Thumb protectors, gaming gloves, or the like

[☮ne✟rue𝓢ax☯n]

Does anyone know if there's such a thing as thumb protectors, or gaming gloves?

I'm having issues when using my 365 controller, and basically my thumbs start to really hurt from using the sticks.

I've had a Google, but I'm struggling to find anything.

[Aachen]

Like a thimble?

[Pierce Dalton]

You could try making them with felt or something like that.

[nullable]

A thumb brace/splint?

https://www.amazon.com/Lightweight-Stabilizing-Restrictive-U-S-Solid/dp/B07281VGQ8

I've used one, once in a while I'll have some pain, consequence of getting older and all that. It won't make gaming easier, but it will help you recover from repetitive motion injuries by limiting your motion.

[✨Saint✨]

Thinking of gaming gloves, brings me back to the Power Glove from Nintendo.

There are a lot of gloves, gloves for protection, gloves that can act like a mouse, you can find them making a good search with Google.

There are also things called "finger cots" , basically condoms for your fingers.

[☮ne✟rue𝓢ax☯n]

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys, much appreciated!

It's more to protect the tip of my thumbs. It's not all the time, but I think in certain games, usually at a difficult part, I end up using too much pressure, which in turn starts to make the tip of my thumbs go sore.

@Aachen....... A thimble type thing could work. Do you mean just normal thimbles, or some type of thimble specifically designed for gamers? I see Razer make a type of thimble, but it looks like they are for mobile gaming, so probably wouldn't protect my thumbs.

@Saint........ I'm guessing you mean gloves that are designed to protect your hands, though not specifically designed for gamers. I saw various ones when I Googled earlier, I was just a bit worried they may affect my movement

At the moment I'm thinking thimble, as they are the cheapest option, I may even be able to "acquire" a couple from my works admin department. If they don't work out then I haven't wasted much money (if any).

[crunchyfrog]

There is an old trick that guitarists used to do to toughen up the skin on their strumming thumb or fingers - stick your fingers in vinegar. I'have no idea if that actually works, but thereARE actual bottles of fluid you can buy that are meant to do this for you.

I'll see if I can find any if you're interested..

Aside from that you can always make do with regular thin rubber gloves, snip the amount of finger off you wish , then wrap a small amount of gauze around your fingers or thumbs and put the cut off part of the glove over that to hold it in place. Should offer you a bit of cushioning.

A friend of mine with bad exzema used to do this.

[☮ne✟rue𝓢ax☯n]

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

There is an old trick that guitarists used to do to toughen up the skin on their strumming thumb or fingers - stick your fingers in vinegar. I'have no idea if that actually works, but thereARE actual bottles of fluid you can buy that are meant to do this for you.

I'll see if I can find any if you're interested..

Aside from that you can always make do with regular thin rubber gloves, snip the amount of finger off you wish , then wrap a small amount of gauze around your fingers or thumbs and put the cut off part of the glove over that to hold it in place. Should offer you a bit of cushioning.

A friend of mine with bad exzema used to do this.

Thanks for the suggestions Crunchy.

I'm going to try the thimble option for now, as I should be able to pick a couple up from work, so it's the cheapest option to try. If it fails I'll give the other suggestions a try.

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by ☮ne✟rue𝓢ax☯n:

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

There is an old trick that guitarists used to do to toughen up the skin on their strumming thumb or fingers - stick your fingers in vinegar. I'have no idea if that actually works, but thereARE actual bottles of fluid you can buy that are meant to do this for you.

I'll see if I can find any if you're interested..

Aside from that you can always make do with regular thin rubber gloves, snip the amount of finger off you wish , then wrap a small amount of gauze around your fingers or thumbs and put the cut off part of the glove over that to hold it in place. Should offer you a bit of cushioning.

A friend of mine with bad exzema used to do this.

Thanks for the suggestions Crunchy.

I'm going to try the thimble option for now, as I should be able to pick a couple up from work, so it's the cheapest option to try. If it fails I'll give the other suggestions a try.

Yes, all the best. Find out what's comfortable for you of course :)

I'll have a think about this a bit more too as at the back of my mind I feel there's something I'm forgetting about here.

[Haruspex]

20 years ago Nintendo offered free gloves to anyone who asked due to people wearing all the skin off the palms trying to play certain mini-games in Mario Party 2.
https://www.cnet.com/culture/nintendo-offers-glove-to-prevent-joystick-injuries/

There are "gaming gloves" on Amazon and such, but they're sort of a gimmick and usually fingerless.

You might try gloves made for playing billiards.
https://www.amazon.com/Anser-M050912-Elastic-Billiard-Shooters/dp/B01DLIPTIA?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Fingerless where it counts, but the palm is protected, along with your main "gaming" digits, namely the thumb and index finger.

