When you’ve been making gloves for more than a century, you start to obsess over the little things.  

Things like how flaring the edges of your glove impacts how your finger stalls hold up over time. Or how often your throwing hand catches on the edge of a lace when you’re transferring the ball out of the pocket. Or how your smoothness on a backhand changes how you get into a throwing stance.  

These are the little things that capture our imaginations. And that’s the best way to think about the groundbreaking Rawlings REV1X baseball glove: a gamer that was meticulously engineered by people who obsess over the little things.  

From its one-of-a-kind materials to its advanced manufacturing process to its unmatched durability, there’s nothing else on the market like the REV1X. For us, that’s exciting – but we also recognize that it might raise some questions.  

Here are a few FAQs on the REV1X, and a brief explainer on what makes this glove so revolutionary.  

Why Does the REV1X Look Like That?  

It’s the first thing anyone notices about the REV1X: the materials allow for designs and colorways that are impossible to create on any other glove.  

Thanks to the 3D-sublimated shell, there’s virtually no limit to what a REV1X can look like. Bo Bichette put his favorite Bible verse on one; Brendan Rodgers & Ezquiel Tovar have theirs accented with Colorado Rockies purple. And, of course, there are the many, many designs of Francisco Lindor.  

Right now, we have a number of in-line designs on our website, but we’re always cookin’ up something new. Monitor our social channels for limited time designs like these player exclusives. You can even design your own REV1X in the Custom Glove Builder. 

What Is the REV1X Made Out Of?  

The answer to this question might be a tad more complex than you think. The REV1X uses different materials in different parts of the glove, and each material serves a specific function. As we mentioned, the back shell is made with a sublimated material. This is ultra-lightweight and holds its shape impressively over time. The palm, and other leather components, use premium, world-renowned Heart of the Hide leather – the same leather that made our Heart of the Hide glove series famous. This gives players the ability to shape the pocket like a traditional glove and get a consistent ball response on each catch.  

Inside the REV1X, we teamed up with Carbon to use their Digital Light Synthesis 3-D printing process for the thumb and pinky components. This allowed us to create a finely tuned lattice structure that provides variable stiffness – the same quality as the very best glove padding – while enhancing durability and cutting out even more weight from the glove.   

What Makes the REV1X Different Than Traditional Gloves? 

In addition to the special manufacturing processes and materials, the REV1X differs from other high-end ball gloves in a few notable ways.  

To start with, there’s the laceless palm, web, and binding. Most gloves have a few different lace lines throughout the palm side of the glove, which help bind the inner and outer shell together, secure the web, and create the hinges that allow the glove to close correctly. But thanks to our innovative manufacturing, we’re able to keep laces out of the fielding zone, promoting quicker, easier, and more consistent transfers.  

Another difference has to do with fit. As we mentioned, the 3D-printed internal components allow for variable stiffness on the inside of the glove, which means each finger stall stays snug and secure all the way through the fielding motion. The REV1X also features an adaptive-fit back, which can adjust to any player’s hand shape for a more comfortable and reliable feel on the glove.  

You’ll see the difference as soon as you try one on for the first time.  

How Do You Break-In a REV1X?  

In short: the same way you do with any other glove. Some players are unsure how the REV1X will respond to break-in tactics since it has so many unique components. That’s fair: Traditional glove break-in is about loosening the padding and shaping the leather, and the REV1X’s construction makes some of those steps moot. But the REV1X still features Heart of the Hide leather that needs to be softened and shaped according to your personal preference and style. To do that, we recommend breaking it in the same way you would with a traditional glove.  

• Work the hinges.  
• Soften the leather.  
• Wrap it.  
• Play catch.  
• Play catch again.  
• Seriously. Keep playing catch. The only way to get your glove in playing shape is to play with it.  

You can check out our blog post on how to break in your glove for some more in-depth tips and tricks! 

Can I Flare the REV1X?  

The REV1X hasn’t been around for long, but there is already one common misconception to clear up. You can shape the edges of your REV1X to form a “flare,” if that floats your boat.  

Some players, usually infielders, will curl the thumb and pinky of their gloves outward to form a wider, shallower pocket, which can help get the ball out quicker. Francisco Lindor is among the infielders who likes a little flare in their gamer: He did it before he began using the REV1X (as you can see in this photo) and he still does it today (as you can see in his game-used 1-of-1 glove included in the Rawlings PRIMUS NFT collection). 

Bottom line: You can still shape the REV1X to be just the way you like it.  

Join the REVolution 

When this much work goes into the little things, the result is a truly game-changing glove. That’s why the REV1X is the future of fielding – so shop for yours today, and keep an eye out for limited edition exclusives as they drop!