Yakthai Training Velcro Boxing Gloves (12oz) Review
Brand
Yakthai are a Thai brand that has 20 years experience producing Muay Thai equipment. More recently they’ve expanded into MMA gear, with all their products tested out in Thai training camps. The company also supports charitable organisations in Thailand.
About the gloves
The training boxing gloves are the main line of gloves offered by Yakthai, alongside a lace up variant. They’re available in the standard sizes between 8 and 16oz’s, and in a good variety of colours; white, black, red, blue, yellow and pink.
Visuals
The whole design of the Yakthai gloves are very simple; The body of the glove is your chosen colour (in this case blue), with the stylised ‘Yakthai’ and a logo printed on the back of the hand and a stitched on Yakthai logo on the wrist strap. This simple design is going to appeal to people who like older style, traditional boxing gloves, without any of the extra flashier design elements that some of the modern brands, such as Venum, favour.
Materials
Like a lot of Thai brands Yakthai have used real leather, selected for its high quality, to build these gloves. This should maximise the durability of the gloves and extend their lifespan and throughout the time I’ve been testing them there hasn’t been any signs of wear and tear showing. The padding of the gloves incorporates a triple layer foam system, providing good protection for the hand for both pad/bag and sparring sessions. The palm of the gloves is made from a breathable material to improve air circulation during training sessions. The velcro closure isn’t the widest in the world though; whilst it provides a tight fit and some wrist support if you need extra wrist support you’d be better looking for alternative options like the Sting Sports Orion gloves we reviewed recently.
Craftsmanship
Yakthai hand make these gloves in thailand, which in my experience does improve the overall quality of the finished product, although you can find some variations between gloves. They’ve done a good job building these gloves, and there’s no signs of any loose stitching or other signs of poor craftsmanship. The seams are neat and reinforced with double stitching in the higher stress areas of the gloves.
Comfort/use
The first thing I noticed putting on the gloves is the tight handspace, which isnt the most comfortable when the gloves are new and you’ve got your handwraps on, but once they’re broken in they mould quite nicely to your hand. I tested the 12oz variations of them, so didn’t spar using them, but the padding is absorbent enough to hammer the pads and heavy bag without worrying about hurting your knuckles.
Cost
These were initially bought in Thailand, and the only price I’ve been able to track down online is on thailandfightgear.com, where they sell for €74.99 (around $106.11). This means they’re probably too pricey for a beginner pair of gloves, but if you’ve got the budget and are looking for a well made pair of leather boxing gloves then the Yakthai Training Gloves are a good call.
Pros/Cons
+ Good protection
+ Tight Fit
+ Traditional Design
– Limited Wrist support