I often use a glove that's basically the opposite of the billiard gloves for drawing with a Wacom tablet.
https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Two-Finger-Recycled-Material-eco-Friendly/dp/B09SVMM9RM?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Frees the index, thumb, and middle fingers for feeling and dexterity, but protects the part of your hand that rests on the tablet. Also allows the hand to slide smoothly across the surface for cleaner lines.

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by 8bitbeard:

20 years ago Nintendo offered free gloves to anyone who asked due to people wearing all the skin off the palms trying to play certain mini-games in Mario Party 2.
https://www.cnet.com/culture/nintendo-offers-glove-to-prevent-joystick-injuries/

There are "gaming gloves" on Amazon and such, but they're sort of a gimmick and usually fingerless.

You might try gloves made for playing billiards.
https://www.amazon.com/Anser-M050912-Elastic-Billiard-Shooters/dp/B01DLIPTIA?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Fingerless where it counts, but the palm is protected, along with your main "gaming" digits, namely the thumb and index finger.

I often use a glove that's basically the opposite of the billiard gloves for drawing with a Wacom tablet.
https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Two-Finger-Recycled-Material-eco-Friendly/dp/B09SVMM9RM?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Frees the index, thumb, and middle fingers for feeling and dexterity, but protects the part of your hand that rests on the tablet. Also allows the hand to slide smoothly across the surface for cleaner lines.

What an excellent suggestion. That's one I hadn't thought of but I'm going to scribble down for future advice :)

Thanks

[☮ne✟rue𝓢ax☯n]

Originally posted by 8bitbeard:

20 years ago Nintendo offered free gloves to anyone who asked due to people wearing all the skin off the palms trying to play certain mini-games in Mario Party 2.
https://www.cnet.com/culture/nintendo-offers-glove-to-prevent-joystick-injuries/

There are "gaming gloves" on Amazon and such, but they're sort of a gimmick and usually fingerless.

You might try gloves made for playing billiards.
https://www.amazon.com/Anser-M050912-Elastic-Billiard-Shooters/dp/B01DLIPTIA?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Fingerless where it counts, but the palm is protected, along with your main "gaming" digits, namely the thumb and index finger.

I often use a glove that's basically the opposite of the billiard gloves for drawing with a Wacom tablet.
https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Two-Finger-Recycled-Material-eco-Friendly/dp/B09SVMM9RM?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Frees the index, thumb, and middle fingers for feeling and dexterity, but protects the part of your hand that rests on the tablet. Also allows the hand to slide smoothly across the surface for cleaner lines.

Thanks.

I like the look of the billiard gloves. If the thimbles fail, I'll definitely give those gloves a go next.

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by ☮ne✟rue𝓢ax☯n:

Originally posted by 8bitbeard:

20 years ago Nintendo offered free gloves to anyone who asked due to people wearing all the skin off the palms trying to play certain mini-games in Mario Party 2.
https://www.cnet.com/culture/nintendo-offers-glove-to-prevent-joystick-injuries/

There are "gaming gloves" on Amazon and such, but they're sort of a gimmick and usually fingerless.

You might try gloves made for playing billiards.
https://www.amazon.com/Anser-M050912-Elastic-Billiard-Shooters/dp/B01DLIPTIA?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Fingerless where it counts, but the palm is protected, along with your main "gaming" digits, namely the thumb and index finger.

I often use a glove that's basically the opposite of the billiard gloves for drawing with a Wacom tablet.
https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Two-Finger-Recycled-Material-eco-Friendly/dp/B09SVMM9RM?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Frees the index, thumb, and middle fingers for feeling and dexterity, but protects the part of your hand that rests on the tablet. Also allows the hand to slide smoothly across the surface for cleaner lines.

Thanks.

I like the look of the billiard gloves. If the thimbles fail, I'll definitely give those gloves a go next.

I laso had a bit of an extra thought. If you're REALLY going at it, and still need something a bit more protective and maybe hard wearing you can get some pretty thinnish gardening gloves that have nubs on the finger areas. I'm not sure if they're sold in wherever you live, but we tend to have them here in Britain.

Kinda like these.
https://www.amazon.com/LOCCEF-Gardening-Breathable-Construction-Improvement/dp/B097MG3ZLR/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=2HUR4VM5W0DWK&keywords=gardening+gloves&qid=1661122548&sprefix=gardening+glove%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

[steven1mac]

https://youtu.be/z-HH6lbBCLU

[HistoricKombat]

Originally posted by ✨Saint✨:

Thinking of gaming gloves, brings me back to the Power Glove from Nintendo.

Reminds more of when Nintendo shipped rubber gloves to Mario Party players.

[Electric Cupcake]

I slowly became a Tekken master with my lucky gaming gloves. They're really just cycling gloves from REI, but they keep the hands warm in Winter so I can keep the furnace low and save energy, without loosing dexterity or friction, and they prevent the waxy brown sweat residue buildup that mice and controllers are prone to.