Well one favorable endorsement and one unfavorable endorsement.
I thought he said he had similar ones, but not the same ones? I assumed that meant gauntlets with the same design, but not the GDFB ones?
I’ve found the leather clamshell gauntlets I have offers enough mobility but the shoddy pop rivet construction are insufficient to withstand much punishment.
I think you'll find these to only be slightly better in that regard, sadly.
And then tried them out on my pell and found them no more advantageous in mobility. They were comfortable and the articulation was excellent but not worth the extra expenditure at this juncture of my financial standing IMO. Perhaps someday my situation will improve and I would be able to afford the luxury of what would be deemed adequate gauntlets for WMA, then again I could also awaken from my stupor and abandon such frivolous pursuits altogether.
Well, my friend Jorg has a saying: "I'm too poor to buy cheap safety equipment." If you spend a hundred here, a hundred there, you end up in the long run spending the same as if you'd bought nice ones in the first place. Now, having said that, I fully appreciate just how expensive armor is, which is why things like lacrosse gloves are a great intermediary device. You might also want to look into plastic gauntlets, which are much cheaper than steel. (such as the ones made by Egg Armory) But if you want steel specifically, there's simply no choice besides expensive.