Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

I know so many people are hesitant to use Nokona buffalo or kangaroo gloves because they are perceived to be too soft or floppy for playing. I, on the contrary, much prefer a soft glove, as I find that in catching the ball, my buffalo glove (and my old kangaroo model) both sort of collapse around the ball when it is caught. Firm gloves may be easier for ground balls, so it is easier to scoop up the ball, but I had trouble with the ball popping out of the glove with my Rawlings and other firmer gloves.

I was just curious: do most people prefer soft gloves or firm ones?

And why?

Dont like glove that droop. The fingers need to hold there shape.

I've got two AMG1150MT's one Walnut and one Kangaroo and I love the Kangaroo. It's not as stiff as an HOH but it's half the weight and doesn't feel floppy to me. Then again the size may help in that regard. I would think that there's less of an issue the shorter the glove is.

That being said I've come across many a floppy glove that were just fine after a good tightening of the laces. I've got a black RBG36B Griffey that was as floppy as they get. Tightened the heck out of it and it's like a new glove all over again.

I think many people become attached to a certain brand and look for reasons to stick with it. I have always been a Rawlings guy but I wouldn't trade my Nokona's for anything. Don't know how to describe it other than they just feel right on my hand.

I've got a couple beautiful Wilson's (A3000 & A2004) but they don't compare to even a GG level Rawlings. They look amazing but they are very thin and the laces are laughable.

personally, i like harder gloves because it is easier to scoop with a hard glove...also, i had a soft TPX glove that stretched and formed a deeper and deeper pocket the more i used it...it hasn't happened so far with my hoh's, which is another reason why i favor harder gloves...finally, hard gloves can become softer if you break it in enough, but soft gloves can't become harder

I think you want the thumb and pinkie to be stiff and the middle part of the glove to be flexible. By flexible i mean it should be soft enough to absorb the ball but not so that a hard line drive would punch through. Finding the right balance is tough. IMO the best gloves are light and strong and made of the best leather which takes time to break in and conform to the shape of your hand. For an infield glove i like a bowl shaped pocket which means the fingers need to be curved - the leather can't be too stiff or too floppy to do this.

I prefer a stiffer glove. I find this to be especially true for softball where the ball is so much heavier and larger. Gloves take much more of a beating in softball than in baseball.

The last poster has a good point...it is very important for the thumb to be stiff. Once the thumb becomes floppy, it's hard to control the glove and balls tend to pop out more often. I always do a thumb stiffness test before I buy a new glove.

I was recently looking for a new glove for softball next season. I had a price limit of $100 MSRP. I ended up getting the 12" Nike Tradition glove (on sale of course...it is the offseason on the East Coast). It's really stiff and will require some time to break in. I know a lot of people like the Rawlings Gold Gloves in the $100 MSRP range, but they are too soft when new for my personal taste. I guess I'm old school when it comes to gloves.

For years I not only used a floppy glove, but one of second rate quality. Never gave it much thought and usually made the play. BUT.....when I bought my HOH-USA (semi broken-in) for whatever reason my confidence level seemed a step up.

I think what matters first and foremost is what you feel comfortable AND confident with. No confidence in your equipment - then you've already lost half the battle in your head.

I've since gone out and caught a few dozen fly balls with my new baby and I do have to admit that it still needs to be broken in a little more. But just a tad more.

In short, I don't think I'll be going back to a floppy glove and just slowly break my new glove in till I find that perfect in-between. FIRM has my vote.

Put me down for firm and stiff. Pattern determines a lot about how a glove plays, but I feel like firm gloves give me some flexibility to fine tune the pattern to my liking. I've had a harder time getting soft gloves to take the shape I like.

are we talking about gloves?

I will have to agree with what was mentioned above. I like a glove that has stiff pinky and thumbs, but with the inside nice and broken in with enough softness that the ball will want to stick once it hits the palm or web area. I also like a glove that is lightweight, and that is super easy to close.

Curved, stiff fingers and a flexible palm.

Don't baseballs and softballs all weight 6 ounces?

offsidewing wrote:Don't baseballs and softballs all weight 6 ounces?

Baseballs - 5oz-5.25oz

Softballs - 6.25oz-7oz

wickedwoman11 wrote:I know so many people are hesitant to use Nokona buffalo or kangaroo gloves because they are perceived to be too soft or floppy for playing. I, on the contrary, much prefer a soft glove, as I find that in catching the ball, my buffalo glove (and my old kangaroo model) both sort of collapse around the ball when it is caught. Firm gloves may be easier for ground balls, so it is easier to scoop up the ball, but I had trouble with the ball popping out of the glove with my Rawlings and other firmer gloves.

I was just curious: do most people prefer soft gloves or firm ones?

And why?

hey ww...you must really prefer a soft glove huh? cause the Rawlings GG's are still on the soft side for me...anyways, even though i prefer firm gloves, i must admit, your nokona does look pretty damn nice...definitely would not mind playing with that glove!...o yea, i'm pretty sure if u pound the pocket of the GG enough, you won't have trouble with the ball popping out

This topic depends on the user and also the user doing the research on the glove. Some people don't even know that they are buying a glove that could become floppy. There are ways to stiffen up a glove and it was mentioned in another post. Replacing your laces with stiff laces will improve the stiffness of the glove. Tanner sells some stiff laces. You must also tighten the laces. My choice of glove is the AMG-175. The reason for this is because the laces run up and down the thumb and pinky. The down side to this glove is that it is not made in the Nokona Kimera.