Radar Vice Glove Review

[kona]

Ok, now that I have some time to use my Radar Vice gloves i'm ready to write a review.

 

Sine there has been many questions asked as how the Vice gloves compare to the to Masterline Pro Locks I will try address some of those without trying to make this a Masterline Radar challenge.

 

These gloves run small compared to the pro locks. I wear a med pro lock and I could barely get my hands in the Vice the first time I put them on. After repeated wearings and getting the Vice glove wet they are getting better as far as fit but still are a little difficult to get on. I went to my local pro shop and tried on a large size and there was not much difference. The length of the fingers was not the problem for me, that seems good. It's the width around the fingers and the whole hand. I have fat hands so maybe someone with skinny fingers and hands would have a better fit.

I also had a hard time getting the glove on partly due to the relief cut in the glove being small and on the side of the glove. I would like to see this relief area enlarged and moved to the center.

Someone was asking about the palm material in another thread. The material is almost identical to the pro lock with the exception of the extra stitching on the vice palms.

 

The Vice has large and well padded comfortable wrist strap to help distribute the load of the pull and a single strap over the back off the hand to tighten up the fit. which really wasn't needed for me but it does add extra support. The straps are a little hard to thread through the loops due to the fact that there is no taper on the end of the strap and the tolerances are very tight. This problem is compounded when you have one hand already gloved up and try to due the other. If you have these gloves or the pro locks you know what I mean.

 

My biggest problem with Vice glove is the length of the strap going from the wrist to the fingers that contains the dowel. This strap is little longer than the pro locks and did not allow me to get a good wrap around the handle I use a radar starda handle size 0.94. Not only do I have fat hands they are small too. The strap would bunch a bit and I did not feel like I had a good grip. I had no problems with the release but the catch bothered me a bit with the extra length of the strap. Once again this is not much it just seemed to bug me.

 

Overall fit and comfort was good. there are pluses and minuses. My recommendations would make sure you try this glove on. It will stretch a bit but not much. If you have anything but thin hands they will be very tight. The Vice has very good workmanship as expected from Radar. I will continue use them through out the summer and report back as to how they hold up.

 

Thanks John H for the discount.

 

If you have these gloves let me know how they work for you.

 

 

 

[bxroads]

As kona suggested, fit is a personal thing and the only way to know which is the better fit for you is to try both the Masterlines and the Vice. I normally wear large gloves and the medium Masterlines did not fit snug enough for my tastes. The large Vice fit just as I like a glove to fit. If you're like me and do not have the luxury of a retail location nearby that carries the gloves and you must order them, I would suggest to order the Vice in the size that you normally wear and the Masterline in both the size you normally wear and one size smaller. Keep the glove that fits you the best and return the others.

[Ed_Obermeier]

FWIW I wore Large in Clinchers for a lot of years. I wear Large in the ML's as well and they fit just fine, very similar in fit to the old Clinchers, probably a bit better fit actually (fingers not quite as long on the ML's as the Clinchers). Haven't tried the Radar's yet.

 

Ed

[eleeski]

I've been using Clinchers and the Masterline Prolocks for years. Thanks Kona for your insights - I'm interested in the Radars.

To make my Clinchers or Prolocks work for me, I rubber band the webbing to my fingers. This keeps the webbing from flapping or sticking to the handle so I get positive releases and hookups. I also poke holes with a hot icepick in the webbing and paint it with wetsuit glue. New gloves seem a bit slippery so this cures that. By the time things wear off and smooth out the worn webbing grips great.

Eric

[kona]

Wow great idea. I will have to try the rubber band trick. I know what you mean about the finish on the webbing when its new.

[sixball]

I am using Radar Vice now. I have only skies a few times this year because of Mother nature!!!!! Wind rain and yes snow.

I like them more than my Clinchers but I think my Clinchers were just a little to big. The vice I am using are XL and fit tight but do seam to be loosening up some. They are hard to get on and to make them feel good you need to get them on right.

They are to small for the sleeve of the dry suit but I can get them on. I think they will be nice without a suit. I think my Clinchers were XXL but cant tell anymore.

My release have been easy same as re-grip. I am happy at this point but need more time. I also changed my handle so need more water time

The gloves seam to be made well

[teammalibu]

Who's got the best deal on the vice gloves

[sixball]

Oh crap 4 sets and the right hand split at the seam at the base of the thumb and finger. I am going out of town so when I get back I will get with Radar and see if they will replace them.

[Boody]

 

These gloves run small. When I wore clinchers, I wore a size small. On the masterlines, I wore a medium. On these, I ordered a medium but need a large. They are very very snug so you may want to go a size larger than you are used to.

 

[bxroads]

After two months and approximately 45 sets my Vice Clinchers are ripped in the palm area (not in a seam). The material there seems extremely thin. Bummer.

[skibug]

I used clinchers (still have an inventory of 3 pair) for years and switched to the Pro Locks to make sure I had a fall back now that clinchers are gone. I wore a small in clinchers and a medium in Pro Locks. I did do a side by side comparison of the Radar Vice and Pro Locks. The Pro Locks fit much better for me, it is a finger length to width issue. I have shorter fingers and a thicker/wider hand; so, for the finger length I needed in the Vice the glove was much too small. To get the right fit in width, the fingers were much too long. The Pro Locks fit much closer to the clinchers and the material is a little more stretchy. I find the Pro Locks to be a little more comfortable than the clinchers. I have been wearing them for about 3 months and they have held up better than the clinchers. I have one small tear near the seam between the thumb and pointer finger crotch area (Left hand, palm up). Easily repaired with a small patch. I order two more pair as back up from Jdarwin at cottonwoodlakes.com; cheapest prices around.

[Vette_Boy]

I used clinchers for years. First pair lasted 5 years or so. Then I went thru a pair a week, they got so cheap in the manufacturing process. Literally, 6 passes and they were starting to fall apart. It was ridiculous. The last year I used them I bought 6 pair, and by the end of the season (we ski year round) all 6 pair were shredded so bad they were unusable. I started looking elsewhere and ran across the Radar Lock Glove. Same thing without the strap, dowel is internal. I took a chance on them and guess what? I LOVE 'EM, but they don't make 'em anymore.....so, so, so very sad. Clinchers would leave me with enormous calluses on my palms, the lock glove, never. I bought the last 5 pair in existence a couple years ago, found them in Indiana. They are, imho, far better than the clincher, vice, masterline, etc as they don't restrict your finger movement near as much. You can fully extend your fingers but they're still connected via the dowel. As I said earlier, IMHO, they are FAR superior to ANY of the strapped gloves. FYI, I'm a course skier on a private lake running between 22 and 35 off so I put a LOT of stress on these gloves. Just so your have some insight as to how they're used. I wish they would bring them back!

[6balls]

From masterline to vice a few weeks ago after a strap tear. Vice are tighter for sure around the palm but getting better. I have had no brief hang ups into offside when doing a good job of handle control like I get with the maserline. I do take out the dowels. So far love them.