How Do You Know if Your Getting Kip Leather

Anyone who has considered a Rawlings glove has been faced with the question, Eye of the Hibernate or Pro Preferred?  Lets see if we tin clear things up.

From Rawlings, about Heart of the Hide:

"Handcrafted from the elevation 5-percent of steer hides, Heart of the Hibernate leather tends to be the prime cutting or center portion of the smaller hide and is usually thicker and more durable than other leathers, resulting in a business firm glove that is easier to shape. The top-grade leather will allow the glove to mold to the actor's hand for a proper feel while maintaining the durability needed to play at the highest level."

About Pro Preferred leather:

"Supple kip leather provides a tight grain structure for a smooth look and feel…  Pro Preferred gloves characteristic an impeccable kipskin leather that breaks in to specific playing preferences, forming the perfect pocket. The high-operation sheepskin lining wicks moisture away, keeping the hand dry for better control when players need it most."

These descriptions aren't bad and decently informative (for a sales pitch), only I'm always skeptical of marketing speak.  If you're reading this, yous're probably like me and need a little more that to commit to a glove, the Most Sacred Piece of Equipment in All of Sports.  And then, you go inquire someone y'all trust, a coach, or a teammate, or your dad, and you lot unfailingly will get an extreme stance on i or the other.  If they similar their HOH, so the Pro Preferreds are "garbage" and "overpriced" or if they're a Pro Preferred guy then they volition tell yous why HOH sucks.  I have seen anonymous message board ogres contend the same exact points for both gloves—on 1 forum, HOH takes longer to pause in but lasts longer, on another forum, its Pro Preferred that is the longer-lasting glove.

Instead of consulting bearding people who most likely have no idea what they're talking about, I figured I'd seek professional opinions.

Note: You lot're probably non going to get a black-and-white respond from reading this mail service, but what I tried to do was get a few guys who had experiences with each (playing a pro-level schedule) to get a body of cognition on the field of study.

Source: (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Daniel Klein, Catcher, Blue Jays Org.:

"I'd become with Middle of the Hide, but I'd prefer most brands instead of Rawlings. In my experience, Rawlings leather tends to vary based on the color of the leather. I found that the Pro Preferred all blackness took a very long time to break in and information technology seemed to continue form much longer than other Rawlings. I used a Pro Preferred Mocha for a very short menstruation of fourth dimension in 2013 and It broke in easily and turned into a P.O.South. fashion too quickly. Information technology got soft and had lost all previous course after a few game uses. Not a big Rawlings fan."

Source: (AP Photo/ Richard Shiro)

Taylor Motter, UTIL, Rays Org.:

"To outset, as a utility guy I don't have time to intermission in all the gloves I'1000 going to need for the year so I need a glove that is game set in a week or ii. In the outfield I can have a glove that is a little stiffer and exist fine with it, that's why I like the Rawlings' Middle of the Hide in the outfield. The Pro Preferred is to hard to intermission in and take game ready in less then a week. Heart of the Hide is like shooting fish in a barrel to break in, simply that doesn't mean its bad leather.  Information technology is slap-up leather—most large leaguers use HOH.  Heart of the Hibernate is a niggling heavier but in the outfield that doesn't carp me.  Information technology'southward more than about feel and comfort. The HOH doesn't crack and dry out up as much equally the Pro Preferred does, it stays moist and doesn't dry out out.  HOH holds form well and can be formed by just playing catch.

Pro Preferreds are still great gloves.  They're very calorie-free and the leather on the glove makes for a little longer break in, but they concord class very well. The bounden of the Pro Preferreds are very stiff, which makes it harder to break in. 1 negative in my opinion is that the Pro Preferred leather tin can dry out pretty quick, causing cracks. However, I establish a trick that has prevented cracking—it is a spray you can find at any auto store, it'due south called Lexol in a dark-brown spray bottle. After using the glove for ii-3 months it will dry out out, so ii-iii times a calendar week (if y'all use the glove everyday) spray that stuff on the entire glove, rub information technology in with a towel, permit it sit for the dark and the leather should suck that stuff up and stay moist."

Giuseppe Papaccio, SS, Cubs Org.:

"The differences betwixt Rawlings HOH and the Pro preferred are mostly in the durability of the glove. The Pro Preferred definitely takes longer to intermission in but from my experience, it is certainly worth it because the glove lasts a long fourth dimension.

