Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Game Time Review: Bauer Vapor APX Gloves

The APX glove is this years model in Bauer's Vapor line. Bauer's strategy in recent years has been to build 3 totally different glove fits. There is the 4-Roll, a more traditional, looser fit. Then the Supreme line, which is a full anatomically designed fit, made to tightly fit and closely mimic the shape of a players' hand. In the middle of those two relatively extreme fits falls the Vapor line, a "Taper Fit" glove. This fit is looser than a supreme, but more snug than the 4-roll, allowing a tight fit with unmatched range of motion.

Having worn 4-Roll type traditional fitting gloves for as long as I can remember, it took me a little while to get used to the snugness of the APX. The great part was, I took the tags off of them and was able to jump on the ice in a game without any real issue. They are truly a game-ready glove right off the shelf.

The fit was a bit weird for me at first, tighter than anything I've used, but it is an extremely mobile glove. My biggest thing with a glove is wrist manuverability -I usually cut out the inner cuff as soon as I bring home a new pair of gloves- The APX is designed with Bauer's Free Flex Cuff, to allow for maximum mobility. Even with the snug fit around my hand, I felt very able to move my wrists freely. Along with being angled to open up and align with a players' natural hand position, the cuff is attached by a stretch mesh type material, preventing any restriction of movement.

Another aspect of the glove that I was a bit worried about was the palm. The APX features the second generation of Bauers TECHNI-FLEX palm, which to the naked eye, appears to have a lot going on. Being used to normal plain nash palmed gloves, the APX palm felt a little bit thick to me. I didn't feel that it hurt the performance, I just didn't love it. However, I will say that though I haven't used the gloves long enough to truly test out the long-term durability, I think the reinforcementsat key locations on the palm will drastically improve the palms' life in high-wear areas.

The APX glove is really light to wear as well. That was one of the things I liked the most about them. Being used to a bigger glove that are usually a bit heavier, they felt very light to me. Bauer made this possible through the use of AERO Foam, which reduced the overall weight by 20% without sacraficing impact protection.

Overall, even though it was a pretty new style of glove to me, I have enjoyed wearing the Bauer Vapor APX Glove, another solid product by Bauer Hockey. Available Here at Purehockey.com and all Pure hockey Locations.

Check out the video review here...