In my mind they are like a power lifters bench press shirt, a sprinters track shoes, a cyclists racing helmet, a soccer players cleats, or a baseball players catching mitt.
True story on the bench shirts. A heavy shirt can add 10% or so to your push during a comp lift. NJShred!!!! You hear that?!
There not really necessary I know but neither are track pads or rash guards. Is it really surfing when you tow in? There are supplemental aids out there to improve performance in any sport. These gloves appear to be unpopular with the forum but I think their a fresh topic good idea or not.
Dudicles, Please bring back the profile pic of you with that little kids boogie board. Now that's fresh!
Well a frogs feet are webbed, my dogs feet are webbed, Fish fins are essentially webbed, ducks, platypus seagulls, all webbed. Kevin Costner had gills in waterworld, why can't Steve have webbed hands?
Webbys in the winter? OK, I can understand that. The water is freezing cold and we're all trying to save energy out there. Webbys in the summer? Well that makes no sense at all.
They're like a football player in a tutu, a bull rider in high heels, a hunter in a pink thong, a dirty hippie in a hand made Italian suit, Grandma in boobie tassels etc...
Let us know how your shoulder feels after you tear your rotator cuff to shreds while pulling hard for waves in your Catwoman gloves.
not even close, IMO. those are all designed to allow ELITE level athletes gain an extra little edge in performance. webbed paddling gloves are designed to be a crutch from those who suck at paddling to take the easy way out & not have to do anything else beyond plunk down some cash & put on a pair of gloves. as someone else mentioned, they're going to tear up your shoulders in record time. these things have been around since the 80's (at the least), don't you think that if they made a real difference, guys like jamie mitchell would wear them while racing across the molokai channel?
Not even close, IMO. those are all designed to allow ELITE level athletes gain an extra little edge in performance. webbed paddling gloves are designed to be a crutch from those who suck at paddling to take the easy way out & not have to do anything else beyond plunk down some cash & put on a pair of gloves. as someone else mentioned, they're going to tear up your shoulders in record time. these things have been around since the 80's (at the least), don't you think that if they made a real difference, guys like jamie mitchell would wear them while racing across the molokai channel? ^^^this
Which Catwoman are we talking about here? Michelle Pheiffer or Hale Berry. Principal Skinner was dressed as Catwoman once and he fought Comic Book Guy over Edna Crabapple. I thought briefly that it woudl be cool to wear a catwoman suit like that in the water but then I quickly remembered that I have a pipe and two ball bearings.
They do make a difference. It's just cheap and unnecessary. Most people don't make a point to paddle with closed fingers which also improves paddling speed and effieciency in a less ridiculous way
the improvement in paddling efficiency between paddling w/ your fingers close together or wearing paddling gloves ≠ the much greater improvement that will be gained by caring for one's body & keeping yourself fit. the vast majority of paddling power comes from your back & shoulders, not your arms or hands. w/ paddling gloves, all you're doing is creating more resistance, which will fatigue the most important muscles faster.
Steve83 is either trolling and having a laugh, or well, he's serious as a heart attack and means business. If it's the latter then who are we to deny him from being the webbed glove guy on a RS inspired banana boat?
Just get a big enough board that can fit two people and hire some surfer to paddle and catch waves for you, then all you gotta do is pop up and turn.
Obviously muscle strength is key, but if you are already strong enough to the point where you are being limited by the small surface area of your hands, the gloves will make a difference. It's no different than flippers, except that flippers are accepted in the swimming community. (I don't support the use of paddling gloves, btw)