About two years ago I traded in my mangy black and white Brine L-35′s for a pair of Warrior Rockstar gloves. I had been using those L-35′s for roughly a decade and they were hanging on by a thread. I think every one of my fingers were completely exposed by the time I introduced them to the trash can. It was a big move for me. In the 30 years that I have been playing lax, I’ve owned maybe four pairs of gloves. That’s no lie. So when I upgrade equipment, it’s usually because the old gear is literally falling apart, seams are torn, padding is exposed, or the God-awful smell of it stings my eyes like so much rotting flesh.  I do the same thing with underwear. My wife will attest to that. Aren’t you glad I shared that with you?

So why have I shelved a perfectly good pair of  Warrior Rockstars after only 2 years of loyal service? Because, I finally got my hands on a pair of these babies!  Warrior Regulators.

I kept my Rockstars in my game bag as I headed out to Greenbelt for another 50 minute session of fast break drills more commonly known as the Sportplex Winter Indoor League. It’s fast paced and bruising, perfect testing ground for new gear. But I  hadn’t planned on using the new Regulators since they were still packed in the bag they were in when they arrived. I hadn’t even taken the tags off of them yet. I didn’t have a chance to break them in and there’s no way you can rock a new pair of mitts come game time without breaking them in right? That will crush your game for sure. Especially my old man game! Wrong. Dead wrong.

I tried them on during warm-ups just to make everyone jealous and to get a feel for how stiff they were. I was completely amazed. They fit like a…like a….well they fit like a glove! Not an OJ glove mind you, and not a new lacrosse glove either, but a pair of nice dress gloves that are snug on your hand but allow a full range of motion. There was no “breaking-in” required! Sick! Absolutely sick! The palms are super soft and the fingers flex without the joints being real tight. I probably could play the piano wearing these, if I could play the piano. Oh, and did I mention that I haven’t used gloves with palms since I was 13! I thought for sure I would have to cut the palms out but that’s never going to happen. The suede feel of these palms allows a good grip on the stick, while still allowing an easy slide of your hand up and down.

Additional wrist pad is a plus without being annoying.

The new improved cuff system is a nice feature as well. My Rockstar’s left my muscular wrists exposed when I curled my wrist down. The Regulators come with this additional strip of thick foam padding that stays put around my wrist as I cradle. At first I thought this would annoy me, but I never gave it a second thought while I was playing. Even while I was being pounded on. I felt no loss in protection despite their light weight and feel. What I did notice while I was playing was that I didn’t notice I was wearing them. That’s because they are super light! Weighing in at around 7 oz., they were much lighter than my previous gloves. The increased ventilation from the diamond backhand pattern that helps reduce the gloves weight also kept my hands cool and dry. Plus, my hands didn’t stink when I was finished! My wife will probably think I’m out chasing  girls if I don’t come home smelling like a dead fish.

There it is. I have no bad words for these mitts. “A” grades for protection, weight, and feel. They are solid through and through and they look sharp as well. The lightest and most comfortable gloves I’ve tried. Wish I had these 15 years ago when my game started to fall apart.

Check out the Warrior site for more information on Regulators and other Warrior products.

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