Rawlings Wingtip Review
The Rawlings Wingtip gloves are famous for their wingtip design on the backhand of the glove. Although nothing keeps Rawlings from producing a wingtip pattern in another length glove, the Wingtips, to date, only come in an 11.75 inch utility infield or third-baseman’s glove. They have produced the glove with different web patterns in the past, at the time of this writing, Rawlings’ produces it in a Heart of the Hide and Pro Preferred in a 205 series that uses the traditional I-Web pattern.
Rawlings Wingtip Review Sources
Off this site, the best information we could find on wingtip gloves from Rawlings was the product pages for closeoutbats. Mad Max does a decent job talking through the details of a Rawlings Wingtip. And, as always, the Rawlings glove site has invaluable information.
Otherwise, details on the Wingtip gloves are left to pieces here and there on different internet sites. We did revisit both our Rawlings Pro-Preferred and Rawlings Heart of the Hide glove reviews for this article.
Rawlings Wingtip Article Contents
Rawlings Wingtip Review Features
Wingtip gloves from Rawlings, to put it simply, are a basic 205 patterned glove with an I-web and, literally, a wing tip design on the back hand of the glove. Gloves with that shape and without the wingtip design are simply referred to as 205 pattern gloves.
For practical purposes, the Wingtip gloves are an 11.75 inch third baseman’s glove. We could also see a number of middle infield/short stops using the glove successfully. Especially if they preferred longer gloves than the traditional 314 Pattern Rawlings makes for the 11.5-inch player. Outfielders, at least at higher levels of the sport, usually prefer a 12-inch glove or larger.
Rawlings Wingtip Review Models
There are currently two activley marketed Rawlings Wingtip gloves on the market. They include a Heart of the Hide black on grey leather version as well as a Pro-Preferred tan and red leather option.
Heart of the Hide Rawlings Wingtip Review
On the whole, Heart of the Hide gloves consist of a top grain leather, a sweat wicking thermafoam on the back of the wrist and additional padding within the thumb of the glove. Heart of the Hide gloves also have the distinct pleasure of a remarkable history and serious customer commitment. It is, at least in 2016, the most common glove worn by MLB players and it is developed in dozens and dozens of options and sizes.
One of its more popular sizes is the Wingtip design in the Heart of the Hide. This glove is an 11.75 inch utility infield glove. It is shaped just like other 205 patterns in the Rawlings line with the obvious aesthetic difference of a wing tip design found on the back of the hand.
The glove is denoted by the serial number PRO205-6GBWT where the WT stands for Wing tip. the GB is meant to signify the Grey and Black leather options and the PRO205 is the model pattern of the glove.
Pro Preferred Rawlings Wingtip Review
As a 205 patterned glove, you can expect the same fit as other PRO205’s in Rawlings lineup. The obvious difference, in feel at least, is the use of 100% wool the Pro Preferred gloves put on the backhand of the wrist. Heart of the Hide gloves, on the other hand, use a thermafoam wrist wicking.
Pro Preferred gloves also use a Kip leather on the shell of the glove. Kip leather is harvested from younger and smaller cows. This gives the leather a more durable and smoother feel with the tighter grain structure. Additionally, Pro Preferred gloves use sheepskin Pittard’s leather on the inner palm. This is the same type of leather you can find on top end batting gloves.
We are HUGE fans of the Wingtip Pro Preferred. It is a smooth feeling glove with an ultra soft feel both inside and outside of the glove. The Wingtip design on the back is memorable and unique. As an 11.75 inch glove we would quickly recommend it to the thirdbaseman looking for one of the very best gloves money can buy. The glove’s serial number is PROS205-2BCWT.