Graf HG 700 Gloves: Almost as expensive as Eagles but are they worth it?
Written: Apr 18 '05 (Updated Apr 18 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Comfortable, durable all leather
Cons: Price is almost as much as Eagle Gloves
The Bottom Line: These are on par with Eagle's X70 gloves and a little cheaper. Buy them and get some coffee or beer with the change
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Graf HG700 Hockey Glove |
Eagle, Smeegal
The 700 is Graf’s top of the line hockey glove. Like their skates the 700 designates a pro level model. They are a very good glove, but at almost $150 a pair, they have to be almost as good as a pair of Eagle gloves to make them worth the amount their proud designers decided to sell them for. Thus they will be compared to Eagles often in this review. I will also deviate slightly before getting to the point and give a little bit of background on Eagle Hockey’s place in the world of hockey gloves for those who don’t know what I’m talking about.
Eagle is typically considered the premier hockey glove in the industry – the Rolls Royce, the Rolex, the Crown Jewels . . . well, I’m sure you get the point. When you slip on a pair of Eagle gloves it is right up there with putting on a pair of comfortable slippers. They feel really, really nice on your hands.
The weird thing about Eagle is that they made gloves for all the big companies for a long time. All CCM and Bauer gloves that had made in the U.S.A. tags on them were made in Eagle’s factory. There are still a few guys that make all the NHL gloves in their factory these days regardless of what brand the player wears (those gloves are downright amazing).
Since 1997 Eagle has been producing gear with their brand name on it. But enough about Eagle, they make the best hockey gloves, period. I will be comparing the HG700 to Eagle’s X70 since they are the most similar in price and style. Let’s get to the review.
The HG 700
Graf’s HG 700 is a few bucks cheaper than most of Eagle’s glove models. But essentially they are close enough that the competition between the two is going to be fierce. I mean if I’m spending $135 then I’m certainly going to look at the gloves that are selling for $150 as well. So the first question is how comfortable are the 700s?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say they are pretty darn comfortable . . . oh fine, a bit more detail and comparison is in order I guess. The Graf 700s feel as well sewn as the Eagles with no stray bits of thread in the fingers or gussets. A few cheaper gloves that I’ve tried on had very heavy thread (think monofilament) which actually poked my fingers and hands. None of the Grafs that I’ve tried on have had this problem. I will call the stitching a draw.
The fingers are two-piece. Interestingly all of Eagle’s X series gloves including the X70 have one-piece fingers. I personally don’t mind one-piece fingers, but many players find them restrictive. I won’t disagree with that. A two-piece finger like the one in the HG700 is certainly easier to bend and more comfortable off the bat. A slight advantage goes to the HG700 here.
Materials
The HG 700 is a full leather glove. By this I mean the palm, back and fingers are all leather. While I’m not always a big fan of leather in palms, Graf was smart enough to throw in a Nash reinforcement on the palm. This will add to the life expectancy of the glove as the palms are typically the first part to wear out. Leather is a little heavier than many of the new synthetics and doesn’t dry quite as nicely as they do. But the leather in the HG700 is top notch. This is a very high-grade leather that was properly tanned (or whatever they call it these days). It will last as long as most top of the line synthetic gloves.
The HG700’s palms are good in the durability department as well. I’ve only seen one pair of these come back in need of a new palm. It is also less painful to spend $60 to have new palms put in your gloves when it is less than ½ of the price a new pair.
Eagle’s offering is also all leather. However Eagle offers the X70 with either Nash or Leather palms. They also offer a new anti-bacterial leather palm that must work really well at reducing stink. It costs an extra $50 to upgrade your gloves to the new super-stink-reduction version. All in all I would call this a slight edge to Eagle for the two palm choices (but not the $50 stench proof palm, its just too expensive).
Sizing
The HG700 only comes in a size 14.5. This is very similar to the way that Eagle sizes their gloves. The model determines the size. Eagle’s X70 is a 14-inch glove. To the best of my knowledge only Eagle and Graf sell their gloves this way. It is rather odd.
The 14.5 of the HG700 is a perfect fit for me. I generally wear a 15-inch glove myself. But a few brands run a little smaller. Oakley’s mace also come in a 14.5 inch and fit quite well. A few other gloves I’ve been able to wear a 14 inch. So if you normally wear 15’s you should be fine in the HG700.
Cuff
Both gloves have a 3-piece cuff that will offer plenty of protection to most players. The gloves are pretty similar in length with moderate protection and good flexibility. In this respect the designs are almost exactly the same.
Design
The Graf HG700 is a high back style glove. It features four back of the hand rolls. The top rolls are split to allow for better finger flexibility. One unique feature of the HG700 is that the back of these gloves are almost completely flat. The flat design offers a pretty substantial improvement in back of the hand protection. Whereas a typical roll is rounded allowing sticks and pucks to strike a little deeper into the padding, the flat surface gives better coverage.
The X70 is also a high back style of glove with a rather flat back. The protection isn’t quite on par with the HG700 as the gaps are a little bigger. The rolls are a bit different in design as well. Instead of symmetrical rolls, the X70 has staggered rolls that eliminate the need for a split to close the hand.
Opening and closing either glove doesn’t create any real problems with the back of the hands. Neither of these gloves has the odd shape that some other gloves have which makes it feel like my hand is getting squished together or my fingers are pushed in the wrong directions.
Once again, the verdict is pretty even.
Final Thoughts
Really it is a dead heat between the HG700 and Eagle’s X70 gloves. It would ultimately come down to personal preference I guess. If one doesn’t strike you as more attractive or comfortable than the other, then the $15 price difference might be the only answer.
I would personally go with the HG700 gloves and buy myself three large lattes and a couple rolls of sock tape. The race is just too close to call. I’d rather put $15 in my pocket than run around saying, “Have you seen my new Eagle gloves? Aren’t they to die for dahling?” But hey, that’s just my opinion.
Some other reviews that you might find helpful:
Fitting and Selecting Hockey Protective Gear
Mission M-2 Gloves
Oakley Mace Gloves
Salming PG1 Gloves
Recommended:
Yes
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