Spiked gauntlets a weapon?

[vigean]

i was just firing up char builder for fun, decided to build a fighter brawler.
some stats dont seem to add up.

Brawer style:
While you wield a weapon in your primary hand and your off hand is free or grabbing a creature, you gain a +1 bonus to AC and +2 bonus to fort.

in addition, you gain a +2 enhancement bonus to the attack rolls of unarmed attacks and a +2 bonus to the attack rolls of grab attacks and attacks to move a creature you're grabbing.

Brawler guard (feat)
you gain a +1 shield bonus to AC and ref while you wield a weapon in 1 hand and your other hand is free or grabbing a creature.

--
experiment parameters:
lvl 1 human, brawler class feature, brawler guard feat,
no armor, long sword, spiked gauntlet, unarmed, 18 str, 14 dex
grappling strike attack, dual strike ( reference)

observed numbers:
Empty main hand, off hand EMPTY
~~ AC 12, fort 17, ref 13
~~ LS attack bonus (backpack)+7, gauntlet( in backpack) +8, unarmed +6
~~dual strike cannot be used
no surprise here

LONG SWORD main hand, off hand EMPTY
~~ AC 14, fort 19, ref 14
~~ LS attack bonus +7, gauntlet( in backpack) +8, unarmed +6
~~dual strike cannot be used
no surprise here

LS main, GAUNTLET offhand
~~ AC 14, fort 19, ref 14
~~ LS +7, gauntlet +8, unarmed +6
~~dual strike is available
suggests that a gauntlet fulfills the "hand is free" status

GAUNTLET main, offhand EMPTY
~~ AC 14, fort 19, ref 14
~~ LS(backpack) +7, gauntlet +8, unarmed +6
~~dual strike cannot be used
this suggests that a gauntlet also fulfills the " weapon" criteria

so... if a gauntlet seems to be both a weapon and hand is free, what happens when i put 2 gauntlets on?

GAUNTLET main Gauntlet offhand ( 2 gauntlets)
~~ AC 12, fort 17, ref 13 (absence of bonuses from feats and features)
~~ LS(backpack) +7, gauntlet +8, unarmed +6
~~dual strike is available
this contradicts the earlier statement that gauntlet = "weapon"

so... does the spiked gauntlet count as a weapon or not?
it is classified as a1 handed melee weapon
properties: offhand
group: unarmed

if i have 1 hand unavailable (eg holding potion, tied behind my back), can i legally fulfill the criteria of "melee weapon power," and" must have 1 hand free" at the same time?
by that logic, can i legally grab 2 opponents at once? ( i see no issues with this using standard grab attack rules, but how about using the "grappling strike" power?)

or is my char builder just glitched...

[wum1ng]

I would rule that you can dual wield spiked gauntlets and receive full benefits of the brawler's class features. I've had a friend who used this build before and basically just punched everything. You can of course grab 2 targets as well, as long as they are within your reach. I am not sure if a sustain action is needed for each grab, or if one sustain action sustains all grabs together.

[vigean]

now that sounds mighty fun...
o.o

[eternasky]

i would overrule and make sustain standard to grab 2 targets

[vigean]

there's an entry in MP2 saying that each grapple takes 1 minor to sustain. so 2 minors to sustain both