Specific recommendations for catcher's mitt, please!

[ANNASDAD]

We have one of these all-stars and after a year and a half of trying to get it playable it finally works. It's been buried with a ball or two and wrapped and has a decent pocket. Definitely a different feel than other catchers gloves though.

I've heard several people say that their All-Star wasn't too bad to break in! I know how to break in a ball glove......and my All-Star CMW3000 was a B**** to break in!! And my Vinci JCV-22 steer hide wasn't a picnic either!

But, good high end / high quality catchers mitts should be hard to break in!

 

[Eric F]

The Akadema FP gloves are garbage. Have tried both versions of the catchers mitt and both are sub-par.

Vinci are the best padding and are tanks. Great FP catchers glove. We have one of these all-stars and after a year and a half of trying to get it playable it finally works. It's been buried with a ball or two and wrapped and has a decent pocket. Definitely a different feel than other catchers gloves though.

My DD liked her Akadema mitt at 10U, and it was really good for the type of pitchers she was handling. I can't recommend the brand for older players.

My DD's current Vinci JCV34 (modified with an H-web) has been going strong for over 2 years of 14U TB, and is still going strong as she is moving into 16U. I have yet to come across a mitt with a thicker palm pad. However, this means they take FOREVER to break in - but it's really worth it.

 

[MadBandit22]

The Akadema FP gloves are garbage. Have tried both versions of the catchers mitt and both are sub-par.

Vinci are the best padding and are tanks. Great FP catchers glove. We have one of these all-stars and after a year and a half of trying to get it playable it finally works. It's been buried with a ball or two and wrapped and has a decent pocket. Definitely a different feel than other catchers gloves though.

I thought the FP mitts were a little light on padding that’s why I suggested the BB version for it’s upgrades. $155 for all FP gloves $3 bills for Torino BB gloves.
I agree with other posters the Liberty Advanced is a quality glove at a reasonable price.
The one-off gloves from Akadema I’ve seen look great. The problem is you won’t find them on their websites.

 

[ANNASDAD]

I thought the FP mitts were a little light on padding that’s why I suggested the BB version for it’s upgrades. $155 for all FP gloves $3 bills for Torino BB gloves.
I agree with other posters the Liberty Advanced is a quality glove at a reasonable price.
The one-off gloves from Akadema I’ve seen look great. The problem is you won’t find them on their websites.

For the great deals out there right now on really high quality gloves, someone would have to be an idiot to spend $300.00 on an Akadema ball glove, I mean like fall down and bump their head idiot!

I've got a kitchen table full of very nice gloves and I paid $300.00 for exactly one (1).

Not trying to start a fight MD, we know how short your fuse is , just my personal opinion, if you have a $300.00 Akadema, I'm truly sorry!

 

[MadBandit22]

For the great deals out there right now on really high quality gloves, someone would have to be an idiot to spend $300.00 on an Akadema ball glove, I mean like fall down and bump their head idiot!

I've got a kitchen table full of very nice gloves and I paid $300.00 for exactly one (1).

Not trying to start a fight MD, we know how short your fuse is , just my personal opinion, if you have a $300.00 Akadema, I'm truly sorry!

See there you go again AD not reading posts thoroughly. I wouldn’t spend $300 on any glove. My goal is to always find the best product I’m in the market for at the lowest possible price.
Like I mentioned I receive e-mails from Akadema with “specials” at a fraction of the retail cost.
As an example a 34” FP catchers mitt made out of Torino leather. You won’t see that on any website especially for the $85 it was offered to me.
Similar gloves in BB line with slightly smaller pockets that would be fine for Softball.
I think in ball gloves they got it wrong. The high-end gloves should be soft & subtle and easy to break in. The entry level gloves should be tough and a chore to “get right”.
I’m sure you can relate to this as a person who likes quality products.
If your buying a new luxury car do you get nice buttery soft leather seats or seats covered in a burlap bag for the premium price on high end models?

 

[ANNASDAD]

Dang MD, I was trying to pick a fight and you got all nice on me today! Sorry, it's Friday and all my comprehension skills have tanked for the week, babysitting a shop full of guys seems to have that effect on me! (affect or effect? See..........)

