Here we go again with another pair of Rinat gloves. In some of the last reviews that I’ve done I haven’t been able to go all in a glove. What I mean by that is, there are always different elements of the gloves that I don’t necessarily like. Usually the main issue for me is the price point. There are plenty of gloves out there that are perfectly good options. The problem is their price point is way off. Essentially they are fighting in a weight class that they don’t belong in. When it comes to the Rinat Egotiko Stellar Spines I don’t get that feeling. Just taking that into account I think that the starting point for this review is a positive one. Let’s hope that gloves hold up throughout the article!
Rinat is a Mexican brand that’s been in the market for I want to say 20 or 30 years. For me, it’s a brand that I grew up with. They did take some time to penetrate foreign markets. These days though they’ve been in the US market for I want to say at least 15 years. One of the things that I like about this brand is precisely that they don’t usually slap incoherent prices on their products. If I had to give a general sense of what you can expect out of the Rinat Egotiko Stellar Spines gloves I’d say they are a middle of the pack glove. They’re priced at that range, and so you can really get your money’s worth particularly if the glove design matches your needs.
Rinat Grip Is More or Less The Same
Unless you’re dealing with the Rinat turf gloves are some of their cheaper models that you can find on sale within Mexico Rinat pretty much offers the same type of grip on all of their gloves. It’s not special by any means. Particularly when you take into account how grip has essentially improved leaps and bounds over the last 10 years. You could take some Rinat gloves from 10 years ago and realize that they haven’t evolved in a massive way. Is that an issue that they have to contend with or is it an issue with the market? Simply put Rinat gloves are typically not meant to be as sticky as other gloves. For a lot of people that’s going to mean that they don’t offer the same level of grip.
I get the sense that Rinat are very old school in believing that grip is not the same as stickiness. You want to have a glove that molds around your fingers the right way and that’s going to allow you to make clean catches. More so than wearing gloves with materials that essentially force the ball to stick to your glove. Ultimately they have fallen behind in the grip department. I would call these gloves middle of the pack when it comes to grip. The good thing is if you need more grip you can always look to use additives to help you with that. The latex on Rinat gloves is going to take well to things like GloveGlu.
Rinat Egotiko Stellar Spines – How Do The Spines Stack Up?
With “Stellar Spines” being part of the product name you can expect these gloves to feature finger spines. Finger spines for anyone that doesn’t know are the metal or plastic rods that are inserted on the backhand of the glove behind where you’re going to put your fingers. They help make sure that your fingers won’t bend even if you have to deal with a hard shot. Rinat has been offering gloves with finger spine technology for a while. Through the years I have gotten the sense that they have evolved to offer better finger spines on their gloves. What we got with the first generation finger spine gloves was literally metal rods behind your fingers. What that did was cause your hand to be stiff the whole time.
It felt like you were a lego character that had a hand that was set in place. Now the finger spines are made with what I believe is more like hard plastic. What you get with that is much better mobility with your fingers while wearing the glove. You still get that sense of the added protection that you’re potentially looking for if you like these gloves. With the finger spine technology added to this glove what you also get is a much thicker glove. So you’re going to be able to really deal with hard shots when you’ve got these gloves on. That benefit definitely bleeds in well into my next point!
The Gloves Can Be Found In Kids Sizes
This element is a bit underrated in my opinion. Rinat is one of those brands that does a pretty good job when it comes to offering kids equipment. You can find the Rinat Egotiko Stellar Spines model in sizes 5 and 6. What you’ll see is that they are basically the same gloves that you would be able to buy in a size 8, 9 or 10. I’ve been on this for a while. A lot of the kids gloves that are out there are made even from different materials than adult goalkeeper gloves. What happens is that you’re not allowing kids to get a sense for how grip should feel. Also, it’s a good way to teach kids to take care of their goalkeeper gloves the right way.
If you want to stick with the Rinat brand, wearing the same gloves as you move up in age is a good idea. In this particular model there are also obvious benefits for kids. For example, the finger spines and just how thick the gloves are really help kids deal with hard shots. I know that this is something that other brands want to dismiss. You don’t need a thick glove to deal with hard shots. For kids in my opinion you can always take the approach that the more protection you get the better. I’d rather be safe than sorry in kids gloves. These gloves offer plenty of positives for kids who are starting out as goalkeepers.
Rinat Egotiko Stellar Spines – Durability Could Be An Issue On Rough Fields
When you wear Rinat gloves you kind of know ahead of time that durability is something that you’re going to have to be aware of. There are two main problems with these gloves. You need to make sure that they are wet enough for you to play or train. If they are too dry when you’re using them what’s going to happen is that the latex on the palms is not properly lubricated and that makes it more likely that it will rip. For me there’s also an issue with these gloves: you don’t make an effort to clean them right. The black palms don’t do you a lot of favors when it comes to knowing whether the glove is clean or not.
What can happen is that you get dirt or even rubber to engrain itself within the glove. So you don’t see that the glove is ripped up. Yet, you feel like you don’t get the type of grip that you’re looking for. You can try and use all sorts of things to make the glove sticky again. The problem is though that the dirt has ingrained itself into the glove. The first thing that you want to do when you’re in this situation, and you want to save the glove is wash it thoroughly. In any case, they are a delicate glove across the board. Durability is not a strong suit of Rinat gloves in general. Particularly if you’re going to be playing on rough fields.
The Price/ Quality Ratio Is Fair
For me the price is really what’s going to dedicate whether you’re getting a good deal or not. I don’t think that I would pick the Rinat Egotiko Stellar Spines if I had a chance to pick any gloves in the world for free. Now, for 45 dollars which is the price that they’re currently going for I could see myself picking up a pair. Particularly if I was looking for a pair of gloves that offer the level of protection that you can get with these gloves. For parents who don’t know where to start when it comes to buying goalkeeper gloves for their kids this is a good spot. You’re not having to break the bank to get a pair of these gloves. Yet you get access to some of the benefits that they provide.
In the goalkeeper glove market the gloves that you can find at this price point (under 50 dollars) usually leave you wanting a bit more. The problem with gloves in this price point is that you probably want something that’s premium light. What I mean by that is a glove that has some premium qualities and some flaws that you know are there, but you can live with. What you don’t want is a glove that looks like you could’ve gotten for 20 or 30 dollars. I’m usually complaining about prices, but in this case I do get the sense that the gloves are properly priced.
Who Can Benefit From Buying The Rinat Egotiko Stellar Spines?
There are for me two goalkeepers that I can see really benefiting from these gloves. There may be even a third type of goalkeeper, but I’ll get to that. Kids starting out or teens that are getting their start in the world of goalkeeping potentially have the most to gain. These gloves can provide a premium level of protection. When you’re getting started out and you don’t have all of the fundamentals down, yet you’re going to appreciate that added level of protection.
The second and potentially third type of goalkeeper that may benefit from these gloves are keepers who are very much engulfed in this. What I mean by that is you train 3 or 4 times a week. Durability may not be a strong suit for these gloves. Using them for training though can be a good idea for a couple of reasons. One, you get that added protection in training which doesn’t hurt. Also, it doesn’t hurt your wallet to put down maybe 45 dollars for a pair of these maybe a couple of times during the season. Instead of having to buy two pairs of gloves at 100 or 150 that are just for training.
The third type of goalkeeper that can benefit from these gloves is the one that plays indoor soccer or something like this. The shots are just harder in that format. Sometimes having the finger spines is going to save you from a broken finger! If you want to purchase these gloves make sure to use my link to help me keep creating this content!
