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Equipment Reviews Boxing Gloves - Buyer's Review
Equipment Reviews Boxing Gloves - Buyer's Review | Boxing Gloves - Buyer's Review | | Print | |
| Written by Rado | |
| Monday, 14 April 2008 | |
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A complete guide for those who don't know what type of punching gloves and boxing gloves to buy. You will learn the different between all the different types of gloves, their uses, and where to buy.
Punching Gloves come in the ever-confusing variety. What's even more confusing is that the manufacturer claims that each product they offer is the best choice. I'll help you decipher between the names and the claims. Why Use Gloves? Contrary to what other fighting forms like karate or kungfu will recommend, punching will wreck your hands over time EVEN if you are careful. Incorrect punching form as well as unprotected hands will lead to arthritis, weakened joints, weakened muscles, and decreased functionality of the hands over time. It's scary but it does happen. To ensure that your hands will be protected and functioning well for the rest of your life, it's important that you always protect them. Just like you wear headgear to protect your head, you must wear punching gloves to protect your hand. Some punch gloves will even go a step further by providing extra cushion to protect your opponents from taking too much damage. A good pair of boxing gloves will be comfortable and fit your hand around the wrist and the fingers. You shouldn't feel like the glove is tiring out your hand or forcing it to shape in a way that feels awkward. High quality gloves will be able to take a punch time and time again without losing it's cushioning qualities. Certain materials used to make the glove will determine how long it lasts before it tears apart or flattens up. It's important to note that while some cheap gloves may feel just as comfortable as expensive gloves or seem to cushion the impact even better, they certainly will not stay that way over time. Real Training Brands VS Toy Brands Not all punching gloves are made with the mentality of real boxing training in mind. As with anything life, not all are made equal. The worst brands are the ones offered at large sporting chains like Big 5 Sports, Sports Chalet, and Sports Authority. The absolute worst punching gloves you could buy are the Everlast ones that look like the classic boxing gloves. Don't EVER buy those - you will probably break your hands within a week if you do. Expensive VS Cheap Pricing Just because you paid more for your punching gloves does not make them better. However, the rule of you get what you pay for still remains. A $25 set of punching gloves will probably not be as good as a $60 pair of gloves from the same store. Use common sense and expect to pay at least $40 online or $55 if buying from a store. Different Glove Types Bag Gloves - Most of these look small, lean, and trim. The more expensive ones look like regular boxing gloves. In my opinion, ignore them, they are a waste of time and money. They are to protect your knuckles while you deliver hard punches to the punching bag and accustomed your knuckles to harder impact. Another thing to note is that some bag gloves are really stiff and don't form well to a curved fist. Training Gloves - These are all-purpose gloves. Some of them are not thick enough for sparring. Sparring Gloves - These are general use gloves. I highly recommend everyone to buy a pair of these before anything. They are made with extra cushion to protect your hand as well as cushion the blows to your opponent. You can use these gloves for all-purpose boxing. It's important to note that sparring gloves should be at least 14-16 ounces especially if you weigh anything over 130 pounds. Pro or Fight Gloves - Fight gloves are smaller and more compact to deliver more damage to your opponent. They are not recommended for anything other than real competition. Aerobic or Cardio Gloves - These gloves are usually made obvious by their really low pricing. Avoid them! They have the least amount of padding and will fall apart faster than anything. Color Does the color of your boxing gloves matter? YES! Although red is the classic color, it is less visible to the human eye than other colors in the spectrum. If you're sparring against someone, it's preferred that they wear gloves of a color that you can see. Don't forget that wearing light colored gloves can also help your trainer catch your punches better. I've trained at night a lot so I love to buy blue, green, and white colored gloves. I still have a pair of red ones just because red is the classic boxing color. Another knock on red gloves is that sometimes you can't see the build up of blood stains on the gloves. I know this is a bit morbid but I'd like to know if a pair of gloves have been bled on. Lace-Up VS Hook & Loop Lace-up gloves offer more comfort if you like your glove to fit snug around your wrist. For some fighters, it's just a habit to have lace-up gloves. Hook & Loop gloves are made to be convenient and can be just as supportive as the lace-up while having the convenience of being hook & loop. Most people will prefer the hook & loop gloves because they can put them on themselves without much help. The bad parts about hook & loop in my opinion are that the elastic velcro hooks can tear into your cotto hand wraps and shred them. It's not a big deal but it's happened to me before and really annoyed the hell out of me. Lace-up gloves are actually not that hard to deal with. They might be considered even more convenient than hook & loop gloves if you have skinny wrists - since all you have to do is tie the laces just once and then slip your hands in and out every time before use. Another great thing about lace-up gloves is that it allows you to walk around the gym and ask people to tie your gloves. It makes a great icebreaker for you to walk around and meet the pros, trainers, and other fighters in your gym. My Thoughts on Different Glove Brands Title - I love Title boxing gear. Their brand is quality without charging too much. It also happens that I see their gloves in boxing gyms all the time. Even their classic training gloves will take years of abuse. Everlast - One of the most popular names synonymous with the sport of boxing. Much of their gear is unfortunately a bunch of hype. I don't know why this company has a toy division but many of their products are over-priced and crappy. Their gear becomes higher quality only when you buy the higher-end pro-grade stuff. You basically don't see any real boxing gloves from Everlast until you pay about $60 or more. Everything from $60 and down feels too stiff, too much like a toy, or just not anatomically comfortable for the hand. Not surprisingly, I see the name Everlast more inside little kid's toy closets than I do in real boxing gyms. Grant - Awesome gloves with protection all over. They're a bit heavy in my opinion sometimes which kinda slows down my punches. Highly recommended for fighters over 175 pounds though. Century - CRAP. Absolute crap. Unfortunately, many people see this cheap brand sold everywhere like at Big 5 sports and Sports Chalet and actually believe it's a real boxing brand - IT ISN'T! Stay away! TKO - Imitation pro gloves. Their gloves might look thick and feel good at first but they'll quickly break down and stiffen which gives you less protection over time. Avoid these wannabe-pro gloves like the plague! Reyes - believe the hype. These gloves are made to be more compact at the fist to aid the puncher. It's important to note that these gloves are made for FIGHTING, definitely not TRAINING. The gloves punch harder because they have less protective cushion so it's important to protect your hands as much as possible in training. They are also very high quality and last forever if you can get the authentic mexican-made ones. There are hidden links on the internet. Rivals - Very nice, expensive stuff that also looks cool. In my opinion, you can find equally good gloves for a bit less. It's up to you if you like their cool glove styling. Ringside - Just like Rivals, it's very nice and super high quality but expensive. You can certainly find another punching glove just the same but for less money. PRO - This is a company that is located in Southern California in the LA area. Their punching gloves are crap. I've tried even their professional ones before and they go flat within months of heavy use. Avoid them no matter how much their salesperson discounts the price. Purchasing Recommendations The best way to buy punching gloves, or anything in life, is to go to a store that carries the product and try them out in person. Get a feel for the gear and use your own judgment for "quality" and "feel". Don't let the salesperson talk you into buying their own generic store-brand boxing products. After you've tried out a feel brands and decide which ones you want, go online and look for prices online - they will most likely be MUCH MUCH cheaper over the internet. OPTIONAL - you can call back the store and let them know you've found a better price online but you'd be willing to buy in person if they can match the price. For starters, www.titleboxing.com is a great place to start.
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