The brand new Rain Rooster rain golf glove is the reply to a query you solely take into consideration when it’s raining. And even then you definitely may not assume to ask it.
And that query is: Why the hell can’t anybody make a rain glove that, , works?
The reply, courtesy of the gang at Red Rooster, is you may make a rain glove that works.
However it’s important to wish to.
The issue is, nonetheless, that making a rain glove that works isn’t so simple as it could appear.
Began throughout the peak of the pandemic by two Canadians—one a serial entrepreneur, the opposite a PGA TOUR professional—Crimson Rooster was a shock high finisher in final yr’s MyGolfSpy Performance Glove Buyer’s Guide. Co-founders Kerry Moher and Brad Fritsch assume they cracked the code and have delivered a rain glove you gained’t hate.
Actually, it’d even be one you want.
The Rain Glove Quandary
Rain gloves are the form of factor that, once you purchase them, you hope you by no means have to make use of them. First, nobody actually likes taking part in within the rain. And second, by and enormous, rain gloves suck.
“We needed to make a rain glove that folks will purchase and use, not simply purchase,” says cofounder Brad Fritsch. “I at all times had a pair of rain gloves in my bag however I by no means used them. They weren’t nice.”
Fritsch says he used his rain gloves precisely one time on Tour and had only a depressing day. “It went about as dangerous because it may go for a golfer. After I made a double bogey on a 300-yard par-4, I mentioned, ‘By no means once more.’”
Rain gloves appear to be virtually an afterthought for mainstream glove corporations. They’re often constructed from a thick suede-like materials and must be moist to truly give you any tackiness. Fritsch and Red Rooster co-founder Kerry Moher figured they may do higher. They quickly understood why the entire “afterthought” factor.
“There isn’t a rain glove available on the market {that a} professional wears,” says Moher. “They simply rotate via leather-based gloves as a result of they’re not going to sacrifice really feel simply to maintain their palms dry.”
And therein lies the quandary. If you’d like really feel, you quit dry. If you’d like dry, you quit really feel.
“There are gloves available on the market that do hold water out however you gained’t be capable to play golf in them,” says Moher. “There isn’t any really feel. You’re simply going to have dry palms and can play shitty golf.”
The Rain Rooster Lodging
To make the Rain Rooster work, Fritsch and Moher needed to give you one thing skinny sufficient so you may really really feel the membership however thick sufficient to maintain your palms dry. That took some doing.
“There’s at all times some kind of tradeoff,” says Moher. “Most rain gloves do a very good job with grip however you actually can’t really feel it. That’s the place we tried to go together with the thinnest potential materials within the palm and a thicker materials the place we would have liked it.”
Oh, and another factor. It has to appear like a golf glove somebody would wish to put on.
“We tried a number of totally different supplies on each spot on the glove,” says Moher. “We had plenty of iterations the place the glove was bomb-proof however you couldn’t shut your fingers and also you couldn’t really feel the membership in your palms.”
That’s why the Rain Rooster has the thinnest materials Moher and Fritsch may discover that might additionally hold the water out.
“We’re somewhat bit thicker on the highest the place we will defend your palms and hold the weather out however the palm is tremendous, tremendous skinny,” says Moher.
That delivers the texture, however to maintain the tack when moist, Moher and Fritsch added essentially the most Crimson Rooster contact possible: a whole barnyard value of crimson silicone roosters on the palm and fingers.
“We had to try this for the tack you might want to hold your grip within the rain,” explains Moher.
Waterproof Versus Water-Resistant
When would you really want a very good pair of rain gloves? Properly, possibly on that bucket listing journey to Bandon or St Andrews. You’re taking part in come hell or excessive water, so unexpectedly an excellent rain glove is useful.
“We name them water resistant,” says Moher. “We did have a model that was actually waterproof however we had an excessive amount of materials between the fingers. Finally, we went with a kind of Spandex for a little bit of stretch and breathability.”
