RDX Punching Bag Mitts Review

RDX Punching Bag Mitts Review

 

 

Brand

RDX is one of the UK’s most widely known fight brands, a large number of people own at least one piece of RDX gear be it gloves, wraps or shorts and I personally own three! They have a reputation for producing quality gear for any level, with reasonable price tags. They’re often people’s first choice for equipment when they’re starting out in martial arts.

About the gloves

These Punching Bag Mitts are RDX’s ‘traditional’ style bag glove. They’re aimed completely at beginners or people who want a light glove alternative to use with a heavy bag. They’re often bundled in with the RDX Heavy Punch Bag which we’ve also reviewed.

Weight and distribution

The gloves aren’t sold in different weights in the same way regular boxing gloves are, but instead are sold as one-size-fits-all. The layer of padding is basically the same from the cuff to the fingers, which only covers the back of the hand. The way it’s made means that there’s surprisingly little padding on the knuckles.

Aesthetics

The gloves come in 4 different colour options; the red and white version which we’ve tested, a gold and white version, a pink and white version, and a red and black version. The design is pretty basic, with curved stripes of colour on each side. Different versions of the RDX logo add detail to the back of the hand, running up over the fingers, and on the Velcro strap.

Materials

RDX have chosen to keep these low cost with artificial leather. For the purpose this makes sense, but it has a bit of a cheap and slightly stretchy feel to it, which is often a sign of materials that can tear easily after a bit of use. Inside, the material is fairly basic, but not particularly uncomfortable like some budget gloves are. One thing I did notice though is it does tend to bunch up a little around the fingers. The material only covers the back of the hand though, and the palm is directly touching the rear-side of the artificial leather, which has a texture almost like felt.

The Velcro used on these gloves is surprisingly sturdy, and holds itself well, but you have to pull the strap quite tight to get a good fit. The majority of the strap between the Velcro and the glove is almost completely elasticated, which helps you get that tight fit, but doesn’t do much in the way of supporting the wrist.

While the materials used here aren’t as bad as some budget gloves, it clearly isn’t made to last a long time, and we’ve heard stories from people who’ve had these last only a couple of months.

Craftsmanship

The way that the gloves have been designed meant that they really don’t hold their shape well, and I found that the inside of the hand doesn’t sit well, which is basically down to having the unshaped padding on one side and nothing to give the glove any shape on the other side.

The glove is also designed with a loose, soft leather thumb, which feels strange. The thumb isn’t attached to anything, and with this type of glove, the thumb isn’t guided to sit in a correct position at all. Instead, when wearing the glove there doesn’t seem to be a comfortable position to put your thumb in, so it’s worrying what would happen if you accidentally caught your thumb when hitting a bag.

As far as the actual construction, the stitching all seems to be neat and holding well for us, but there are a few noticeable loose threads in places.

Comfort/use

These bag gloves are aimed to be the minimum amount of protection you can get, with even less protection than MMA gloves. While they may have slightly more padding, the fit isn’t as good and there’s very little support. When wearing these gloves I just can’t get a comfortable fit. The lack of padding on the palm of the hand means that the fit just isn’t as comfortable as it could be, and I often find the elasticated wrist strap rubs on my wrist, as the material in between moves out of the way far too easily. Even clenching a fist isn’t the most comfortable thing to do with these gloves, as while they may have a grip bar added, there just isn’t a comfortable (and safe) position to leave the thumb.

While the fit may leave a lot to be desired, the padding isn’t terrible. I’ve definitely seen worse padding in boxing gloves, and these don’t seem inherently uncomfortable when striking. The style of glove means that there isn’t very much padding however, and so these really aren’t the best protection for anybody who likes to hit their bag hard. Really, we wouldn’t suggest anybody to use these hard or often as you can easily get more support and a more rounded protection out of a full boxing glove.

I could slate these gloves more about the fact that they don’t have the same protection as boxing gloves, but I think it’s more important to think about the purpose of ‘traditional’ style bag gloves. Obviously these gloves are unsuitable for sparring, and while they could be used for pad work (we wouldn’t advise it though), what they’re really designed for is a bag. They’re meant for hitting a stationary target, and allowing you to really get those shots in hard and practising form and technique. These RDX gloves are a good example of how these are mainly aimed for beginners, providing an easy to use, low cost glove to hit the bag with, instead of buying a full boxing glove.

Cost

The price on these is pretty low, at around £16, but they often come bundled free with an RDX heavy bag as mentioned earlier.

Looking to buy these?

 

 

Pros/Cons

+ Low price
+ Comes free with RDX heavy bag bundles
+ Simple and easy to use

– Cheap materials
– Poor fit
– Limited protection