both of my DD's have used Vinci gloves and Mitt's in the past. The BV1929-L was used by my DD in the circle and pretty much everywhere else on the field. My Catcher DD used a Vinci JCV-VM behind the dish for quite a few years and after a relace/recon it still has a lot of life left. This DD also plays a lot of 3B (and it wasn't unusual to see her pop up at just about everywhere else on the field) when not catching so when the time came to upgrade her fielders glove we looked to the Vinci brand again.
What we came up with was basically what AD has described above. It's the basic BV1929 pattern with an H-web built with their Optimus leather. It is listed as a 12.5" but feels and plays smaller. The laces left a little to be desired ;-) but actually held up better than expected and I'm sure when it gets relaced the glove will be even better than new. The hand stall and fingers have been perfect for her, I'd say she has average (medium/large) hands. The Optimus leather is 6.5 oz Kip in a walnut color that at first I wasn't crazy about but it has grown on me and has definitely held up well (I should add that the Optimus leather wasn't part of my original build request but Casedawg (DFP member and Vinci Rep) went the extra mile for us. The padding and stiffness is perfect. It does NOT have a velcro wrist closure so there's none of that nonsense to deal with. The glove was a beast to break in but isn't that part of the fun?
I'm a big fan of Vinci gloves. It's usually my first recommendation for FP players especially if they're pre-college. I really like the 22/PC Series because the leather is solid, the weight is good, they're durable & the price isn't crazy. They're a very good value! They're tough enough for a travel player but they're still able to be broken in by the player themselves. That's something I'm a big advocate of. The main reason players have an ill fitting glove is because they never learned to break in a glove properly by themselves.
I don't think that I would recommend an Optimus Series glove for the majority of female players. Weight is an issue with them. Heck, I have a 12.5" Custom Optimus myself in black & although I can handle it, it's weight is felt so I can't imagine it for a young lady.
Vinci has a lot of different patterns. Some play true to size. Some play smaller. Some play bigger. When you're ordering a custom from them, in addition to the size, it's advisable to also specify which model you want your glove to be based off of. I know that it can be tough if you're not familiar with all of their model so that's why it's always best to call them & talk to a customer rep. I know that Pete went about & beyond for me when I had an idea. They made my dream glove for me & it's one of a kind!
Now I know that the topic of this thread is designing a dream glove but truth be told, a dream glove is not going to make you a better fielder if you haven't put in the work! Very often the money for a custom dream glove might be better spent on getting proper instruction.