Mechanix Wear: The Original Covert Tactical Work Gloves with Secure Fit, Flexible Grip for Multi-purpose Use, Durable Touchscreen Safety Gloves for Men (Large, Black)

There is a strong debate in my field around whether these are superior to the Oakley gloves. I'm an SF (Army, not Air Force) operator, and you can find my comparison between these and the Oakley gloves (bought from the SI website at www.standardissue.com) below. In the end, it all comes down to shooter's preference. My preferences and my I prefer them are found below.A little about me: I'm an SF (Army, not Air Force) medic with eight years' team time and almost four years of deployed time, 31 months of which have been in Afghanistan, the rest of which have been in South America.Tactile Feedback: This is a huge consideration for me. I like being able to feel, as accurately as possible, what is going on under my gloves (think handling an M-9 with gloves vs bare hands). This is a draw. The Mechanix gloves have a similar but less pronounced palm feel and response to the Oakleys. You can just feel minor details better with the Oakleys. You can wrap a piece of coarse (100-200 grit) sandpaper around a cylindrical object and rub the gloves against it to increase the tactile feedback to improve the tactile feedback of the Mechanix gloves (recommended) to that of the Oakleys. This will significantly reduce the life of both sets of gloves, however if you do it to the Mechanix gloves to the point that there is a similar feel between these and (new) Oakleys you will only reduce these to the effective lifetime of a fresh pair of Oakleys. The Oakleys come with additional padding under the fingertips on the index and middle finger along with some (I think) useless dots that are meant to increase grip. I find this Oakley feature to be superfluous and I cut this part of the glove off. *Caveat - I DO take my gloves off any time I perform medic duties. Neither glove, sanded down or not, allows me to accurately assess a casualty as well as I can with bare hands or with latex gloves.Protection: The Oakleys win here. The Oakleys have knuckle protection; these do not. There exists a version of Mechanix gloves with knuckle protection, however, those come with a double layer on the palm that reduces tactile feedback. As far as protection goes, the Mechanix with the additional padding on the knuckles have more protection, but you sacrifice tactile feedback to get the protection. The beefed up Mechanix gloves have extra layers in the palmar area which significantly reduces tactile feedback. The problem is that the knuckle protection on the beefed-up Mechanix is soft whereas the knuckle protection on the Oakleys is hard, and when I say hard it's like brass knuckle hard. I have literally had to punch people in the face to protect myself and my teammates; the Oakleys with their "brass knuckle" effect easily win the battle against the Mechanix's knuckle protection. This brass knuckle feature isn't strictly necessary (in my experience) as I could have simply punched them in the face again, and again, if necessary.Durability: Mechanix win. These Mechanix gloves have a slightly thicker palm and underside of the finger area. The Oakleys have a better "out of the box feel", but only by a slight bit; the Mechanix gloves break in quickly to the same feel as the Oakley gloves (especially if you use a pipe lined with sandpaper) and they have almost twice the life (in my experience) as the Oakley gloves.Other Factors: This is where Mechanix win by a long shot. The Oakley gloves have a tendency to, when subjected to repeated wear in hot environments where your hands sweat profusely, stiffen up after wear which reduces the tactile feedback received through the glove. This stiffening isn't relieved the next time you wear them until several hours have gone by and gets worse the more sweat you pour into them. The Mechanix gloves do not suffer this malady, and they somehow retain their feel despite months of hard use. The Mechanix gloves also (to me) fit better and more consistently; the Mechanix gloves seem to have a more elastic back of the hand area and a palmar area that doesn't constrict after it has been sweated into which hugely improves the overall comfort and usefulness of the glove over time. It also seems like the quality of construction is better as I have had multiple pairs of Oakley gloves that had stitching that was off (especially in the thumb and the inside of the index finger) which caused me to render those gloves unserviceable. This inconsistency alone is enough for me to choose the Mechanix gloves without going into the price difference which is significant.TL;DR: I prefer the Mechanix gloves because they are cheaper, better made, more durable, comparable in regards to tactile feedback, and, unless I'm punching through brick walls, don't offer a whole lot of improved protection; that being said, I would strongly prefer a version with hard knuckle protection.

Great gloves, really love them! Mechanix are a popular glove in the tactical and shooting communities. I have heard people talk crap about them sometimes but those people are probably gear elitists who think if it's not uber expensive then it must suck. These gloves are affordable, relatively tough and are pretty comfortable. I use the medium sized gloves since I'm a smaller dude (150 pounds; 5'10") and they fit great. There is some play in the finger tips but very little. You'll never find gloves that fit perfectly though, just like you will never find boots that fit perfectly. We all have unique dimensions so just get the glove that fits you the closest. In terms of quality, they do have great features and materials. The are somewhat synthetic so that's great for when they get wet and need to dry out by the fire. They seem tough too but like all other apparel that gets used heavily, they will wear out. That's just the nature of using something though. Eventually it will wear out. If you get 6 months of REALLY hard use out of them, that would be a great value. If you use them for a couple years with just moderate strain on them, that again would be a great value since the black gloves are only 18 USD.Be warned though, these are NOT winter gloves and your hands will get cold in the winter time. I recommend these gloves covered in a very thin fleece winter glove to protect you from the cold. Or you can just get a quality pair of winter gloves then just use these for indoor tasks or during warmer seasons. I usually shoot with these gloves so they are great for that. Protecting your hands is crucial and folks often underestimate how important their hands are until they loose a finger or slice their finger to the bone. These gloves will protect you as well. If you get the M-Pact version they protect even better. I love the style of these gloves as well. They come in camo, black, red, blue, yellow, coyote tan, you name it. A very quality product and highly recommended to anyone who needs to protect their hands but doesn't want to spend a fortune.

Great gloves for all applications. Great for woodworking, gardening and even shooting. Feels great. Soft and ventilated. Dexeterity is awesome. Saved my hands so many times. Works well with touch screens.Love them so much that I own 2 colours and I always keep a pair in my cart to when they are on sale...

The gloves fit great and are the perfect thickness. Protect but still have dexterity.

I was skeptical at first, thinking about another more expensive pair was the better choice. Something told me to go with these and I am glad I did. Very well made and durable the fit like a glove. Tough material that is living up to the rough treatment. Excellent choice I highly recommend, and the style is really cool too.