First off, please note that Specialized has fixed the "balling up" problem. My gloves, bought off of the Specialized website, look to be manufactured in April of 2022. The pad in the middle is now stitched onto the "insert" which is then fused into the inside of the glove.
As to the gloves' performance, all I have to say is, it's like magic! If you haven't tried these before, grab a pair. These are a steal at this price ($35 at time of review) and outperform gloves three times that price. It is an interesting feeling at first. Because there is no padding in the "usual" spots, I can actually feel the bar and it is as if I'm not even wearing gloves. Also, I can tell that there is more pressure in the middle of my hands where there wasn't before. Yet somehow... no numb and/or painful hands even on long rides! After a 200K are my hands uncomfortable? Yes, they are, but no longer do I have cyclists' palsy for weeks afterwards.