Gloves

[Gary Prerost]

Im hoping to get the what, why and objective thoughts on gloves for casting.I see brands that cost various prices ,dont take this the wrong way but Im not a badge wearer just looking for comfort and function. Thanks in advance Gary

[Kurt de Villiers]

Gary, i've got and have gone through many a pair of glove, whether they where a top brand or not.
First things first, finger placement in relation to your leader or braid. I always make sure that my index finger when casting is holding the nylon leader, rather than the braid or knot. This seems to prolong the life of your gloves index finger. Most gloves though, do come with extra protecting/padding on the index finger part.
I have found that Smith make a great glove if your going to be casting big heavy lures, big leaders and lines, due to them using a complete leather (very soft) underside. this also helps with the manhandling of fish and their tail scutes. I also use these gloves for spearfishing, as they offer a lot of protecting, but still maintain the 'feel' aspect. Fisherman also offer a similar product but with the added price adjustment.
But, still my favorite glove is one from Zenaq. The have extra index finger protecting, and have a lot of 'feel' in them. I can still tie knots in them. The best thing about these gloves are that they have a very short wrist cuff, thus allowing ample wrist movement, keeps much cooler and makes you feel like your not actually wearing gloves.
Best gloves i've fished with, and would highly recommend them.
Hope this help,

cheers

[Gary Prerost]

Thankyou Kurt exactly what I was hoping for I now have something to work with ,will definately check all three out regards Gary

[Aaron Concord]

Gary,

Kurt's post sums up most of the aspects for gloves.

My biggest issue, I found when selling them to customers or buying a pair for myself, was fit.

Not all gloves give the same articulation of the fingers and more-so, the webbed part of your palm stretching from your index finger to your thumb: this area can see major fit fluctuations!  I hate it when it's too tight across this part of my hand.

Many people would come in and ask for X brand because their mates use them.  It's a good start, though many times I had to go through the 4 or 5 brands we stocked just to get the "fit" right.

Most gloves these days do cover their index finger with another layer of material and most are sufficiently padded to give some protection from getting your fingers banged around by the rod or reel. 

I feel fit is most important and anything else is a bonus!

Cheers

Aaron.

[Gary Prerost]

Aaron thats good sound advice and advice I will use thanks Gary

[Dan Ryan]

Agree 100% with all the advice above. Gloves  are essentially disposable pieces of kit and I'm not one for labels but will never buy a 'cheapo' pair again. That said I recently bought my first ever "Fisherman" recently: their new Ergonomic '3D' gloves are fantastic. Can't comment on the durability yet, but they look/feel very well made and oh man are they comfortable. Dan

[chris coates]

Anyone know the best way to choose size's? I'm thinking of buying some over the net because i don't have any good shops neer me.

[Grant Zietsman]

Gary,

finally something i reckon i know the most about --
We manufacture gloves internationally and it really depends where the gloves are made and who is the owner of the company i.e. eurpean/asian/african etc

Eurpoean hands are larger than Asian, African hands have a wider distance difference between thumb and forefinger.
Most gloves are made in Sri-lanka/Malaysia/China etc but their owners sit in Europe.

some of the better brands will give you a sizing chart for their range of gloves, but one chart is not generic unfortunately.
we have industrial gloves used on the mines in the bowen - they are absolutely terrific for fishing (not selling give me a minute)
beating the abrasion resistance of leather by more than 8 times the resistance.
i always have stacks of them on my boat for the boys - me however i am a brand man junkie!!!! so even though the gloves are great and are in most aspects probably better ( no slipping after you pick up a wet GT).....i just can't handle the industrial Safety STD marking on the glove in pictures and I'm tired of photo shopping them out!!

so i have used most and to sum up......
industrial Nitrile/PE gloves (nik them from stores but make sure they are mine  ) are the cheapest safest throw away able option
most of us have used Cultiva brand - they to me are okay pity about the inside seam and bulky finger and slimy grip after handling a GT.......but if you have worn them then this is where you get your sizing from......

so Cultiva are a more generic European sizing - so if you are looking to order online for fishermen or my new favourite (Shimano Ocea) gloves from online stores then general rule of thumb is to go one size bigger and you SHOULD be good - i say should so don't come chase me if they are not ----

hope that long winded nonsense helped my man!