I don't know why Ironclad charges so much more for these gloves than their regular impact gloves. Maybe they don't. Maybe the price discrepancy has more to do with retail politics than manufacturer pricing. Without knowing the actual SRP, it's hard to say. These gloves are essentially the same gloves as their standard Project Impact model, but with earthy, solid color designs and a little rubber removed on the trigger finger for obvious reasons. To my surprise, it came with a small flashlight too. Though that may have been a limited promotion as there's no mention of the light in the description. Still, the packaging says the light is "FREE" (as if anyone might actually fall for that - I mean, seriously, they might as well have just printed "Attention Mr. Gullible" on the packaging). Regardless, you shouldn't factor the light into your consideration. It's just a tiny pocket light, and not all that bright. We've purchased LEDs at least 3x as bright for less than three bucks on amazon around the same size. As for the gloves themselves, I've been overall very impressed. They're definitely comparable to Mechanix. Some say these hold up longer, others seem to think the Mechanix last better. So it probably depends on the use. Same for comfort, I've read conflicting arguments for both. I personally found them more of a toss up, in terms of comfort. The rubber seems to be cut at just the right places to prevent if from hindering movement. Rugged work gloves these are not, not remotely. But, I should quality that with what I personally consider rugged. They seem designed more like motorcycle gloves, which they'd probably be great for, as biker gloves need to be carefully stitched inside as to not cause rubbing at the seams during long rides, and these seem to fit the bill well. The material feels too soft or luxurious for any seriously rugged applications, like carrying wood rough cut wood full of splintery sharp edges, much less actual daily work carrying lumber. And anyone doing any kind of masonry work or routine carrying of cinder or stone definitely needs to look elsewhere. These probably couldn't withstand a single day of that type of duty. But few gloves could and that's not what these were designed for. I bought them mostly for mechanical and shop work where I always seem to be bashing or pinching my fingers and thought the rubber padding might help. I haven't had them long enough to fully test that out yet. But already, I've discovered that you can get essentially the same gloves from Ironclad - just with the index finger fully protected rather than the rubber cut back like these are for firing a weapon - often at a considerably lower price. If you're OK with some bright colors that seem more suited for Motorcross or the X Games, that's probably the way to go, if you're not intending to use them while shooting. Personally, I've never been able to hit anything with gloves on, not as accurately anyway, except for thin, very tight fitting leather gloves. I can't see anything about these gloves that justifies the higher price unless they're WAY overcharging for a very cheap flashlight and then claiming it to be "free". Ironclad would do MUCH better I think if they lost the gimmicky light and lowered their prices, specifically to undercut Mechanix. As long as these gloves are priced about evenly with Mechanix (sometimes higher), they're going to lose out, especially considering Mechanix much better name recognition, deserving or not. As for the sizing. I printed out the sizing chart from Ironclads website before ordering and am glad I did. I wear a size 9 glove, which most glove manufacturers, including Mechanix, label as "Medium", but for some reason Ironclad labels size 9 as "Large". Their large size fits me perfect. I liked that their printable sizing chart has a ruled 5 inch line on it so you can measure it to be sure your printer didn't adjust the dimensions on it's own (aka shrink to fit paper). That was smart, especially considering the difference in their sizing. I've worn or at least tried out a lot of different impact gloves (Mechanix, Ironclad, Kobalt, Hardy, Gravel Gear, and a few others I didn't pay attention to the name. While I think Hardy is tough to beat, considering the $6 price, for basic non-impact form fitting type gloves, for rubberized impact gloves with padded palms, Ironclad and Mechanix are the only ones I've come across worth considering, IMHO. Despite the thick rubber protection, they both are surprisingly comfortable, much better than any of the other options anyway. But the difference between the two brands is so close, I'd personally opt for buying whichever is cheaper at the time. They're both nice gloves. Mechanix does offer a couple models with actual leather palms though, for more rugged applications that might be worth additional consideration. 060717 Update: The more I wear these gloves the more I appreciate their overall sense of comfort. They break-in fast too. That said, the padded palms is an area they may want to re-evaluate in their design. I use the word "may" because I don't know enough about why they chose such placement to really make any absolute claim. But I picked up some new Mechanix Impact gloves the other day and the palm pads are bigger, covering your palm considerably better. The palm pads on the Ironclad gloves are smaller and seem a bit too high, almost residing in the middle cup or grip of your hands. Maybe their research showed such placement to be the primary point of impact in most applications. I don't know. But, subjectively, I prefer the palm pad placement of the Mechanix Impact models for actual glove feel. I haven't spent a couple hours chopping wood with them yet, like I have the Ironclads though. 061217 Update. I've now purchased 3 pair of Ironclad Impact and also recently purchased what is supposedly Mechanix most durable Impact glove, their Genuine Leather palm version. While the Mechanix Genuine Leather is indeed clearly the most durable for rugged work loads, Mechanix Wear neglect of seams really shows in the design. The gloves are great on the outside, but the seams really press into your fingers inside, as if they're a bit too small, but they aren't. They're just badly stitched inside. Another comparison I'd like to add between Ironclad Impact and Mechanix Mpact is that the rubber Mechanix uses is touted as being advanced engineered for maximum impact protection. Indeed their rubber feels more spongy, as if it'd absorb more force. But, I'd speculate the difference isn't nearly as substantial as the difference between how much more comfortable the Ironclads are to wear. I think Mechanix tactical Mpact gloves are a little better in comfort compared to their more rugged work Mpact models, but still not as comfortable as the Ironclads, which for an Impact glove, they are THE most comfortable I've tried. The original Ironclad Impact gloves I bought were camel Operator gloves. I now also have the same glove in black and their Project Impact gloves (gray/black/tan/ with lime green stitching and accents) which don't have the rubber cut back on the trigger finger. All three are consistently comfortable. However the anti-vibe palm pads are located differently on both newer pair of gloves I received. They're a little lower on my palm on the Project Impact gloves. And on the black gloves they're lower and bigger, similar to Mechanix. So either, there is some pretty extreme tolerance in where the anti-vibe pads are sewn or Ironclad has since improved their design maybe. At least I'm tempted to think the black gloves are newer, since they didn't come with the gimmicky flashlight and came attached to a much smaller, more economical packaging card for hanging the gloves on a store display. I imagine black to be a more popular color, so it stands to reason they'd sell out of the "free" flashlights for that color faster than the others, if it was a limited promotion to get people to try the
