Review: Gloves - What does 'Grip' mean to you?

Discussion in 'Equipment and Gear Off Topic' started by averinho, Nov 27, 2011.

  1. averinho

    averinho New Member

    Oct 26, 2011
    Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    ‘Grip’, tends to be a nebulous term most keepers don’t think much about; you just know what it is, even if it might be tough to explain. You know it when you feel it. Values we assign are interpretive, dependent upon breadth and depth of experience of other foams.

    Grip is associated with friction. Friction speaks to how one surface resists the movement of another surface. Seems simple enough, but the relationship between goalkeeper and palm is personal and complex. What we perceive as grip involves many factors beyond friction between ball and foam.

    Friction properties (coefficient of friction) are easily measured with the ASTM D1894 protocol. The apparatus can be big $$$, so very few brand HQ’s are equipped, but foam vendors and the bigger glove factories will have at least a Gerry-rigged version. Some of which would make MacGyver wince.

    http://www.massdevice.com/blogs/debbi-cohen/how-guide-astm-d1894-coefficient-friction-test-plastic

    KGI considers ASTM D1894 useful for certain things but dismisses claims about grip if the data is derived from a sled based test. Why? Because sled tests are one dimensional; sled test data does not reflect how foam will perform once cut and sewn into a glove. Why? Because friction is not grip.

    Foam which measures impressively via the one dimensional sled test cannot be assumed to provide superior grip because grip is a multi-dimensional result of several variables -
    environmental conditions
    anatomy
    psycho-physiology (tactile perception)
    foam composite
    biomechanics
    cut/patterning
    fit & form (Glove:Ball Interface)

    Each of us attaches our own weighted values to these. What’s most important to you may not be for another. Accordingly, conclusions will vary. Who’s right? Everybody. This speaks directly to the beauty and fascination for how a glove you may consider the best ever, is a glove another keeper would not choose.

    In a blind test, you could have ten pair of gloves made with foam from the same bolt, and still see deviation from the mean. This is where experience and knowledge plays in. Its one thing to know what types of testing must be performed. It is another thing entirely to know how to interpret the data and what to do it. Keeper Glove Insiders has a great experience in the relationships, relevance, and values of these variables; they are accounted for in The KGI’s published ratings for grip.

    A big part of understanding a subjective reviewer is knowing where they are, as compared to where you are. It is entirely possible you’re in the same place, but simply manage your descriptions differently.

    Another consideration (best left for later) is the fact that foams vary from batch to batch. Brand A’s booga-booga foam may have been other-worldly superb on your first two pair and then get a pair that doesn't kick in until the fourth or fifth wash or wearing. If anyone out there has run into performance differences with the ‘same’ foam, please elaborate on the keepergloveinsiders forum. Don’t mention specific brand names or types; just write about what you've experienced.
     

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