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Warrior Riot Lacrosse gloves
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412/LAS Gear Review: Warrior Riot Lacrosse Glove + Evo3 Head GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

Over a month ago, Warrior sent me a pair of Riot Gloves and an Evolution 3 Lacrosse head to check out.  I’ve waited this long to do a review of the products because I wanted to get a lot of use in first, before I made any calls on the quality.  And now that I’ve put the equipment through the wear and tear test, I’m ready to provide a FULL REVIEW of both products.

Warrior Lacrosse Riot Glove

The Riot glove has been all over the internet, not only because it is new, but also because it features an inter-changeable cuff, which can be custom ordered.  I’ll get to the cuff later, but for now I’ll focus purely on the function of the gloves.

When I first put them on, I had to check to make sure I had gotten 13″ gloves and not 12″ gloves.  They were that tight on my hands.  But I went out and played a little wall ball in them and within 5 minutes, they had loosened up considerably.  They now fit my hands perfectly.  Within 15 minutes, the gloves really felt like they were pretty broken in.  That is a very impressive break-in time.  The glove is short, so wrist movement is not impeded very much, and with a little sweat, the mostly leather palms soften up nicely.  There is some mesh on the palms, but not a lot, and this does help keep your hands cool and ventilated.

Warrior Riot Lacrosse gloves
I like these puppies!

As I wore the gloves (in rain, heat, cold and everything in between – what a wild spring in NYC!) almost every day for lessons, practice or games, I noticed that they didn’t get stiff, and they didn’t fall apart.  The soft palms held up well and while there has been a little pilling, the wear has not been very bad at all.  When yo consider that I like to tape my stick heavily, this resistance to wear is even more impressive.

The only drawback to the glove is that it is short on the forearm, but this is really a preference thing.  Some guys like a glove that basically covers only their hand and wrist, others like it a little longer.  This glove is on the shorter end of the spectrum.  The padding is excellent and the protection is definitely there.  I had no issues with slashes or anything and my hands always felt protected, yet the gloves weren’t bulky either.

And now to the fashion… The customizable cuff is very interesting to me, especially when looked at through the lens of team orders.  A team can order one pair of gloves but have a couple of looks to match their uniforms.  A team like Colorado State, which has ordered all green gloves, could still do that, but now they could add white, black and gold custom cuffs to the green that the gloves came with and have 4 different looks for their mittens.  Simple, cost-effective, and on a quality product.  I could see these being big in the MCLA and DIII lacrosse, as well as in High School.  The glove will retail for between $120-130 and is pretty affordable when compared to other top level gloves.

It doesn’t have the flash or little extras that true top level gloves have, but the Riot is a quality product, designed efficiently with the consumer in mind, and with an affordable pricetag.  I often think Warrior products are overpriced, but the Riots really get the job done in a major way.  They wore well over time, are versatile and give you everything you need, without anything you don’t.  A very impressive product that will work for high schools through college and men’s club. A very rare 9 out 10!

Warrior Evolution 3 Lacrosse Head

The Evolution series of head has been the absolute weapon of choice for SO MANY top level college players that it’s not even worth listing their names.  The Evolution has been everywhere.  It’s like the modern day Edge.  And there is a good reason for that: the Evolution is a great product.  It is light, stiff, offset and has a great shape to its face.  The stringing configuration, if used correctly, is advanced and yield a great mesh pocket, especially when the principles of a Pocket 34 are thrown in there.

I used an Evo3, let the kids I coach use it, and just battered one for a solid month and saw no cracking or warping.  The head feels so light, I thought it might break quickly, but I’ve yet to have any problems with it whatsoever.  I’ve used it on both a short stick and defensive pole, and while the head seems like more of a middie/attack head, it worked very well on my pole.  I even threw some crushing slap checks and pokes and the head took the beating with any issues.

Warrior Evolution Evo3 lacrosse head
These are very nice. Very nice indeed.

It’s fully offset, and the really cool thing about the Evo3 is that is is available in a bazillion different color combinations.  That’s not a real number, but still, there are a lot.  We got all white, red with white sidewall and blue with white sidewall.  We’ve seen black with baby blue sidewalls and pink with neon green sidewalls.  So like I said, the possibilities for color coordination is nearly endless.    The head retails for around $100, unstung, which is on the higher end of the cost line, but not all the way at the end.

There is a reason the Evolution has been so popular, and I don’t see the Evo3 slowing that trend down one bit.  It’s light, customizable and the head of choice for so many college players.  At $90, it starts to get a bit more expensive, but to a lot of people, it’s worth it.  Cost issues aside, a GREAT product.  8.75 out of 10!

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

We’ll pick the best caption and send the winner a brand new Evo3 head from Warrior!  The head is red with white sidewalls or blue with white sidewalls.  Your choice if you win!

Caption Contest!  You know the rules.  Keep it clean, keep it funny and try your best!  Likes and comments help but final say is with the Editor of LAS!!

BYU Colorado State Lacrosse MCLA 2011
Courtesy of Victoria Harris of AllAmericanShots.com!

Now get to it and WIN!