Unless you want to wake up at first light, the summer months are a tough time to go shooting here in Texas. Temperatures rise to above 100 degrees on a daily basis, and the humidity doesn’t help. Gloves are the last thing you want to have to wear.
Thankfully, Mechanix has come out with a solution for hand protection during the hot months of the year. The Mechanix Vent Covert gloves provide the protection needed when handling hot weapons and prevent wear and tear on the hands while also having enough ventilation to keep your palms from getting too rosy.
The Mechanix Vent Covert fit well and come on and off easily via the nylon pull loops. A velcro wrist strap keeps them securely in place. The synthetic leather palm side and the mesh top side of the gloves are covered in little vent holes, keeping hands and ventilated while still providing ample protection.
Despite that ample protection, it is still possible to operate a touch screen fairly well. The gloves protect hands and fingers from potential light scratches and burns.
To test the gloves I took them to the range while instructing. I loaded range gear with them, set up steel targets, and handled gear that sat under the sun for a few hours.
As work gloves the Mechanix Vent Covert gloves are ideal. In fact they’re just as good as some of the other more protective gloves that Mechanix offers. My hands stayed comfortable without much more sweating that I would experienced without the gloves. The vented gloves also dried very quickly at the end of the day.
The Vent Covert provided excellent grip for both rifle and pistol shooting. Even after a few hundred rounds through the AR the gloves provided great protection from the heat. When manipulating the rifle and pistol the gloves aided in maintaining control over the weapon while protecting my hands.
The main issue I had with the gloves: the tactile feeling on the trigger was lost, making it harder to shoot quickly, especially with the pistol. I wish that Mechanix would either come out with a thinner covering for the index finger or have an option to remove the covering of the finger all together.
SPECIFICATIONS: Mechanix Wear Vent Covert Gloves
Colors: Black, Coyote, Muilticam
MSRP: $27.99 ($19.50 to $23.49 shipped on Amazon)
RATINGS (out of five stars):
Build Quality * * * * *
Form-fitting mesh lets cool air in and minimizes heat build-up. Thermal Plastic Rubber (TPR) closure with hook and loop provides a secure fit.
Function * * * *
Perform as intended – protect the hands while keeping them cool. Still need to improve feel for trigger control.
Reliability * * * * *
No issues.
Overall Rating * * * *
The gloves performed well but aren’t perfect. It was difficult to feel the trigger while shooting, which slowed me down.
So you have 2 five stars and 1 four star for a total of 14 out of a possible 15; dividing 14 / 3 comes to an average of 4.67 (stars if you will), why were these not rounded up to 5 stars?
Overall isn’t a cumulative average of the specifically-listed prior categories, but includes all factors whether overtly rated or not (e.g. value, fit, style, smell, etc etc etc and the million little things that make up the overall impression of a product).
Nick usually makes this clear in his reviews to keep the pedants at bay LOL. See the ratings section here, for instance: https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/06/foghorn/gun-review-kalashnikov-usa-ks-12-shotgun …has his usual disclaimer: “Ratings (Out of Five Stars): Ratings are relative to other similar firearms. Final score does not reflect the “average” of the categories but instead the overall feelings of the reviewer.”
“The main issue I had with the gloves: the tactile feeling on the trigger was lost, making it harder to shoot quickly, especially with the pistol. I wish that Mechanix would either come out with a thinner covering for the index finger or have an option to remove the covering of the finger all together.”
Scissors. Took the trigger finger off my shooting gloves to the 2nd Knuckle. Works fine.
Another option is to cut across the bottom half of the glove’s trigger finger but leave the top intact. When you’re doing general work, the whole finger’s covered. When you want full tactile sensation, pull the tip of the glove finger out and over your finger tip. If the glove material is the right texture and stretchiness you can do this with that hand’s thumb very quickly.
That is what I have done with several pairs of gloves. Works just peachy unless you’re grubbing around in the dirt, in which case, you’ve probably got the wrong pair of gloves on *grin*
I kind of thought that was nitpicking, but I mean. These are expressly marketed as tactical gloves. They should definitely take that feedback into account methinks.
Every set of Mechanix gloves I buy tend to rip at the tips of the fingers in 1 month max.
I do tend to buy the cheaper pairs because they always rip, that may have something to do with it.
Same here, but i bought a pair of the leather palm ones, they actually lasted close to a year which I figured was pretty decent…
What’s cool is that they are offered in colors other than black. Only a fool would wear black to an outdoor range this time of year here in TX.
You cannot accurately describe any gloves secured by Velcro that make an obnoxious tearing sound as “covert”. And shooting doesn’t require gloves that are cinched-down to your wrists either…motorcycle riding? Yes. Shooting, no.
Don’t print all of the tacky logos and brand name on the back of gloves. Looks – well tacky. I have a couple of pairs of Mechanix Wear gloves that I use for cold weather and they’re pretty decent.
I have a pair of basic mechanix that I really like. Great for mowing the lawn and stuff. Even those have enough breathable cloth to not get me super sweaty here in UT summers.
Would definitely give these a try based on the gloves I already got.
I like the Mechanix gloves too buy often us Gorilla gloves from the bin at Home Depot. Mesh from finger tip to wrist on the back of your hand and a non-slip palm side. Lightweight, stretchy and inexpensive. $6.95/pair. Hands stay relatively dry and simple to put on and remove.
MW makes good gloves in lots of different styles for lots of different applications. I can’t shoot in gloves except when it’s super cold and I still have to cut an inch or 2 off the trigger finger for tactile feedback.
They only come in black, double-checked Mechanix’s website.
The covert gloves are the all black style, different colors are offered as “specialty vent or vent gloves”.
I’ve seen them for sale in stores so I know they exist lol.
http://www.mechanix.com/specialty-vent
Colors are wrong. This is only offered in black per a phone call to Mechanix HQ. Other colors possibly be offered, “if the gloves sell well”.
The covert gloves are the all black style, different colors are offered as “specialty vent or vent gloves”.
I’ve seen them for sale in stores so I know they exist lol.
http://www.mechanix.com/specialty-vent
I just can’t get used to handling firearms while wearing tactical gloves. But I do appreciate the padded knuckles for when I’m beating the crap out of some guy I have duct taped to a chair.
I was looking over all their gloves on their website, and 2 things stuck out like a sore thumb:
1) I do not want to see their graffiti (ehem, brand name, logos) printed all over the material. 100% turnoff. Ugly!
2) The tags stitched into the sides of the gloves, are also ugly and an annoyance. So when ripping the tags off, you also risk weakening the stitching, or you have to cut them off as close to the glove while leaving a piece intact so.
I’ll look elsewhere for gloves.