Ash, I had an after thought. Another benefit of going with hinged is this: if you go with a solid gauntlet, you end up with a shell that essentially clamps down in place onto your arm. The one primary benefit of that over a solid gauntlet is that in the likely event that you place foam or other spacing/centering material into the inside of the gauntlet, you don't have to worry about wrecking that material by sliding it on and off. If you've ever had armor such as this, you probably know what I'm talking about.
A good example is my TK armor. Inside the forearms, I have foam padding to center them as well as to help hold them up from sliding down. Since they are solid, this material has become worn by me sliding my hands in and out of them. A hinged gauntlet, in your case, would avoid this issue.
Just something else to think about. Let us know what you decide to do.. i'm interested to know.
Daryl
