I’ve had my hands on this 12.75″ Warstic DFNDR series for over a month now which has given me time to break it in to the point that I feel comfortable giving my opinion on the glove and, ultimately, whether or not it will be a gamer for me. This glove is $370 on Warstic’s website and here’s my 1-month performance review of the Warstic DFNDR IK3 Series outfield glove.
Before we jump in, in case you missed it, here’s my unboxing:
After that, I took it out in the field with me to really get the full picture on this new offering from Warstic.
Out of the box, I mentioned a few things about the form that I was not fond of. The narrow heels and tall fingers along with a shallow break does not lend itself well to an outfield pattern.
I opted to break this glove in with a two-in-the-pinky grip. That is my personal preference for the outfield and I think most of the outfielders reading this probably feel the same. It gives you more strength when closing the glove and a little more length for a “snowcone” catch.
After working with this glove a little, the break-in felt slightly awkward. The glove wanted to close thumb to right around ring finger which, on its own, isn’t terrible. It becomes less desirable when paired with this pocket.
After a little over a month, this glove still doesn’t have a truly defined pocket. Between catch and mallet work, this glove still lacks that “lock in” pocket I want in an outfield gamer. The Warstic DFNDR series does not feel bad, but for me, it lacks that sense of security I feel in other outfield patterns.
The base of the fingers feels disjointed from the top, creating a strange shape when the glove is closed. In the video above you can see how when the glove is squeezed, there is still an opening at the top.
The DFNDR line from Warstic has potential. Their infield model felt great out of the box but this outfield model somewhat missed the mark for me. The kip leather feels solid and it is one of the best looking stock gloves out there right now. Personally, I do not think the Warstic DFNDR IK3 Series outfield model ($370) will become a gamer for me.
With that said, Justin Upton is playing with it in the MLB right now. Adding to their pro-backing, the infield gloves have Ian Kinsler‘s expertise baked right in; so they could very well be a winner. I would love to hear your feedback on Warstic leather if you picked one up.
