Looking for advice on Asian market gloves

M

Mclancy

New Member
Hello,
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with any of the Asian market gloves such as kubota, Zett, Wilson(Japan) etc. I am not sure which models are truely the higher end models. Also being lefty I am having trouble finding anywhere with a good selection, is there specific websites or places I should be looking? Any advice would be greatly appreciated
 
chrometip78

chrometip78

The Hungarian Barbarian
Also have to be mindful of gloves for baseball vs rubber ball, there are several here who know the ins and outs of what to look for.
 
David the Gnome

David the Gnome

The Veteran
I've owned a few Japanese market Mizunos and I bought a Zett glove for my fiancee. The basic rule is this with Japanese market gloves, if it's affordable, it's not the high end model. Japanese market gloves are extremely expensive, even in Japan. A top end made in Japan Mizuno hardball glove will run you in the $600-$800 range, before import and tax.

That's really the main challenge with Japanese market gloves. Because players in Japan use a rubber ball (nanshiki) up until high school, the vast majority of gloves on the market there are rubber ball gloves. The high end versions of these, the $300+ models, have good quality leather and could be used for hardball but for the price, you could get a top of the line US glove or a custom.

I don't mean to completely deter anyone from getting into Japanese gloves. Just know that it is an extremely expensive hobby to get into.
 
DatDuke

DatDuke

Well-Known Member
Safe bets, go with Nike Elite J, Asics, and UA. Or Wilson A2Ks, they are all made in Japan.
 
bigmac25

bigmac25

Extra Hitter
DatDuke said:
Safe bets, go with Nike Elite J, Asics, and UA. Or Wilson A2Ks, they are all made in Japan.
Click to expand...
that a little general though as i think he was asking about the market as a whole as i dont know about nike, but the others have different levels or are avbl in the states.
I dont recall exactly what the suffixes (GR and something... maybe?? LOL) to the model #s are but they can be found somewhere around here and one means hard ball and the other means rubber ball. Ratuken searches will help your knowledge
 
Drumbum37

Drumbum37

Addicted to Softballfans
Ditto on talking to Fred. He's trying to sell his nwt 2gw17850. Might cost you a house payment or 2...He's got other goodies for sale as well, check the glove selling section.
Speaking solely about mizuno gloves, the hardball gloves are the cream of the crop. New models start with 1ajgh..... the rubberball models are still very good, they use not as firm felt and inserts. The new rubberball models start with 1ajgr. Notice the H for hardball and R for rubberball. Aggie(something or other) bought a custom made in Haga, Japan rubberball glove that is legit (paid close to 500 i think?)
Zett has pro status and gran status for their high end stuff. I'd stay away from all those fancy colored ones on ebay.
SSK has probrain. There's a rep on some facebook pages that can get you a sweet deal on some high end ssk stuff. Not probrains tho.
Swallow sports is good. Rakuten is also good. Gotta have translating capabilities tho and even then it's an adventure.
Chad (Milcoman) has a couple Haga crafted Mizuno pros but are rht, but he may possibly be able to help out with getting something from overseas?

Cliffnotes: Check with Fredderf here on the board.
 
Drumbum37

Drumbum37

Addicted to Softballfans
And sizing is different. Generally speaking they run a little smaller. So it can be tricky if you're a softball outfielder. Majority of the Japanese/Asian market glove makers use their own sizing system so it's kind of a crapshoot. Mizuno's largest glove size is now size 18 which is roughly 13 inch. It used to be size 15 was 13 inch.
 
David the Gnome

David the Gnome

The Veteran
Japanese sizes for reference:


size:4 size:5 size:6 size:7 size:8 size:9 size:10 size:11 size:12 size:13 size:14 size:15
27.5ｃｍ 28.0ｃｍ 28.5ｃｍ 29.0ｃｍ 29.5ｃｍ 30.0ｃｍ 30.5cm 31cm 31.5cm 32cm 32.5cm 33cm
 
eviladams

eviladams

All hail Megatron.....
Drumbum37 said:
And sizing is different. Generally speaking they run a little smaller. So it can be tricky if you're a softball outfielder. Majority of the Japanese/Asian market glove makers use their own sizing system so it's kind of a crapshoot. Mizuno's largest glove size is now size 18 which is roughly 13 inch. It used to be size 15 was 13 inch.
Click to expand...

Japan has little in the way of mid-size gloves. Their IF gloves are all about 11.5". OF gloves are all usually around 13". But you won't find stuff like the Arenado GGC or. Bryant. Once in awhile a company will make one but not regularly and it's "intended" for OF. H-webs are tough to find, only a few companies make them. Just about everything is a mod trap or trap.
 
S

Soxfan8

Starting Player
I've never noticed a difference in the sizing if it was the same model number. For example, Kubota Slugger sells both hardball and softball versions of the 23SE (an outfield glove), but they're the same size just different leather. I believe that their softball models with "MS" in the model name are for youth players and would be smaller sized. At least for Kubota, their hardball models start with "KSG" and their softball with "KSN." If it's someone else, unless the glove is $300+ look carefully into whether it's a softball glove, and if it's around $150, then it almost certainly is.

That said, I have owned a few softball gloves and never saw a reason that they could not be used for slow pitch purposes (and probably hardball too). I actually think they are often a good value.

Drumbum37 said:
And sizing is different. Generally speaking they run a little smaller. So it can be tricky if you're a softball outfielder. Majority of the Japanese/Asian market glove makers use their own sizing system so it's kind of a crapshoot. Mizuno's largest glove size is now size 18 which is roughly 13 inch. It used to be size 15 was 13 inch.
Click to expand...
 
M

Mclancy

New Member
Does anyone have any info on the Japanese Pro Preferred's ?

Cant post links yet but this is the title on eBay, I'm sure that are not the same but what is the quality of something like this?

Rawlings Baseball Glove Pro Preferred GR6FPRJ1 B Pitcher LHT 11.5 Made In Japan
 
David the Gnome

David the Gnome

The Veteran
Pro Preferred in Japan does not mean the same thing that it does in the US. Those are rubber ball gloves and will be sub-HOH in terms of quality.
 
eviladams

eviladams

All hail Megatron.....
Mclancy said:
Does anyone have any info on the Japanese Pro Preferred's ?

Cant post links yet but this is the title on eBay, I'm sure that are not the same but what is the quality of something like this?

Rawlings Baseball Glove Pro Preferred GR6FPRJ1 B Pitcher LHT 11.5 Made In Japan
Click to expand...

I didn't go look at the glove you referenced but I had a pro preferred from Japan, made in Japan. Retail was like 45000 yen if I recall. I think I have pics up on my IG. I sold it cause it was too small for softball first base imo. Played closer to 12.25". Was a beauty though. Was a hardball glove, not rubber ball.
 
M

Mclancy

New Member
By any chance does anyone have a place to buy Asian market glove or a contact I remember on the gliveworks forum there was a member who was able to order gloves from Asia for members ?
 
Rous

Rous

Addicted to Softballfans
Swallow Sports used to have a dedicated English email account. Worked well for the guys I know that used it.
 
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