CCM 852 Hockey Gloves: Comfort or Cool Looks?
Written: May 03 '04 (Updated May 03 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The old style gloves were fantastic
Cons: The 2004 and newer models aren't so good
The Bottom Line: CCM's updates to the 852 substantially lowered the quality. Look for a pair with one-piece fingers if you want 852's
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| puckmugger's Full Review: CCM 852 Hockey Gloves |
Alright, the 852 glove has been around for a few years and remained essentially unchanged. However, for 2004 CCM made what appeared to be cosmetic changes to what was one of my favorite gloves. Personally I think they ruined them.
▪ The Basics of 852 gloves
The 852 is a highback glove. A highback simply is a glove with padded rolls along the back of the hand that go in the opposite direction of the fingers and slightly longer than normal wrist coverage. Highbacks are something of a more traditional hockey glove design.
The 852 sports a comfortable Clarino palm. Clarino and Nash are the preferred materials for gloves. They are very comfortable and dry quickly while remaining soft. The palm of the 852’s palm is reinforced to last a little longer.
The shell of the 852 is synthetic leather. In all this is a good quality glove that will suffice for most levels of play.
The 852, like all CCM gloves, has locking thumbs. This essentially is a hard shell that keeps players from over-extending their thumbs, preventing thumb injuries. Some players don’t like locking thumbs; I am rather indifferent to them.
▪ The Old vs. The New
The most obvious thing about the 2004 852 gloves is the addition of the new technoweave (also know as Robocop) material. There isn’t much, just a couple thin strips to make the glove look good. Also the embroidered CCM logo is raised substantially on the new glove.
The raised CCM logo looks great on the new glove. However this embroidery is a good ¼” high. While this might make for a great looking glove on the shelf, it simply isn’t practical. These are hockey gloves not an accessory for formal wear. The logo is going to get trashed in a hurry. Advantage old style CCM 852 gloves.
Other changes include the fingers. The fingers on the old 852 are one-piece fingers. The new gloves feature two-piece fingers. Two-piece fingers offer good articulation and a shorter break in time than one-piece fingers. One-piece fingers are generally slightly less comfortable, but have no gap for sticks and pucks to hit.
While I generally prefer a two-piece finger in my gloves, the pre-curved one-piece fingers in the original 852 gloves were very comfortable. Break in was not a major issue with the 852’s. So why the two-piece fingers? Most guys prefer a two-piece, some wouldn’t ever try on a one-piece. It goes back to how the glove looks on the shelf again. CCM actually sacrificed some of the protection of their 852’s to sell a few more gloves. Another point for old style CCM 852 gloves.
Despite a two-piece finger in the new gloves, supposedly more comfortable, the old ones feel much better. I think the big issue on the new 852 gloves is a simple matter of the levels of craftsmanship. The materials have remained essentially the same with the exception of cosmetic changes to the new glove. With all things equal I would expect the two-piece to have the edge on comfort. Instead when putting on the new gloves I felt like things were stabbing at my fingers. Not like needles, but hard bits of fabric and synthetic leather. The old ones are as comfortable as any glove in the mid price range. Third and final point to old style 852 gloves.
▪ Final Thoughts
The 852 is a good looking glove from a trusted name in hockey. The pre-2004 852 was one of the best gloves for the money. It was a good quality, comfortable, protective glove. The 2004 852 glove is of questionable quality, less protective, and somewhat uncomfortable.
This in mind, I would recommend the older model 852 gloves, but not the new ones. Go for functionality, not fancy. I am going to rate the new CCM 852 gloves at two stars, the old ones at four.
Some of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Fitting and Selecting Hockey Protective Gear
Mission M-2 Gloves
Oakley Mace Gloves
Recommended:
No
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