Here’s our much anticipated review of the Bauer TOTAL ONE Gloves. We haven’t seen anybody else on the internet reviewing, or even grab a hold of, these babies so correct me if I’m wrong… this is the FIRST written review of the Bauer TOTAL ONE Glove, ever.
We’ll work our way starting with the outer construction of the glove and moving inwards.
These are Bauer’s offering for players who want an anatomically fitting glove. Contrary to traditional-style construction, anatomical gloves are built much like your hand instead of having rolls along the back of the hand. You will find more, smaller blocks of foam on a glove like this.
The shell is made of a lightweight nylon with synthetic leather towards the pinky and key wear areas like between the thumb and index finger for added durability. My fingers don’t feel as restricted compared to the last two generations of Supremes when I open up my hand but these don’t go as far to the same extent as the Vapor XXXX Pro. Personally I’d also prefer a full nylon glove but the Supremes have had a mixture of the two materials ever since the introduction of the Supreme ONE90.
For added protection against impacts Bauer will also include a layer of impact gel and poron foam in key areas (no they haven’t forgot the plastic inserts everyone loves, those are still here as well.) On the retail versions of this glove it will have a MAX-Sorb graphic on where you see this yellow ‘jewel’ below. The pro stock versions will be sans graphics or even the entire ‘jewel’ altogether (see our previous post on Alex Edler’s gloves.)
Now onto the palms. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a palm with an overlay of a different material but it is a first for nubuck and gecko nash together. For those unfamiliar with nubuck, think of Timberland boots. As for gecko nash, this term is probably foreign to everybody, even for us. It’s a thin and soft, something we’d compare to a digital palm (although not AS thin.)
Piling is a bit of a problem on the nubuck and the gecko nash isn’t too durable since it is a performance material after all but Bauer has definitely come a long way ever since the more futuristic looking palms on previous generations of Supremes.
Thermo Max+ liner on the inside, the same one you’d find on Bauer’s other top end offering, the Vapor X:60 Pro. It’s antibacterial and it wicks away moisture, what more could you ask for? It’s pretty standard across the different brands to include a liner similar to this nowadays. I don’t find there to be too much of a difference with moisture-wicking vs. conventional liners when you’re on the ice playing but where it’s more noticeable is if you are playing in a warmer environment (think Roller Hockey) and when drying your equipment. If you are on the ice every or every other day I don’t know how you can live without this feature (other than owning multiple pairs of gloves of course.)
Would we recommend these gloves? Bauer has certainly fixed the fit problem (the older Supremes used to rub against my knuckles all the time) and the palms are much simpler but these just aren’t the gloves for me. These have improved so much since the previous generations but I just can’t picture myself picking these up over Vapors unless I want a REALLY tight fitting glove. One of the major deal breakers for me is there is no full nylon or full synthetic leather version of this glove like there is with the Vapor. I’ve been really impressed with the current Supreme line so far (the sticks and skates I’m using right now are Total ONEs) but these gloves haven’t hit the same home run with me.
I would’ve offered digital palms like the retail X:60 because if I am spending this type of money on a top of the line glove, performance would be higher on my priority list than durability. I believe the nubuck palms are also what’s holding this glove back a bit. It would be interesting to see if other manufacturers jump on the nubuck bandwagon or if Bauer even continues to use this material in future models but I’ll happily stick with my MSH2, Nash or Digital.
– M
Professional Use Only, No Warranty. 