I ordered a new Vinci JCV-22 catchers mitt from Casey last week Monday (3-26) and it was delivered to my house on Thursday, 3-29. When I took it out of the box, it was plenty stiff as to be expected from a catchers mitt. I fully understand that a catchers mitt will take longer to break in than a regular fielders glove due to the extra leather, padding, etc. It came with a small jar of conditioner and some break in instructions. Thursday night I applied the conditioner to the mitt. So many places are saying how good steaming a glove is, and since there was no place who did the steaming in my area, I decided to just boil water on the stove and hold the mitt above it. While it generated minimal steam and I couldnt have the entire mitt in the steam all at once, I did it section by section. It never got to hot as I was able to hold it with my hands and did it without discomfort. Once I was done with doing that for a few minutes, I just used a bat I had here to beat on the mitt some, as they do when it is steamed in a actual steamer. Mostly around the edges where the leather is thickest, the palm and a little on the rest of the mitt. When done with that, I worked it by hand while watching tv for 10-15 minutes, then put a softball in the pocket and tied it closed. Friday evening I took the ball out of the pocket worked it over for awhile by hand, used the bat to beat on it more, put the ball back in the pocket and tied it closed again. Saturday afternoon I added another coatign of conditioner, inside and out. I then steamed it the same as the first time, used the bat on it, worked it by hand, put the ball back in the pocket and left it. My daughter used it later to play catch with her boyfriend and while fairly stiff yet, she caught the ball well. When she was done, I put the ball back intot he pocket and tied it closed. Sunday, I worked it by hand again. While not perfect, it was alot softer than when I got it. She has been using it in practice all week. It will take a little while to get fully broke in, but so far it is in pretty good shape.
In the past, I tried a Nakona and a Wilson A2K mitt. While these are good mitts, they seemed quite large. My daughter is 17 and has smaller size hands, so mitts as big as these just didnt work out well for her. The Vinci JCV-22 is a 33" mitt and looks smaller and fits her hand alot better. It also does have a nice deep pocket and well as a pocket that is plenty big enough overall for the 12" softball. Last year she borrowed a mitt from another girl and she liked it because it was a smaller glove that fit her better, BUT it also had a smaller pocket and caused to many dropped balls. So far this Vinci mitt seems like a very nice mitt, both fitting and pocket size. I will follow up when it is broken it. From what I saw of it so far, I wouldnt be afraid to put it up againts any of the other big name popular gloves like the Nakona or Wilson A2k mitts. Rebala (casey) is also very helpful with any questions at all that you may have.
Rob
In the past, I tried a Nakona and a Wilson A2K mitt. While these are good mitts, they seemed quite large. My daughter is 17 and has smaller size hands, so mitts as big as these just didnt work out well for her. The Vinci JCV-22 is a 33" mitt and looks smaller and fits her hand alot better. It also does have a nice deep pocket and well as a pocket that is plenty big enough overall for the 12" softball. Last year she borrowed a mitt from another girl and she liked it because it was a smaller glove that fit her better, BUT it also had a smaller pocket and caused to many dropped balls. So far this Vinci mitt seems like a very nice mitt, both fitting and pocket size. I will follow up when it is broken it. From what I saw of it so far, I wouldnt be afraid to put it up againts any of the other big name popular gloves like the Nakona or Wilson A2k mitts. Rebala (casey) is also very helpful with any questions at all that you may have.
Rob