Water resistant signifies that, in a downpour, your palms in all probability will get damp. However in most situations, you’ll keep dry. And don’t low cost the significance of breathability. Moher and Fritsch discovered that whereas testing the Rain Rooster in Indonesia, the place most golf gloves are made.
“We went there throughout the wet season and it rains each day and it’s sizzling,” says Moher. “We discovered a number of the early prototypes couldn’t breathe. The rain wasn’t getting in however our palms had been sweating like loopy.”
Crimson Rooster began the Rain Rooster mission two years in the past and needed to have it prepared for final spring. After three iterations, Moher and Fritsch had been assured they’d a winner. However on-course testing on a very wet day despatched them again to the drafting board.
“It was a crappy, crappy day and we discovered a few flaws we hadn’t foreseen,” says Moher. “We needed to make modifications and missed the 2022 season due to it. We may have launched a model of the glove that was in all probability 80 % of the way in which there. However we additionally knew if we made the mandatory modifications, the Rain Rooster could be 100% there.”
The Rain Rooster was launched that fall. And regardless of lacking the whole season, it’s bought properly over the winter.
Little Issues Matter
The Rain Rooster went via a complete of 5 iterations earlier than coming to market. To verify their glove handed all of the assessments, Fritsch and Moher paid consideration to all the small print, regardless of how small.
“We tried various things on the thumb,” says Moher. “The thumb is definitely an vital piece. We finally got here again with a thinner materials. We tried a number of various things between the fingers, too, and settled on one thing that allowed for a little bit of stretch and breathability.”
“Like every little thing else we’ve finished, we got down to resolve an issue,” provides Fritsch.
That focus to element even spreads to the glove’s cuff, the place they took inspiration from scuba-diving gloves. The wrist is the place water is available in and, in the event you’re sporting the glove all day, it will possibly chafe. The Rain Rooster incorporates a delicate enclosure that not solely retains water out however stays comfortable for a full spherical.
From a chafe-free, watertight cuff and silicone roosters on the palm to an ultra-thin palm and Spandex between the fingers, it’s protected to say very, only a few put this a lot thought right into a freaking rain glove. Thankfully for Crimson Rooster, it had no established order to get in the way in which.
“We began from zero,” says Fritsch. “So we put extra thought in than possibly corporations which were doing it for a very long time.”
The Rain Rooster: Two Necessary Questions
Have you ever ever questioned why rain gloves are at all times black and at all times bought in pairs? Or did these questions simply happen to you?
The Rain Rooster is bought in pairs on the speculation that it’s higher to have it and never want it than to want it and never have it.
“I’ve by no means worn two gloves besides when it’s a torrential downpour and it’s battle golf. You’re simply attempting to get again to the clubhouse,” says Moher. “We requested our prospects and it was fairly break up between one and two gloves. It was a useless warmth so we determined to promote them in pairs.”
As for why rain gloves are at all times black, neither Fritsch nor Moher may reply.
“That’s one thing we checked out,” says Moher. “We needed one thing totally different that might stand out.”
“I believe it’s the climate and possibly the mud,” provides Fritsch. “Possibly there’s a priority they’d get all muddy and stained.”
Moher does assume it could be a fabric challenge. They tried discovering waterproof and water resistant supplies in crimson however couldn’t discover them within the portions they wanted.
Crimson Rooster’s Rain Rooster: Ultimate Ideas, Value and Availability
As each Moher and Fritsch readily admit, rain gloves are historically one thing we golfers actually don’t wish to use. A part of the reason being we don’t wish to play within the rain. And the opposite half is rain gloves often, properly, suck.
We’ll be testing the Rain Rooster all through the season. But when Crimson Rooster’s different gloves are any indication, we will count on stable efficiency and a remarkably lengthy life.
And it’ll be one thing that stands out. I imply, who else has rain gloves with black palms and crimson silicone chickens on the palm? Don’t find out about you however I can’t anticipate the primary monsoon of the season.
The Rain Rooster is on the market on the Red Rooster website. They go for $31 per pair or $27.90 as a part of Crimson Rooster’s distinctive subscription program.
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