Well - I guess I should put this review in the Lekka section - so here goes!
Does perfection last?
The last few nets, I have been using a pair of Lekka Powerbow xtrax gloves (I believe they cost £50 with a couple of xtrax grips included to compliment the gloves) and thought it would be a good opportunity to review them after giving them a fair pounding. Like most of us, I am very guilty of playing alot more aggressively in the nets than I would do in a match situation! So it is an ideal opportunity to test equipment, and I fancied a change from bats!
The look……..
Well, I feel that they look very nice. I don’t really get too excited over gloves as I’m more of a bat man! But I do like the Newbery SPS gloves, Bradbury Players, and these! They are not too fussy and have a nice mix of plainness. And most importantly, I feel I’d be able to use these gloves with most of the bats I have!
The Fit
I asked Kev for gloves slightly larger than Men’s standard but the Over Sized Mens tend to be a little too large, although every brand seems to vary in size and fit! I like to wear some fingerless inners with batting gloves, and these Lekkas fit me perfectly! I can always tell how well by how much I need to adjust them when I’m batting. And in the nets, these were just about forgetten about once they were on!
Feel and Protection
Very comfortable, soft and cozy. It helps the feel of them if the fit is great. And I am sure that Kev could confirm the actual official level of protection. They certainly feel as if they will protect me at my level of cricket, and we have a couple of swift young adults who bowl with effort and pace, and can bend their back without throwing it out! And I did cop a higher bouncing ball on the fingers on my (lower) hand – but no damage was done and there was ample protection on that occasion. Obviously until I face Tait or Johnson in the next Ashes (hmmm!) then I’m unlikely to be able to test the upper limits of these gloves!
Grip
Grip is the party trick for these gloves! The material on the palms allows for real Formula 1 type grip on the bat handle. This leads to no twist of the bat and therefore (in theory) little or no loss of power! Obviously the gloves wouldn’t help with middling the ball or the timing. But for stopping the bat from twisting or moving in your hands, then this would be where the extra power would be generated. Now a lot of this may be in my head, but I have certainly been hitting the ball harder than usual, in particular with the straight shots where it helps to play the bat straight through with no swivel – cover drives, straight drives, straight six, etc.
Perfect?
In all aspects mentioned so far above, I would rate these gloves as absolutely superb. They feel perfect, comfortable and the fit are excellent. The grip they offer is better than any gloves I have used before. But it’s not all perfection, as there is one small cloud on the horizon……wear! There are a couple of very small areas where the magic grip has worn slightly. This is not to say that they will deteriorate quickly. They have been worked hard so far so you can always expect some wear when the bowlers are running in every 20 seconds and you’re swinging hard! But it’s a question of how long the magic grip lasts on the gloves. To think about it logically, if the grip on the gloves wears, then I will still end up with gloves that are comfortable and fit well....but I am being spoilt, so want the extra grip!
To Sum Up.....
The excellent fit and feel of these makes me look forward to wearing them. And due to the extra grip, IO even think that they help with playing shots ! But how long with the magic last? Initially I’m so pleased with them! But I guess I’m just going to have to keep my well protected fingers crossed and update a few games into the season.
My feeling is that they will perform all season, but only time will tell!
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