"Forever" Glove?

[strawman]

There's a lot of Vinci love on this forum. I was always a Rawlings Gold Glove/Heart of the Hide/Pro Preferred guy. My daughter loves her A2000s. But, I could see where she may like a mesh backed glove due to the weight savings. I wish Vinci had more retailers carrying their high end gloves.

 

[mmeece]

DD and a few teammates love their Kelley gloves. She has a G-lyte FPL 126 that has an extra deep pocket. Very light weight for the size/quality. Not bad to break-in either. Their website seems to still show out of stock and their phones weren't working well when I bought mine but they responded to email quickly and had great service.

 

[Bryce]

I can't follow the logic of plunking down $300 for a piece of equipment that doesn't actually improve the players defense. ---- My glove isn't any good that's why I can't field, I need a better glove. --- It's a poor carpenter who blames his/her tools

I see your point, but I don't think that's what anyone here is saying.

It's a labor of love to break in a glove, and when a well used specimen goes south, at least my DD's tend to want to hang onto them longer than they should because they are comfortable (if less effective). I'm watching this thread because I think my kids are committed to softball for several more years, and I'm willing to spend four times more for a glove that will last 5 times as long as the $80 Eastons we've been using because it ultimately conserves money and effort. I wouldn't do it at 8U or 10U, but if you have confidence that your kid will stick with it, why not?

Also, the glove is a more important piece of equipment because it gets used way more often than a bat. Honestly, has your DD ever worn out a bat? I'm sympathetic to the idea that making sure that the most used item functions as well as possible.

 

[ANNASDAD]

Hey cuervo, take a look at the Vinci ME024-M. It's a 12" mesh backed glove with a hinged single bar web (Vinci calls it a double bar web) and is made with Kip leather. This probably will not be that "forever" glove but even if she's playing a lot of ball she should easily get two years out of it. My DD was 12 when I got her her custom 12" Vinci, She's 14 now and it's just about time for a new one. Her Vinci has already had a full re-lace and replaced the thumb stay and last week I re-laced the top of the fingers and the spiral on top of the web just to stiffen it up a little.

I'm definitely a Rawlings Heart of the Hide guy, I just personally think their HOH steerhide is better than Vinci's Kip or steerhide leathers. But I'm absolutely sure that Vinci's mesh is better than Rawlings mesh. Cuervo, I've never actually held a ME024 before but it sounds on paper like a great combination of features for a upcoming 12U plaver, stiff Kip and lightweight mesh. And by my previous comment about the leather, I'm in no way saying that Vinci's leather is no good, I just prefer HOH leather a little more!

 

[ANNASDAD]

Sorry, should have done this the first time around.
Baseball Glove model MEO24-M Black with Black Mesh and Double Bar Web 12 inch by Vinci

 

[tim_s]

I can't follow the logic of plunking down $300 for a piece of equipment that doesn't actually improve the players defense. As for $400 bats you are talking to the wrong guy. I never paid more then $70 for a bat. The last 5 years my dd used team bats and did just fine with them. This is a simple game made more complicated then it needs to be. I truly believe that many of us build in a set of excuses for our kid to use. My glove isn't any good that's why I can't field, I need a better glove. I'm not hitting well because I don't have the newest bat... Or even worse the kid who has 3 $300 bats who still blame the bats.

It's a poor carpenter who blames his/her tools

i want my hard working, dedicated carpenter to have the best tools in their hand


sometimes a better tool DOES make a difference, all other things being equal....a good bat doesn't make a bad swing better.....but a better bat can make a sold swing all the more dangerous



and sometimes the upgrade IS mental......i've found girls need to be happy to do well.....unlike boys who tend to need to do well to be happy


a happy DD is a better playing DD

 

[Eric F]

i want my hard working, dedicated carpenter to have the best tools in their hand

Yep. A skilled carpenter with great tools can get more done, more efficiently, with better quality than the same carpenter with poor tools.

