What characteristics should good boxing gloves or kickboxing gloves have? We asked this question to a large number of experienced boxers, kickboxers and Muay Thai fighters. The answers they gave us were largely the same. We have listed the characteristics of good quality gloves for you.
Fit of good boxing gloves
The best way to determine whether a glove fits you is to try it on and possibly try it out. When trying it on, make sure you have enough room for your fingers to move.
Thumb stability
When you make a fist, your thumb must be held stable in its natural position by the glove. If this is not the case, you run the risk of breaking your thumb when you punch hard.
Closure: Velcro or laces?
For boxing, Muay Thai and kickboxing gloves you can choose between a Velcro closure or a lace closure . A lace closure gives more stability to your wrist and you can better adjust the glove to the shape of your hand when closing it. The disadvantage of laces is that someone else always has to close and open your gloves.
The gloves with lace closure are therefore generally only used during competitions, because you do not take your gloves off during a competition. During training it is useful if this is possible. That is why the most worn gloves during training have a Velcro closure .
With Velcro fasteners, make sure that the glove can be closed tightly enough around your wrist. This is important for wearing comfort and for the stability of the wrist. The Velcro itself must have an adhesive surface that is large enough and strong enough to close the glove securely.
Filling/padding impact surface
The padding of the punching surface must be thick and firm enough to ensure that you do not punch through the padding. A foam padding is ideal for this. The padding must, as it were, partially absorb your punch, which reduces the chance of knuckle injuries. You also limit the chance of injuries to your training partners because the sharpness of your fists is taken away. By punching someone with bare fists you can seriously injure him/her, the same applies to gloves with poor padding.
Padding palm
Not every boxing, Muay Thai or kickboxing glove has padding on the inside of the glove. This is an extra filling/reinforcement in the glove on the side of your palms. This padding gives you extra grip for making a fist. It is also ideal for training combinations with a training partner.
The padding on the inside of your glove absorbs some of the punches and kicks from your training partner when you catch them with your gloves. This can also have its advantages during sparring.
100% Leather, microfiber or synthetic leather
You can choose between artificial leather or leather gloves. Leather gloves last longer. The chance of them tearing (especially at the seams) is considerably smaller. However, maintaining leather gloves is very important. To do this, grease the gloves once a month with leather grease, otherwise the leather gloves will quickly show cracks due to drying out. There is also often a big difference in the quality of the leather. The leather that is mainly used is cowhide, this leather is extremely suitable for a good quality glove. Incidentally, there are now microfiber and boxing gloves made of synthetic leather that are at least as strong, if not stronger, than real natural leather.
Stitching, double stitching and control
For the strength of the gloves it is important that the stitching is double stitched at critical points. That is to say at the places where there is a lot of pressure on the leather and fabric. This ensures that the gloves do not break at the stitching (this is generally the place where most gloves break first).
Lining
This is generally the case with all gloves made of fabric. Feel the lining for any irregularities or loose threads. The lining should flow nicely with the glove, so that it will not break easily and does not cause irritation when wearing.
Weight
Gloves are available in different weight classes (8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and even 18 and 20 ounces). The heavier the glove, the harder it is to keep your arms up. Training with a heavier glove will not make you punch harder. You don't train that with gravity. It can ensure that you can keep your arms up longer during the match, because you generally fight with lighter gloves during the match.
An increase in weight in gloves can also mean an increase in size or circumference of the gloves. Is the glove a bit bigger? Then you also have a larger impact surface. A larger impact surface of the glove means a reduction in the impact of a punch (an exaggerated example of this is the difference between a punch with the point of a knife and a punch with your fist). This is also often the reason why heavyweights are advised to use a heavier glove.
Typically, children train with 6, 8 or 10 oz, women with 10, 12 or 14 oz and men with 14 or 16 oz. Heavyweights generally use 16 or 18 oz gloves and some exceptions even use 20 oz gloves. The best boxing gloves based on price-quality are the XPRT boxing gloves.
Tips for using and maintaining boxing gloves
- Never leave your gloves in your bag or in the car after use. In your bag the gloves will remain damp and in the car you expose the gloves to extreme temperatures and temperature differences. Let the gloves dry as quickly as possible at room temperature. Preferably use a deodorizer to dry them better.
- After use, it is best to fill your boxing gloves with a deodorizer (for example from Hayabusa, No-Stink or Rival) and let them dry in a place with a constant room temperature.
- Grease leather gloves well but thinly once a month with leather grease (note: dried sweat causes the leather to dry out. The leather must be kept supple at all times to prevent cracking). Good leather grease does not contain acids that attack the leather. Pay close attention to this!
- Make sure you have short nails when using the gloves, as long nails can damage and eventually destroy the lining.
- It is best not to use your gloves on the punching bag. This will cause the gloves to wear out very quickly. There are also special bag gloves for sale.
If you choose a glove with the above quality characteristics and you use and maintain the gloves according to the above tips, the gloves will last about 6 months to a year with 2 to 3 training sessions a week. Whether the gloves can last even longer or perhaps even shorter depends on your punching power and the training intensity .
