Having tried almost every style of glove Mechanix makes, I was really hoping this would be The One, the glove that offers both durability and comfort at the same time. Like the other Original models I've used, the first thing you notice when trying these on is how prominent the stitching is in the fingers. With these being leather instead of fabric, the stitching becomes not just prominent, but down right uncomfortable, at least before breaking them in. Sadly, being leather, that aspect of the design isn't likely to improve too dramatically, so raw patches or blisters on your fingers should probably be expected until your skin adapts, if you intend to wear these for hours at a time doing pounding or jarring work activities. On the plus side, being leather (more like suede) they provide a much better grip than Mechanix fabric palmed gloves. And the base of the fingers doesn't practically cut into your finger circulation like their leather impact models can before undergoing a rather painful break-in period. For the money they're asking Mechanix needs to do better, whether it's a case of manufacturing inconsistency or just plain bad design. With other models I've found there can be a significant difference between the fit and particularly the interior stitching between two different pair of the exact same glove. Though said inconsistency seems to affect entire batches, as tried on every pair in a store and found them to all feel the same, but then ordered another online and it felt considerably better. Their original line seems to be the worst. In terms of finger stitching, I don't think that minimizing how much the stitching rubs on your fingers was even a consideration of the design. They've improved that aspect in their Mpact line though. Comparing models, the Mechanix 4x material gloves I have were much more comfortable initially, but as those aren't genuine leather they won't hold up as well as these, nor will they provide as solid a grip. Though the 4x material models do have a little better grip than Mechanix standard original models and tactical mpact models, both of which offer very little grip, being all fabric palms. I would still recommend these to anyone who needs a durable, relatively form fitting work glove, who doesn't plan to use them with any kind of masonry application, as there aren't too many gloves that can hold up to that kind of abuse, these included. I'd recommend trying them on in stores first. But a lot of Mechanix models can be hard to find in stores, and this seems to be one of the hardest. I'd searched for months, fearing a blind-buy online, considering Mechanix manufacturing inconsistencies. I even asked Mechanix if they could help me locate a store, but they could only name major chains that carry their product; they couldn't narrow it down to any one model. Lowes had the best in store selection I found, but it was pitifully inadequate compared to amazon, which appears to carry them all. 081018 Update: I don't wear them every day, but over the past year I've put these gloves through a good deal of use and abuse, mostly with wood (splitting, gathering, carrying, burning). These things have held up surprisingly well even to handling hot coals and stirring partly burnt logs in camp fires, logs that were hot enough to burn my skin through the gloves, yet didn't damage the leather in the glove itself, nor has the stitching come loose. I alternate between these and several other Mechanix and Ironclad glove models, but find I turn to these more often than not, due to the added grip of the leather and added comfort over Mechanix leather MPact model.
