THE DARKFIN TACTICAL ARCHERY GLOVE

A shooting glove is a necessary armor or defense for the hand, to preserve it from hurting or galling, so that a man may be able in his fingers to bear the sharpness of the string to the uttermost of his strength.

 (The Art of Archerie, Gervase Markham, 1634)

It was fortuitous that, as I was leaving home for to go shooting in the forest with my brother, I found upon my doormat the Darkfin ambidextrous three-finger shooting glove which Dark Archer Tactical Archery kindly sent to me in exchange for an honest review. 

Before I proffer my opinion on this very unique shooting glove, I feel the need to state that I have never liked finger tabs. Somehow, they feel like an obstacle. I shoot with leather gloves with extra padding on the shooting fingers. However, they too leave me feeling somehow detached from my bow string. I like to be able to feel the string as much as possible in order to have greater control and to feel connected with my bow. However, shooting for any extended period of time without sufficient protection does create discomfort due to the friction from pulling and releasing the string over and over again. Enter the Darkfin Tactical Archery glove. 

I must admit, when I first saw and felt the glove, my knee-jerk reaction was disappointment. It did not look attractive, and it felt very strange. I have never worn anything made of latex rubber (stop sniggering!), and, being a traditional archer, it is not the kind of glove I find aesthetically appealing.

My size is large (again, stop sniggering!) and so that is the size glove I was given. Yet it felt quite tight, particularly around the wrist. However, before you all jump to the conclusion that you might want to get a size larger than what you normally wear, the discomfort was short-lived, as though this glove, by some strange witchery, soon adjusted itself to fit the wearer. It was a matter of minutes, if not less, until I forgot I was wearing a glove at all.

As for performance, this is by far the best shooting aid I have ever used. Though I barely notice I am wearing it, I feel absolutely no friction on my fingers whatsoever, providing maximum protection and maximum control at the same time. 

But there is yet more that is great about this glove. It is ambidextrous, so it can be used by left and right-handed archers. I put this quality to the test and offered it to my brother to try, for he is a left handed archer. His opinion of the glove was exactly the same as mine. Furthermore, the glove is easy to store in one's pocket or bag, and it can be scrunched up without losing its shape. A very handy quality for any glove (pun intended).

While I still find it aesthetically unappealing, in terms of performance, practicality and value for money I do not believe there is a better shooting glove out there. This is an excellent piece of archery equipment I would recommend to all archers but those who shoot using the thumb draw or those who care more about aesthetics than practicality and performance.