Thanks very m,uch Buzz, been reading the forum for a while but thought it was time to get involved.
I agree this seems to be the way equipment is selected (and each to their own i suppose) but I would just expect "good gear" and "good looking gear" to be differentiated slightly.
I'm in the market for a new pair peplow so I might have to find somewhere stocking those to have a look. I've struggled to buy anything other than kook silvers for the past 5 or so years but my most recent pair have now practically disintigrated so im gonna have a shop around. I've seen a few rating the SS gloves as well? Might be worth a look?