Nike Power WebCage Training Glove

Weight lifting and training gloves are a pretty simple age-old creation. Sure, there are ways to make them fit different people better, make them perhaps more cushioned or more breathable, perhaps stretch better with movement, but a glove is still basically a glove — a covering to protect your hands when grabbing bars, plates, and other iron and steel stuff in the gym.

Nike has tried to make the simple little glove more than that with its Power WebCage Training Glove (men’s only). The real trick item here is a “web” of dual-density plastic overlaid on the part of the glove on the back of the hand that is designed to keep the wrist stabile and to remind the user to maintain better and safer training form by not torqueing or dropping at the wrist joint.

The glove promises extra comfort due to a one-piece knit body of breathable Dri-FIT material with traditional spots for seams relocated to try to eliminate wear and tension on the seams as well as calluses and discomfort from them.

Our SNEWS tester — who has lifted regularly for years, now on a four-day-a-week schedule with two heavier days and two lighter days — really liked the glove’s structure, including the six-piece palm and articulated thumb that did increase range-of-motion during a workout, as well as the padding: “The padding was good, yet subtle. Often, gloves don’t allow you to ‘feel’ the weights, but these were comfortable but left more control.”

He also liked the breathability and comfort provided by the Dri-FIT material since he said he has in the past sometimes just skipped wearing gloves because his hands get too hot and sweaty. Not so in these: “With these gloves my hands stayed drier and more comfortable for the whole workout.”

The signature WebCage, however, left something to be desired it seemed. It seemed to be more decorative than anything else, and it tended to snag on a weight belt or other objects in the gym, making it seem like tweaky innovation that had less to do with true function. Its wristwrap feature was fine for lighter weights, but didn’t provide as much needed support as traditional wrist wraps at higher weight loads.

Nevertheless, our tester still is ready to continue to keep using them for lighter-weight workouts.

Another note: SNEWS has also tested the woman’s Lightweight glove (no Power WebCage) and also found the seams, structure and especially the Dri-FIT technology extremely comfortable — so much so these gloves are now the go-to pair.

Suggested retails:
Men’s Power WebCage: $30
(Performance, Strength and Structured gloves without the WebCage: $15, $20 and $25)
Women’s Lightweight, Performance and Strength gloves: $12, $15 and $20

1-800-806-6453
www.nike.com

SNEWS Applause Meter (3.5 Clapping Hands):