Everlast Mantis MMA Mitts Review

Everlast MMA Mantis Boxing Mitts Review

Brand

Originally founded in 1910, Everlast have been a big name in the boxing world for many years. They’re now one of the most widely known USA boxing brands, with gear lines for boxing, mixed martial arts, and fitness related sporting goods.

About the mitts

The mantis MMA mitts are one of several different ranges of punch mitts offered by Everlast – we’ve previously reviewed their Flat Strike Shield here. A lot of Everlast mitts are made in a ‘Mantis’ shape, meaning they’re curved and shaped to catch punches well. The difference between these MMA mitts and the standard Everlast focus mitts is the length, Everlast have made the MMA mitts longer to allow them to be used to practice kicks and knees whilst still providing protection.

Aesthetics

These mitts have a very simple look to them. On the striking surface they’re a dark grey, with a red circle to give the striker something to aim for and an Everlast MMA logo two thirds up from the bottom of the pad. The rest of the mitt is black, other than the ‘glove’ section where the holder puts their hand, which is the same grey as the striking surface and has a red ‘Evercool’ breathable section to keep your hands cool. Across the top of the rear side of the mitt is the Everlast logo. Overall they have a fairly basic, but functional look to them.

Materials

Everlast have used a synthetic leather to make these mitts, which could have an affect on their durability as real leather tends to stand up to punishment for longer than synthetic. The pad is filled with ‘closed cell technology foam’ which Everlast claim provides improved comfort and hand safety for the pad holder – we’ll get to my thoughts on this later in the review.

Craftsmanship

For me this is the area that the mitts let themselves down with. My main issue is that the they seem almost over filled with foam – the grey front of the mitt doesn’t fit on the front face, it over hangs on one side of the mitt and so pulls the black siding round on the opposite side. On the back of the mitt the hand section looks like it could have been planned a bit better, there’s some stitching that I feel could have been stitched in a way that stops it from being exposed on the finished product. Finally the stitched up opening at the bottom of the mitts where the foam is inserted is held together well with thick stitching, but the holes that have been punched through the synthetic leather are already stretching and I’ve only been testing them for a couple of weeks.

Other than these few drawbacks the rest of the craftsmanship does look good, the stitching is neat and the panels are cut neatly, but the overall impression is that these mitts have been mass produced and the emphasis was on quantity rather than quality.

Use – When Striking

These mitts do feel good to hit, the closed cell technology foam feels firm and you get solid feedback when you connect with a punch. That being said, they don’t need much breaking in and you can use them straight out of the bag. They don’t stand out as being amazing, but equally they aren’t terrible.

Use – When Holding

Equally holding the mitts is slightly middle of the road, for punches they feel good and offer plenty of protection when holding for them – Everlast have included a shaped wrist support to help improve comfort for the pad holder. The Evercool mesh section on the rear of the hand works well to stop your hand from sweating too much when you’re wearing them for an extended period and like all mitts they’re small enough to allow you to get the striker doing plenty of quick slips and rolls. I would have prefered them to have a strap on the back of the hand so you can get a tighter fit, I found myself having to readjust them a few times in between combos as they’d slipped around. The other issue is using them to hold for kicks – like I’ve already mentioned Everlast have made these mitts a bit longer than normal to allow them to be used for kicks and knees. Whilst they’re alright if you’re holding for light technical combos that include a kick or a knee, for serious training you need to be using thai pads or you’re going to end up damaging your wrists.

Cost

Everlast retail these gloves at £15, but they only sell them individually, so make sure you buy two! The price makes them a good fit for a beginner looking for a set of pads so they can training outside of the gym, but for a more experienced fighter looking for the same or for a gym owner looking to buy several pairs I’d look to get a higher quality pair.