The Gig Glove OYNX, Protective Gloves For Musicians and Roadies – Review…

Most of us are our own roadies. We haul our equipment. We set it up at the venue and tear it down at the end of the night. Somewhere in between we actually get to use our hands to make music. The rest of the time? It’s manual labor, and that’s where our 10 little money makers are at the most significant risk of injury. Hand safety is something we should all take seriously.

As musicians, wearing a protective glove may not seem like a necessity until you slice open your finger or try to get that big and heavy Ampeg cabinet to fit through the venue’s door without getting your fingers smashed between the cabinet and the door frame.

The Gig Glove

“As a gigging musician and sound professional I always thought that wearing gloves while loading in and out and setting up and tearing down was important, said Daniel Shatzkes, founder, and president of startup Gig Gear LLC. “If I were to injure my hands before the gig, then I might be out of a gig, and possibly more. But I had never found a glove that I didn’t have to take off every few minutes to do certain things.”

“It seemed to me that everyone else I knew who wore gloves was just buying a generic glove from a home improvement store and they weren’t much better. I set out to create a quality work glove designed for all gigging and touring professionals who can confidently do the work before and after their gigs without having to take them off, thereby not having to worry about the possibility of injuring their hands. That’s where Gig Gloves came from.”

Gig Glove Construction

The gloves are made of a material which feels like a very stretchy bit of thin neoprene. Nylon threading is woven into the fabric to provide additional durability.

I wore the gloves during a load in and load out at an outdoor amphitheater when the average temperature was about 103 degrees Fahrenheit. While the gloves weren’t cool, they were quite breathable and kept my hands reasonably dry.

The backs of the fingers and knuckles on the Oynx model have black Thermo Plastic Rubber (TPR) molding (yellow on the Original and Blue on the THERMO) that provides some cushioning against impact. TPR provides protection while maintaining full flexibility and range of motion.

The palm is reinforced with two separate pads along with an enhanced polyester “grip” strip along the high wear area of the web of the thumb. The material helps you keep a hold of equipment in slippery conditions and also acts as a cushion and protection for the palm. As an added benefit, the reinforced areas give the glove a longer lifespan from wear and tear.

The same material also helps protect the glove’s thumb webbing area from wear from repeated cable winding.

Aside from the glove’s protective qualities, what makes the Gig Glove magical, however, are the fingertips. You can operate touch screens with the gloves still on.

If you need to grab a call, text a friend, or set up your EQ on a tablet, keep the gloves on and swipe away to your heart’s content. And if you need additional dexterity, the fingertips of the thumb, index and middle fingers will pull back like a tiny finger hoodie so you can use your digits for fine motor tasks without taking the gloves off.

“After our initial release of the first version of the Original Gig Gloves we received some feedback from our customers about minor design changes that could make them better,” Shatzkes said. “We listened, and now we have three different versions that have been incredibly well received by everyone from musicians, roadies, stage crews, theater techs, and many more production professionals. They love the fact that they have access to their fingers to perform fine motor tasks without having to remove the gloves. We even have Stu Hamm as an endorser who wears our gloves when he’s out on tour.”

Gig Glove Models

The ORIGINAL ($39) and OYNX ($39) have the same design specs except for the yellow TPR on the ORIGINAL and black TPR on the OYNX. The THERMO ($45) model is designed for cold weather usage and has an internal fleece lining.

Gloves are available in six sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL with TPR impact protection patches sized precisely according to the size of the glove. A Velcro strap allows you to tighten the glove snugly around your wrist.

The glove also has plastic clips at the wrist to allow you to secure the gloves together or to a keychain.

For more information, visit gig-gear.com