Review: SmudgeGuard2
Product: SmudgeGuard2
Manufacturer: Smudge Guard LLC
Date Reviewed: 12-11-11
Retail Price: $16.99
There’s nothing worse than having wet hands while trying to draw on a tablet. (Okay, I suppose there are worse things, but this is a family friendly website.) When your hand sticks against the surface of your tablet, it can impact your overall line quality.
Not a good thing.
Fortunately, there is a solution: the SmudgeGuard2 (SG2)
The SG2 is a two-fingered glove made with 84% Nylon and 16% Spandex that covers both the ring finger and pinky finger. The SG2’s material is porous, allowing your hand to “breathe” while working. The SG2 fits both left and right-handed artists and comes in XL, L, M, S, and XS sizes. (I purchased the large version.) It’s also easy to wash; just use cold water with soap, rinse and air dry. (A one fingered SmudgeGuard, which covers only the pinky, is also available.)
In my usage for the past two months, the SG2 does exactly what its says it will do. Wearing the SG2 is comfortable, particularly when working on my tablet for hours on end. The material build is flexible and durable, showing no signs of visible wear. Best of all, my drawing hand no longer sticks to the surface of the tablet. As a result, my lines are more precise and smooth. I don’t have a Cintiq, but I’d imagine the results would be just as good for users of that product. The SG2 also works well with pencil / paper, preventing undue smudges that would otherwise occur.
To summarize: if you spend a considerable amount of time drawing with a tablet or Cintiq and you’re frustrated with your hand’s friction against its surface, you owe it to yourself to buy the SmudgeGuard2.
The SmudgeGuard2 earns a solid 5 out of 5 Bob Weiners.
These beautiful and intelligent people wrote
Tell me what you think!
Antoine Gagnon
December 12, 2011 at 8:20 amI prefer doing it the “cheap way”.
I buy a set of cotton gloves at the Drugstore for like $2 and I cut the 3 fingers. The gloves don’t have a specific left or right, so you use one until it dies. Then you get the other one.
Can even wash it once or twice
Donald Poquiz
December 13, 2011 at 2:56 pmI did it Antoine’s way during the summer. (So hard to find gloves in summer!) I even took a couple of those microfiber sheets I had for my phone and tablet and just wrapped it around my hand. During the cold periods, I use my long sleeve to wrap around my hand. LOL
The glove would probably make sense, but I have also lost a couple of the “cheap cutout cotton gloves” to know that I can’t be trusted.
Will Terrell
February 13, 2012 at 4:46 pmMy wife makes hers out of old pantyhose. Seems to work pretty well. I on the other hand, don’t like putting old pantyhose on my hands, so I bought smudgeguard gloves. Which my wife promptly borrowed.
I like the smudgeguard 2 a lot. Good stuff, very nice for working on a cintiq. I highly recommend it.
Karl
January 12, 2013 at 3:08 pmWow! I’ve been using my Smudgeguard (I guess we can call it I or classic…lol) for 4 years now. It only has the pinky finger covered but it still works great, with only one wear spot, but it hasn’t worn completely through. I don’t know if the extra finger covered would take some getting used to, but the one finger covered version is quick to put on and take off. How fast and easy is putting on and taking off with 2 fingers covered?
It definitely does help in keeping the drawing on a wacom tablet smooth…without it, my hand sticks or doesn’t budge, messing up the line. Before I found the smudgeguard, i improvised and used a sock with holes cut out for the fingers, but the smudgeguard beats it in all marks, even after 4 plus years of use.
Krishna M. Sadasivam
January 12, 2013 at 8:17 pmIt’s pretty easy to take off the two finger Smudgeguard. I haven’t tested the one finger model – but the two finger unit feels very comfy. The breathable fabric makes it easy to wear for long periods of time.