If a top-quality glove or bat helps boost confidence, then there actually can be an improvement in performance related to that piece of gear. Also, I have personally seen my DD's performance at catcher improve with a change in the mitt she was using. My DD puts in enough work to improve her skills that I can easily justify (to myself) that she deserves to have the best gear I can afford. Admittedly part of it is that I'm a gear geek. Another part is that it's a luxury that was not available to me when I played youth sports.

 

[Drakemir]

The ME024-M is a nice glove. Big benefits of it being lighter and cooler than a full leather one like the BV1929-L, though with the exception of catchers mitts my daughter at 10u had no issue handling a full leather one.

Hey cuervo, take a look at the Vinci ME024-M. It's a 12" mesh backed glove with a hinged single bar web (Vinci calls it a double bar web) and is made with Kip leather. This probably will not be that "forever" glove but even if she's playing a lot of ball she should easily get two years out of it. My DD was 12 when I got her her custom 12" Vinci, She's 14 now and it's just about time for a new one. Her Vinci has already had a full re-lace and replaced the thumb stay and last week I re-laced the top of the fingers and the spiral on top of the web just to stiffen it up a little.

I'm definitely a Rawlings Heart of the Hide guy, I just personally think their HOH steerhide is better than Vinci's Kip or steerhide leathers. But I'm absolutely sure that Vinci's mesh is better than Rawlings mesh. Cuervo, I've never actually held a ME024 before but it sounds on paper like a great combination of features for a upcoming 12U plaver, stiff Kip and lightweight mesh. And by my previous comment about the leather, I'm in no way saying that Vinci's leather is no good, I just prefer HOH leather a little more!

 

[ANNASDAD]

The ME024-M is a nice glove. Big benefits of it being lighter and cooler than a full leather one like the BV1929-L, though with the exception of catchers mitts my daughter at 10u had no issue handling a full leather one.

Hey Drakemir, the mesh is the reason I chose the ME024, a lightweight but still substantial quality glove. Cuervo's DD is still almost a half a year away from turning 11 so I was still a little worried to recommend this glove. As I said earlier my DD was 12 when she got her Vinci, no way would I have gave her a full Kip leather Vinci at the age of 10. Of course my DD's a small girl, especially small when she was 10. Was your DD's glove steerhide or Kip? Was it a Vinci??

A couple of other Vinci models that could work for her:

Vinci RV5700-22 is a 12" H-web thats steerhide (not kip) with a mesh back.
Vinci RCV1200-22 is a 12" basket web that's all steerhide leather, one ugly SOB though in my opinion!

 

[cuervo1800]

I'm glad I asked this question; eye opening. I'm kind of a gear geek too, and I research things to death prior to moving on anything, thus this thread...

I'm not quite sure we're ready for $200 + gloves yet at (almost) 11 years old. I was thinking when I started this to see what was between $100 and $150, knowing full well the Nocona's of the world are $200 - $300+

I've read a lot the past few days about the Vinci and Akadema and Shoeless Jane... The common things about the SJ's are that they feel great out of the box, but that they may have shipped to you with 1 year behind them in terms of wearability and that they get flimsy.

There's a lot of Vinci love on this site, and I like what I see from the website on their gloves and in reviews. I would probably lean more to the Fortus 12" at this point for her instead of a custom or even the "ugly SOB" mentioned above...

Things I read about the Akadema is intriguing too, especially like the way they actually seem to design the glove around smaller hands. The attention to the spread and distance between the thumb and index finger as well as the smaller finger stalls. I've read great reviews on them too, but I've also read a few people say that they played out a little sooner than they thought they would.

So now what?

I'm thinking at this point that this is WAY too early to be thinking "forever" glove, and to think more about great transition gloves to bridge the gap from now to when she decides how serious this is going to be and then make another purchase at that time with a lot more informed input from her as a player... Right now she doesn't really have an opinion outside of the looks of the glove (which I'm not underestimating with girls and psyche and all; totally different than boys)

Thanks again to everyone, and keep the opinions coming... especially if anyone has more input on the fortus and the Akadema....