Heart of the Hide seems to be a tiny fleck thinner leather, so it breaks in a little scrap easier and gets worn out a little faster. I used an 11.5 all black I-web Pro Preferred last yr and it held the shape for over 100 games that I played in along with practices so I loved that ane.

I used a HOH Pro Mesh and either I broke information technology in bad or it just isn't what I thought t would be. I used it for a calendar month and sold it because it wasn't stiff enough for me."

David Lyon, Catcher, Rangers Org.:

"I used Rawlings my entire collegiate career. I found that the Middle of the Hide glove took a off-white amount of time to suspension in. I used it for roughly two weeks of games before the leather ripped and I had a 3 inch hole in the pocket. The mesh-backed catchers glove (besides Eye of the Hide) I owned was very like shooting fish in a barrel to break in. It became floppy very quickly and near felt as if the glove was bending every fourth dimension I defenseless the ball. Just awful.

I just use Pro Preferred now after trying the different kinds in college. The Pro Preferred takes a long time to intermission in, but I believe that is why it lasts then long.  This is the only Rawlings glove that holds upward to the every day beating. It holds form smashing and the leather stays soft but durable with picayune treatment. (I like to use saddle soap to condition my gloves probably in one case or twice a calendar month.) Ultimately, I prefer the Rawlings Pro Preferred catchers mitt over any other make and model."

Joshua Bong, OF, Pirates Org.:

"I'thousand definitely all about the Pro Preferred models just this yr Rawlings is releasing the Gilded Glove Collection which I'thousand gonna cheque out for sure.  That is supposed to be Rawlings 'best' leather.  As for Center of the Hide, it is a softer fit. I like hard leather but that means more than endeavor in the break in procedure."

What These Opinions Tell United states of america

I think there's a few interesting points in here, one especially from Motter, the Rays Utility guy.  He relies on HOH to be game-ready quick whereas he sees Pro Preferred as a longer-term option that "holds up to the every mean solar day chirapsia."

Bell made mention that the harder Pro Preferred leather "means more than effort in the break in process," which is also something to consider.

As for the catchers (Lyon and Klein), they clearly take a potent opinion on the HOH'southward not being catcher-capable, which I tin can completely empathize when you're talking well-nigh a "softer" leather getting pounded with xc+ mph ched on a daily basis.  To me (a guy who's caught a total of 1 very dislocated and disoriented inning in his baseball career) I feel like the stiffer the leather, the better off you are.  Y'all don't want something that'south going to flop around when you're trying to quietly frame a pitch, right?  Just seems counter-intuitive.  So, to me it makes sense that these guys would opt for Pro Preferred leather.

So how about the MLB stars nosotros've profiled?

"The Gilded Glove Co." blackness patch on this Bryce glove is an element used exclusively on Heart of the Hide gloves.

Of the 33 WPW-profiled MLB players wearing Rawlings, 21 wear Center of the Hide and 12 wear Pro Preferred.

This is an interesting split, 64% opting for the Heart of the Hide.  As for my telephone call on catchers wanting stiffness, I was completely wrong, or and so it seems.  Every catcher (Yadi, Buster, Mauer, Wieters) we polled uses Heart of the Hide. Why? I have a theory, and you might concur or disagree: guys like the ones we profile get their gloves by the enough, whenever they demand i.  They don't need them to last three seasons like a lot of the states out at that place, fifty-fifty minor leaguers.  It is not an "investment" similar it is for the average histrion, so its less risky to go with a glove that will break in easier, even if it might not concluding as long.  In that way, I recollect it might be more of a luxury to go with the softer HOH leather, knowing that yous can just re-order when information technology loses its shape.  Also, at that place is the possibility that these catchers, all Rawlings contract guys, get the finest .000001% of leather and that the label means absolutely nada.

Yadi'due south Rawlings Center of the Hibernate PROSCM41JB

What do you lot think?

Experience free to chinkle in in the comments below, but keep in heed we merely heard from some of the most qualified people in the baseball community, so you should exist ready to dorsum up your opinions.  And permit usa know, if you're a Rawlings guy, which is the leather for you?

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Source: https://www.whatproswear.com/wpw-asks-the-pros-rawlings-heart-of-the-hide-vs-pro-preferred/

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