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Warrior has always taken extreme pride in the quality of their gear, especially their gloves. With this generation, the Warrior Covert QRL glove looks to build upon an already successful history. At first glance, the Covert QRL appears to pack in a large amount of technology and you’d be correct in assuming so. The QRL could be the ultimate glove in terms of protection, fit, and feel and Warrior claims that it is currently the lightest, most mobile glove on the market today. Warrior currently offers the glove in two different models, the QRL and the QRL Pro. Let’s see if the QRL lives up to the Warrior heritage of gloves.
Covert Taper Fit
First, let’s discuss the overall fit of the Covert QRL. Warrior focused on the overall shape of the glove to provide players with an anatomical design for better performance. The moment you set hand into the QRL you’ll immediately notice the how the glove contours to the natural shape of your hand. The pre-curved fingers allow for a snappy, comfortable feel with the glove. Also, the backhand of the glove tapers from the knuckles and flares out at the wrist. If you love a tight-fitting glove that’s snug to the hand, you’ll love the QRL. The anatomical design reduces negative space to improve the mobility of the glove for better stick handling. The nature of the glove also aims to maximize protection by reducing gaps in coverage.
Axis Flex Thumb
There’s nothing worse than using a set of gloves that have an incredible stiff thumb. We know it inhibits dexterity and just makes stickhandling difficult. We’ve seen flexible thumb designs on other gloves, but with the introduction of Warrior’s Axis Flex Thumb design on the QRL and QRL Pro, the design increases the overall mobility of the thumb. From testing, the Axis Flex is possibly the best feeling thumb out there. The design also provides wraparound protection to ensure your thumbs aren’t exposed.
AxyFlex
The most interesting feature seen on the Covert gloves is the cuff mechanism. Axyflex allows for wrist freedom when stick handling and shooting, while offering full slash protection. Essentially, the cuff “floats” on top of the glove through the use of mesh, and provides excellent movement and doesn’t inhibit wrist mobility. The cuff wraps around securely and reduces gaps in coverage that might otherwise might be present with other gloves on the market. The design is extremely comfortable and coverage is excellent.
Phantom – Lightweight Protection
Allowing the gloves to be as lightweight as they are can be attributed to the use of Warrior’s extremely lightweight blend of EPP foams combined with plastic inserts to absorb impacts. Warrior aims to provide the best impact protection from slashes and pucks without sacrificing lightweight properties. Additional protection is also provided through the use of Phantom pods which are flexible and comfortable on the hand.
Smartpalm
Smartpalm keeps your hands glued to the stick but provides a combination of feel and durability in the areas you need it the most. From our testing, we noticed that it wasn’t super stiff or ultra thin – it struck a balance where you knew where the puck was on your stick with great durability overall.
Wartech FnC
Keeping your hands cool, dry and odor free is Warrior’s Wartech FnC liner that is powered by Polygiene. Seen on a multitude of Warrior protective, Polygiene enhanced gear inhibits the growth of odor causing bacteria in the fabric to increase the longevity for your gear but more importantly, helps keep your gear more sanitary in the long run.
QRL PRO
The Warrior Covert QRL Pro offers all of the high-tech features the standard QRL glove does with some changes and a lower price point. The major change is the outer material moving to a standard nylon on the Pro, versus a combination of nylon, synthetic leather, and mesh fabric. The Smartpalm has a subtle difference with the QRL having a rubberized section for added grip, with the Pro having the standard Smartpalm design. At this pricepoint, the QRL Pro is possibly the best value on the market. Pro-level protection and materials without the pro-level price.
Conclusion
The Warrior Covert QRL and QRL Pro provides a unique blend of unique features as well as an excellent fit. From our testing, Warrior looks to have taken the time to methodically plan out each piece of the glove to implement new features without sacrificing weight, protection, function, or price. The flexible cuff as well as the flexible thumb provide players with extra mobility without creating gaps in coverage, in fact, Warrior looks to have reduced gaps which is a plus in anyone’s book. Both gloves are an excellent value, but if you’re in the market for a set of mitts without breaking the bank, the QRL Pro takes everything great from the Covert QRL and packages it in a less expensive form.
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