I never saw where you said you could get a Torino model for $85.00, now that's a different story, I'd definitely jump on that!

 

[Eric F]

See there you go again AD not reading posts thoroughly. I wouldn’t spend $300 on any glove. My goal is to always find the best product I’m in the market for at the lowest possible price.
Like I mentioned I receive e-mails from Akadema with “specials” at a fraction of the retail cost.
As an example a 34” FP catchers mitt made out of Torino leather. You won’t see that on any website especially for the $85 it was offered to me.
Similar gloves in BB line with slightly smaller pockets that would be fine for Softball.
I think in ball gloves they got it wrong. The high-end gloves should be soft & subtle and easy to break in. The entry level gloves should be tough and a chore to “get right”.
I’m sure you can relate to this as a person who likes quality products.
If your buying a new luxury car do you get nice buttery soft leather seats or seats covered in a burlap bag for the premium price on high end models?

My personal glove is a 12-3/4" Akadema AMR34 that I got for a crazy-good price during the short time I was a rep. It hasn't gotten much use recently, but I've had it for over 4 years, and it's still in very good shape. It handles softball really nicely.

Soft and supple leather isn't durable, which is why high-end gloves aren't built with that type of material.

 

[MadBandit22]

My personal glove is a 12-3/4" Akadema AMR34 that I got for a crazy-good price during the short time I was a rep. It hasn't gotten much use recently, but I've had it for over 4 years, and it's still in very good shape. It handles softball really nicely.

Soft and supple leather isn't durable, which is why high-end gloves aren't built with that type of material.

Nokona Skns. All depends where you put the leather. You don’t need hard thick leather everywhere. Really just the palm and web take the most beating. The back of the glove should be thinner/softer leather to ease break-in process.
Or I guess you could just go with other “stronger leathers” like Bison or Reptile. Or maybe even go synthetic or partially synthetic like Wilson.
When I was looking for a mitt for DD I went to a local retailer that has good assortment. Charges full retail for everything so I don’t purchase from him. Grabbed a Nokona and put it right back. Way too stiff and knew it would take forever to break-in.
He didn’t have any All Star mitts so it came down to LA, Mizuno Samurai, & Wilson A2000.
I don’t care for Wilson gloves. Not enough padding and I’m just not paying for synthetic leather.
The LA & Mizuno were comparable but the kids wanted white and I got a better deal on LA. All said and done happy with purchase.

 

[Eric F]

Nokona Skns. All depends where you put the leather. You don’t need hard thick leather everywhere. Really just the palm and web take the most beating. The back of the glove should be thinner/softer leather to ease break-in process.
Or I guess you could just go with other “stronger leathers” like Bison or Reptile. Or maybe even go synthetic or partially synthetic like Wilson.
When I was looking for a mitt for DD I went to a local retailer that has good assortment. Charges full retail for everything so I don’t purchase from him. Grabbed a Nokona and put it right back. Way too stiff and knew it would take forever to break-in.
He didn’t have any All Star mitts so it came down to LA, Mizuno Samurai, & Wilson A2000.
I don’t care for Wilson gloves. Not enough padding and I’m just not paying for synthetic leather.
The LA & Mizuno were comparable but the kids wanted white and I got a better deal on LA. All said and done happy with purchase.

Tight-grain leather like Kip can be thinner and still gave the durability and structure needed for a long-term glove. The initial break in can take a while, but the result is worth it.

Until recently, I had a fairly negative view of the Wilson A2000-series. However, my DD's new A2000 1B mitt and fielders glove are pretty darn nice, and the "Super Skin" makes them quite light, which I consider a plus. She will have an A2000 catcher's mitt coming soon. We shall see if my currently positive opinion holds up.

I have never cared for Nokona. They just feel heavy and clunky to me.

Rawlings LA-series are always a solid choice, IMO.

 

[_MIA_]

Not sure why a long break in period is a problem..you just have to plan your glove buying ahead of time. Estimating when you will need a new glove usually isn't that difficult (unlike bats breaking..) unless you switch positions (in which case I can see needing a shorter break in period).