With Spartan Race putting their name on a pair of gloves, it seems like there are more and more “OCR gloves” popping up each week. This week, I took WarriorPak’s Warrior Elite II Half-Finger Gloves for a spin both at the gym, and on course for a few races, to see what advantage, if any, these gloves have over the competition.
Warrior Elite II Half-Finger Gloves Features
Sticky silicon palm that gives grip in any condition – The biggest question about gloves for OCR is their ability to grip in the multitude of elements we face. Will they hold when they’re wet? Muddy? When the bars are slick? If I give Warrior Pak any credit, it’s certainly about these gloves grip in all aspects of the sport. Hanging from rings on the Platinum Rig, hoisting a Wreck Bag, and carrying an Atlas Stone is no issue with these gloves. My big gripe here is that there seems to be extra material in the palm that becomes folded over quite easy when gripping and navigating obstacles. This proved to be quite cumbersome at times.
Fingerless (ends at mid knuckle) to allow for tactile feel during a race – I’m not normally a fan of “fingerless” gloves because of how they tend to bunch up, and cut off feeling to my fingers. These offer a looser fit around the knuckles than most, with good flexibility in the fingers, for ease of movement while wearing them.
Breathable and lightweight – Warrior Pak has a flexible easy to slide on design with a very light fabric on the backside of the glove which does help water exit the gloves more easily than others I’ve tried on.
Warrior Elite II Half-Finger Gloves Usage
I’ve used the Warrior Elite gloves for a handful of races now. The Ultra Beast in Quebec City, the US OCR Championships and in my OCR gym. I’ve always maintained that gloves will never be a fix-all for grip problems, and it’s no different for these gloves.
They can be, at times, prohibitive to use on obstacles. When I ball my hand up into a fist, as if I am gripping a rope, or bar, the material on the underside of the glove folds over and can actually cause my grip to fail, regardless of how well the material itself can hold on to a surface. The gloves don’t slide on and off as easily as I would like, which is really just more of an inconvenience and not an issue with the design. After one race, I stuck to my trend of using gloves for rope based obstacles, while keeping them in my pocket for Rigs, Monkey Bars, and Walls.
Warrior Elite II Half-Finger Gloves Durability
The Warrior Elite gloves have put up with quite a serious workload in a short period of time. From 2 laps of the hardest course I have done, in the Quebec Ultra Beast, to the hot, dry terrain of sunny Texas over Labor Day, they have come out completely unscathed. No wear or tear shown at all, even after a trip through the washing machine.
Warrior Elite II Half-Finger Gloves Pros and Cons
Pros
- Excellent grip against a multitude of surfaces
- Good flexibility in the fingers and wrist
- Durable and functional in all elements
Cons
- Excess material in the palm folding over becomes really prohibitive for grip at time
Warrior Elite II Half-Finger Gloves Conclusion
If you’re looking for a pair of gloves to compliment your grip during OCR’s, WarriorPak has a solid option for you, in these gloves. At $21.95, they’re affordable and won’t break the bank. They come in cheaper than Spartan’s Fit Four ($29.95) options. You may find, as I did, that they may fold up under your hand, causing you to lose contact with obstacles. Their grip against steel obstacles however may outweigh that for you. I’ll continue to use these gloves in certain situations as they prove more durable than Spartan’s options, and their fit around my wrist and fingers seems more comfortable.
Josh Chace
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