Miken Razor Z9 hockey glove review

As a hockey player, I’m most particular about two pieces of equipment – sticks and gloves. Sticks obviously have several personal preference options for players to choose from, but gloves come a bit more standard across the board, making things like sizing, fit, comfort and range of motion all incredibly important when choosing a new pair of gloves.

Several weeks back, the generous people over at Miken Hockey sent us their brand new Miken Razor Z9 hockey gloves to review. The Z9 gloves are one of two new gloves offered by Miken for 2012, with the other being the Pro Fit T hockey gloves.

After an initial break-in period that helped me get used to the fit and feel of these gloves, they have definitely grown on me after several weeks of intense usage. Check out the full review below for more details.

Specs: Miken Razor Z9 Gloves, Navy/White, Size 13

Modifications: None

Appearance and Design: The Z9 gloves are a little more stylized than the Pro Fit T, but share the same cuff design with “Miken” spelled out in big letters across the top of the cuff. Outside of that, the Z9 gloves diverge a bit and feature several jagged lines running down the side of the glove, giving the glove a more graphic feel. Probably the most impressive part of the design is the crafty stitching that spells out “Miken” on the cuff area and the small Miken logo on the thumbs. This definitely shows a lot of attention to detail on Miken’s part while designing this product.

The Razor gloves have an exterior made of a tight poly nylon blend making the gloves lightweight and durable and resistant to fraying if cut. For protection, the gloves have ¾ inch ultra light PU foam backed with plastic inserts in the cuff, backhand and fingers, as well as a performance lock thumb. The gloves also have Dual-Nash Sensa-Tec palms.  Miken used a standard Nash and put Digital Nash overlays for added durability and for improved hand to glove palm interaction providing more control of your stick. They also feature  a moisture management liner on the inside to add comfort and wick away moisture during use.

Fit and Feel: These gloves took some time to break in and get used to, but they have grown on me since. Like I said previously, I am very picky about my gloves. I normally wear a size 13 glove, which typically has a snug fit over my hand but still allows me a solid range of motion. So it surprised me how big these felt when I first put them on. The Miken Z9 gloves are probably a half-size bigger than most other gloves, putting them closer to a 13.5” rather than a standard 13” glove.

The gloves were also initially very rigid. Before my first game with them, I sat on the bench flexing the gloves to loosen them up some, mostly pulling the fingers back and crushing them together as if I were cracking my knuckles. I think this certainly helped speed along the process, but it really took me until about my third game using them to feel like they were totally broken in. Once they were broken in, however, I gained more dexterity in my fingers and felt more of the “contoured design” that these gloves are supposed to have.

Unfortunately, the length of the glove is still a minor inconvenience. I’ve gotten used to the gloves where I don’t notice the extra length as much, but occasionally I still find myself pulling down on the gloves to get my fingers deeper into the pockets in between plays.

The moisture management liner really works great. I take these gloves off after playing and they hardly feel wet. Plus, the liner doesn’t add a ton of bulk to the inside of the glove like other higher-end gloves that I’ve used.

The range of motion these gloves allows for stick handling is good, definitely on par with other gloves I’ve used. And the palm offers a very nice feel for the stick. In the past, I’ve shied away from some higher end gloves because I feel like a bulkier palm prevents a solid feel for the stick, but lower end gloves simply feel like a thin piece of cloth between your hand and the stick. The Razor Z9 gloves really offer a happy medium by giving a good feel for the stick in your hands without too much excessive bulk. The palm isn’t too grippy either, allowing you to move your hand freely down the shaft, but provides enough grip when needed to prevent hand slippage on slapshots.

Durability and Protection: I would give these gloves a high rating for durability. The fact is, any glove that you use long enough will eventually break down and begin to tear through the palms. This happens with some gloves faster than others. After several weeks of intense use, there are no major signs of wear or deterioration on the palms or fingers that concern me outside of what is normal. My left-hand glove does distinctly show more wear right in the area that I cup the butt end of my stick (pictured above). The material is, for lack of a better word, starting to shed slightly, probably due to the friction of the tape rubbing against the palm of the glove. But the rate of wear definitely seems slower when compared to other pairs of gloves that I have.

Thankfully, I haven’t taken too many shots or slashes to the hands to have to comment exhaustively on the protection the gloves offer, so I put the gloves on and took a hammer to them. Check out a video of the hammer test below:

I performed this test roughly seven times in one day, including the takes it took to get the video. Honestly, I barely felt a thing. The gloves offer very good protection over the wrist and definitely over the thumb. The protection waivers slightly around the knuckle area and into the fingers, but the foam core and plastic inserts will definitely keep your fingers well protected if you get hit by a shot. I’d rate these gloves very highly for protection.

Overall Impression: The new Miken Razor Z9 hockey gloves definitely offer players a lot of top-end features, including good durability, excellent exterior protection and a solid range of motion. They also provide a good feel for the stick in your hands and the moisture management liner really helps keep the gloves dry. The only real flaw with these gloves for me is the length. I prefer a snugger fit with my gloves, but players who aren’t as picky with the fit will likely enjoy the contoured feel and all of the other positives this glove brings to the table. Plus, coming in at $119.99, the Z9 gloves beat other top-end models by anywhere from $50 to $100.

To purchase the Miken Razor Z9 hockey gloves, head over to Inline Warehouse to grab a pair for $119.99. For more information on Miken’s other great products, visit Miken’s website at www.MikenHockey.com.