When looking into your gear bag, it’s often easy to think that over the years equipment never changes. Well we’d argue with that. Just take a look at Radius Wraps SISU mouth guards, features such as non-abrasive Velcro on fight shorts or even grappling style shin guards. But what about boxing gloves?
Boxing gloves are constrained a little more than other fight gear. Fight gloves are often tested by strict authorities to ensure they are safe and of high enough quality for competitions, while training gloves are usually bound to weight limits, especially sparring gloves, as most people won’t sparr with any less than 16oz.
Despite this, there is definitely still innovation, with new features and designs hitting the market regularly. It’s not easy finding new products though, which is why we here at Fight Quality bring you monthly New Fight Gear round-ups, and also why we’ve written up this article on our favourite unique and innovative boxing gloves.
Twins BGVL-6
See them here.
The Twins BGVL-6 are one of the newer models released by the popular Thai boxing brand. You’ll notice there’s one long ‘shielded’ section down the back of the wrist which supports and prevents any unwanted movement. They may not be the first or only brand to trial this idea, with brands such as Danger Equipment and even Everlast releasing similar gloves with a ‘sheilded’ wrist. The BGVL-6’s step it up a notch though, with fighters such as Paul Banasiak and Damien Trainor swearing by them.
You can see all of our Twins Special reviews here.
ONX Sports X-Factor Gloves
See them here.
You may not have heard of ONX before, but if you’re interested in getting the best protection, support and customer service then they’re worth looking into. The owner Trevor Whittman has a wealth of knowledge in combat sports, and learnt how to create his own gloves simply because he wanted them to work in a way no other glove did. On top of this you can choose to pay for the gloves through a subscription service, covering your back if anything goes wrong with them and putting research put in to what to improve in future. Even UFC fighter TJ Dillashaw has been seen with ONX gloves before.
Rival Boxing RS1 Lace Up Boxing Gloves
See them here.
The Rival RS1 is the favourite glove of Kickboxer Jamie Bates, as mentioned in our recent interview with him. As well as having a great fit and protection, they also make use of Rival’s patented ergo X track, formed by angular padded sections on the back of the wrist which the laces sit in when tied up. As well as helping the laces tucked away, it also dramatically improves wrist stability, preventing unnecessary movement. There’s a reason the glove has been used by many top fighters, including boxing heavyweight Anthony Joshua.
Hayabusa Tokushu Regenesis Boxing Gloves
See them here.
Hayabusa are often looking for new ways to be at the front of the game and put a lot of research into the actual performance of their gloves. The Tokushu Regenesis gloves are a great example of some of the top features they’ve added as a result. The wrist is secured by a dual strap system which pull across each other for a great fit. The lines you can see on the back of the hand are an indication of what Hayabusa call ‘Fusion Splinting’ technologies, which apparently have been shown to provide up to 99.7% perfect hand and wrist alignment. On top of that though, if you’ve ever put 100% into a session, you’ll know just how annoying it can be to have sweat pouring down your face. Well Hayabusa have an answer to that issue, in the form of an ultra-soft microfiber suede thumb, which can be used to quickly wipe off your brow so you can get straight back to kicking ass.
You can see all of our Hayabusa reviews here.
Bad Boy Legacy 2.0 Boxing Gloves
See them here.
If you’ve seen our review of Bad Boy’s Legacy 2.0 gloves, then you’ll know that they’re made with 5 layers of padding, including a layer of their ‘Hex-Tech’ grid padding. While it’s not externally visible like many of the other features in this list, it’s still pretty cool and makes a slight noticeable difference when dispersing shock. The gloves also feature a couple other useful features as well, including a partially-elasticated wrist strap which helps get the gloves nice and tight, and a grip bar going directly through part of the breathable mesh palm, allowing for better breathability around the fingers.
You can see all of our Bad Boy reviews here.
Rival Boxing RS11V Evolution Sparring Gloves and the RFX-Guerrero Bag Gloves
See the RS11V gloves here and the RFX-Guerrero gloves here.
Another example from Rival, but a well deserved one. While these are two different gloves, we’ll mention them together as they both utilise the feature we’re focusing on. These two gloves use a completely unique design, in the form of an angled strap which loops through a loop, allowing you to pull it tight and secure the whole wrist when putting the gloves on. As the RS11V gloves are intended for sparring, the loops are covered by a second layer of leather, so there aren’t any hard parts exposed. If you’re looking for a Velcro glove which fits almost as well as a lace up glove, these might be a good option to look in to.
Title Hexicomb Tech Bag Gloves
See them here.
Title’s Hexicomb range is instantly recognisable, with it’s transparent panels and structured hexagonal padding. As well as being visually unique, the padding helps redirect air away from the impact zone to reduce the shock in the knuckles. It’s also one of the first gloves to use transparent panels as part of the designs, giving you an inside look at the construction of your gloves, which we have to admit looks pretty cool too.
So there you have it – our favourite gloves with unique or innovative features. We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether these are genuinely helpful features, or simply marketing tactics, but what not voice your opinions in the comments? Feel free to add in any of your own suggestions of gloves which are worth a mention.