Today sees the release of the long awaited Stringking Flyer 1 lacrosse glove. There will be many among you who are more that familiar with Stringking and for good reason, they have produced some of the best lacrosse heads, handles and mesh of the market. It seems a long time ago that they were the new kids on the block, they hit the ground running and never looked back.
Over a year ago rumors were rife that Stringking were developing a glove. Unlike some other companies who have rushed new products out to the market only then to discover issues once they've reached consumers. Stringking have always been a brand that has taken their time to produce high quality and well designed lacrosse equipment and provided the sport with a high level of consistency that quickly elevated them to one of most well regarded names in lacrosse.
From the early videos of the Flyer 1 prototypes it was clear that Stringking would aim to produce a dexterous glove that would give you the perfect feel when using your stick. Have they achieved that?
About 6 months ago we had a small package arrive from Stringking and it's fair to say there was some excitement around the staff when we discovered it was a sample pair of Flyer 1 gloves. The very first thing everyone noticed was just how soft they felt putting them on, zero break in time. They truly feel game ready from the moment you put them on and it's hard not to be impressed by just how supple they feel.
The thumb mobility and finger dexterity really is something else, you'd be hard pressed not to like the Flyer 1, the only real niggle is the price. As the Flyer 1 is Stringking's first glove it is a bold move to come in at the highest price point for a pair of lacrosse gloves. The finish on the final production model is better than the samples we had at the start of the year as the cuff is a little different inside and just feels a little more premium that our sample pair.
The lucky staff member who snagged the sample has had no problems in terms of the level of protection in these gloves and they've held up perfectly in the 4 months on practice and games he used them in.
Todays the first day to have these gloves on the shelf in the store and although out of season we still had 5 customers in the store who have tried them on and all been impressed with how they feel. One guy used the word "buttery" and another customer can be quoted as saying "****, I didn't even come in here for gloves. I'm wearing these to drive back to work now"
Personally I've worn a lot of lacrosse gloves in 35 years of playing. Most gloves during that time have ended up having the palms cut out pretty quickly, I always give them a go for a week or so and end up cutting them out. Even I like the palms, they are silky soft.
It will be really interesting to see if and how Stringking handle custom orders. As the glove is made in house at their US headquarters it could mean rapid turnaround times which could be a huge bonus for them. Unless you've ever been involved in ordering team gloves than you might not know but it takes months and although in recent years the minimum order quantities have come down, the turnaround time is still crazy long. I really hope Stringking can make their team custom gloves work.
Now for the haters out there who will say they look like another rip off pair of STX RZR let's get something straight....all the top end gloves have that segmented finger design and most gloves going forward will also have that molded back hand style. Worth noting that even the OG STX RXR took some inspiration from later versions of the Nike Vapor Elite with the thumb and index finger. If you take a look around the market there is a number of gloves with a similar vibe out there, for good reason too. The split segments provide great feel and molded backhand means less stitching that could fail.
