Boy have I had a hard time finding a pair of weight lifting gloves! My previous ones were simple leather Saranac gloves, not much padding but they lasted for several years. The leather eventually rotted out forming huge holes. But I can definitely say that the Saranac gloves were awesome.
Now onto the replacement. I tried four different types of gloves.
Harbinger 143
Harbinger 1260
Harbinger 1215 Big Grip II
GoFit Diamond-Trac
The Harbinger 143 gloves were OK. They didn't have too much padding, but fit very snug and were difficult to get off. Also, the fingers were short.
The Harbinger 1260 and 1215 were both unusable due to having too much padding in the palm and knuckle area. The padding is comfortable for pressing exercises (e.g. bench press), but makes it all but impossible to do pulling exercises (e.g. pull ups, curls, deadlifts, rows, etc.). You can try them yourselves, but save some money and take my word for it.
The GoFit Diamond-Trac gloves are the best of the bunch for my needs. They have a little padding in the palm, but not enough to interfere with your grip. They are lightweight, so I'm not sure how long they'll last, but I'll reserve judgment on that. They do make my hands sweat, because the neoprene on the back doesn't seem to breathe well. They run a little larger in size than the other gloves. Also, I like that they have a finger tab to help you pull off the gloves.
UPDATE: I've been using the GoFit Gloves four times a week for the last few months, and they are very comfortable and showing no wear. So far so good!
Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful. GoFit Diamond-Tac Weightlifting Glove and Training CD (Medium)
I am a serious lifter, and lift heavy and hard. Padding? I wear gloves for one reason, to keep my hands from getting calloused (my wife appreciates this). These are durable, last me longer (6 months) than any other brand I've used. Fit is good, as well as comfort. I don't like a lot of padding, doesn't feel right. I can't believe some one has the audacity to say a glove isn't for serious lifters, over lack of padding. These gloves are a rock solid value. And have become the only brand I purchase.
I had to recently replace a pair of old Harbinger workout gloves. I had gotten a pair of Nikes, and absolutely hated them (they were so slick, I was scared of losing my grip on the bar).
Anyway, after reading the reviews of the GoFit Diamond-Tac gloves, I decided to give them and try.
I'm very glad I did. They were everything I read about in the reviews and then some. The grip extremely well, yet breathe better than any glove I've ever had. They're easy to take off (thanks to the slightly extra long index finger).
I didn't view the video that comes w/ it. The other reviewers said it wasn't very good, so I decided to take their word for it.
I heartily recommend them. You absolutely won't regret using these gloves.
The only other thing I should mention is that they do run a tad on the large side. So if you typically wear an XL glove, just get a large. If you typically wear a large, get a medium.
After a few weeks of working out with kettlebell weights, my hands became blistered and painful. After the blisters on my hands became so painful I could hardly get through a modest workout, I finally decided to buy these gloves. The gloves allow me to firmly grip the kettlebell, but at the same time it allows the weight to slide when I loosen my grip. Keep in mind that the skin on the base of your fingers and possibly part of your palm will still get rubbed and may tear open the skin using these gloves with the kettlebell weights. Although the skin may tear, it can always heal and become tougher. When you don't use gloves however, it will pinch the skin and cause blisters and contusions to form which are much harder to deal with.
The padding is in horizontal strips across the palms. When it lines up with the weights you're holding, it is helpful but I've found that to only happen on curls and vertical presses, not standard bench press. Instead the bar settle in between the padding and the gloves are only marginally helpful.
I just picked these gloves up today and used them at the gym for the first time.....and overall they were ok. The gripping strength is definitely there as I had no problems with grip for weight training. The only major problem these gloves have is that they have NO PADDING at all ....If you are a serious weightlifter using serious weights like me, then these gloves are not for you. If you do light weight or you are in the gym for lighter weight and more repetitions, then these gloves will definitely serve their purpose. Overall, for $12 bucks, these are a good deal, but Go Fit definitely does not impress on the comfort and padding level for the more rigorous weightlifters. I am not sure how well the duration holds up on these gloves since it was the first time at the gym but if they fall apart quickly I will make sure to update on that.
I have used these for about a half dozen workouts so far. I am not a body builder, but I workout hard for about an hour. They show no signs of wear. The pads seem very durable, but they are not so thick that they cause pinching (99% of the time).
I wear between large and extra large. I ordered XL. These seem true to size. I'm glad I rounded up. When your hands/arms are dead and the gloves are sweaty, a little larger size is easier to remove.
The main reason for buying these is that the material is synthetic so I can wash it without fear.
About the only nit is that there is a useless velcro closure which serves more of a purpose for advertising. I wish it didn't have it. I was not looking for gloves with wrist wraps. I wanted something simple on/off as sometimes I take a break to mix in some cardio exercises.'
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