Baseballl Gloves Buying Guide
GLOVE LEATHER
Apr
A good baseball glove can give your defensive game a boost, but the right one for you depends on many factors, like type of leather, what position you play, and what the heck do all those web patterns mean? We carry a lot of gloves, so educating yourself will help you narrow all those gloves down to a manageable list you can then choose from. Becuase you want the glove that will maximize your chances of handling any ball that comes your way.
FULL GRAIN LEATHER
Gloves are made from a variety of leathers, but most can be separated into four major categories: full grain, kip (or kipskin), premium steerhide, and cowhide. Leather type affects the look, feel, durability break-in time, and price of your glove. Here you’ll get a good sense of what each type has to offer.
Full-grain leather is steerhide or cowhide leather on which the natural grain remains. This causes the glove to be stiffer and heavier than other leather gloves, which means you have to spend more time breaking it in. It’s worth the extra work however: Once broken in, full grain leather gloves are superior in both performance and durability.
KIP (OR KIPSKIN)
Kip leather is a soft and luxurious cowhide found in high-end gloves. It tends to be lighter in weight than cowhide, which helps particularly infielders snag the ball and makes the transfer from glove to hand faster. Gloves made from kip leather are also easier and take considerably less time to break in than a glove made from full-grain leather.
PREMIUM STEERHIDE
Steerhide is stronger than cowhide and tends to be stiffer, heavier, and more durable than other types of leathers. Taken from the back shoulder of grown steers is what makes this leather incredibly tough, and tough to break in, but it’s still a premium material and popular choice of pro players.
LEATHER OR COWHIDE
This will be your baseline for baseball gloves. Leather means cowhide, usually medium weight, but sometimes heavier. Cowhide performs well and will break in faster, but also wears out faster than steerhide. Oftentimes, this grade will come “pre-oiled” to reduce break-in time. Cowhide is generally the best all-around glove for youth players.
