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- Oct 15, 2003
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Greetings and Salutations. I'm here with a review for Fuel Fight Gear's 16 oz. Sparring Gloves. I was interested in doing a review of these gloves for a while since someone said they were as good as Cleto Reyes training gloves. I was lucky enough to purchase these off of Craigslist ($20.00) but unfortunately they weren't in the best condition (after supposedly 2 months) but they were in manageable condition to review.
As of this writing Fuel Fight Gear has released their new models, The Fuel X2 Sparring gloves. This review will be based on their first batch of gloves.
Now when I picked up these gloves I guess I didn't know what to expect but judging from the pictures they looked OK, but when I actually saw and got to feel them I wasn't impressed by the quality or craftsmanship (I can't complain about their condition that they were in since they're 2nd hand). The leather is thin and feels cheap and the design is very basic (especially the uninspired logo), but I will say that I liked the color scheme they went with. They look cool enough to be in my collection and the blue is pops against the white. The craftsmanship does leave a lot to be desired. It looks and feels like each side was made by 2 different people. The design of the gloves remind of pro fight gloves since it's a very basic design with short cuffs, but in a heavier 16 oz weight. In fact the majority of the weight is at the front of the glove due to the very dense and heavy padding. The padding is so dense that using them to spar would not be a very good idea (good for heavy bag and mitts though since I couldn't feel my knuckles with any punch). It's the kind of padding that is so stiff dense and rubbery that it will leave bruises on your heavy bag. If you're looking to hurt your partner or for use in a smoker you might want to think about these gloves. They provide a lot of pop! One positive is that I'm glad they put in ventilation holes since for some reason other companies leave this out. It helped keep my hands cool.
The gloves only come in lace-ups (my favorite style) but I feel that the wrist could have provided better support. The wrist portion of the gloves feels like its stuffed with loose cotton fiber instead of traditional foam padding strips, so when it's laced up it feels like its diving the loose fibers. It just doesn't feel as secure or supportive as my other lace-ups. The lining of the glove is slick and comfortable but is thin and the pair I received had rips and tears already. I've bought many gear 2nd hand or 2nd quality but none that ripped after only a couple of months of use. I wouldn't recommend these gloves for people with longer fingers since the gloves feel short especially at the fingers. I have fat hands but short fingers and with this glove I found myself at the very end of them. I also wish the grip bar was a bit fatter and stiffer since it feels like I'm folding my hands over instead of actually gripping something. One other thing I didn't like was the thumb compartment. It's very straight and when you make a fist the top of the thumb is the same height at the contact point of the glove. I jammed my thumb a couple of times on the bag and in sparring even though the thumb is stiffly padded. It's a little annoying and has the potential or injury people with long thumbs, and I think the gloves would have benefited with a curved thumb or if the thumb sat lower on the glove.
So there you have it. A glove that has good padding for the mitts, heavy bag, or for smokers but unfortunately that's all it seems to have going for it. The leather and the liner is thin, the craftsmanship could have been better, the thumb is too straight, and the glove feels like it is limited to those with shorter fingers. While I can't talk about their new and more current line I will say that their first try wasn't super successful especially considering the price range they are marketing them at ($80.00) is stacked with tried and true gloves. I will say it is much better than anything you can pick up from a department store.
Final score : 5/10
-1 for craftsmanship -1 for leather -1 for thumb placement -1 for lining
As of this writing Fuel Fight Gear has released their new models, The Fuel X2 Sparring gloves. This review will be based on their first batch of gloves.
Now when I picked up these gloves I guess I didn't know what to expect but judging from the pictures they looked OK, but when I actually saw and got to feel them I wasn't impressed by the quality or craftsmanship (I can't complain about their condition that they were in since they're 2nd hand). The leather is thin and feels cheap and the design is very basic (especially the uninspired logo), but I will say that I liked the color scheme they went with. They look cool enough to be in my collection and the blue is pops against the white. The craftsmanship does leave a lot to be desired. It looks and feels like each side was made by 2 different people. The design of the gloves remind of pro fight gloves since it's a very basic design with short cuffs, but in a heavier 16 oz weight. In fact the majority of the weight is at the front of the glove due to the very dense and heavy padding. The padding is so dense that using them to spar would not be a very good idea (good for heavy bag and mitts though since I couldn't feel my knuckles with any punch). It's the kind of padding that is so stiff dense and rubbery that it will leave bruises on your heavy bag. If you're looking to hurt your partner or for use in a smoker you might want to think about these gloves. They provide a lot of pop! One positive is that I'm glad they put in ventilation holes since for some reason other companies leave this out. It helped keep my hands cool.
The gloves only come in lace-ups (my favorite style) but I feel that the wrist could have provided better support. The wrist portion of the gloves feels like its stuffed with loose cotton fiber instead of traditional foam padding strips, so when it's laced up it feels like its diving the loose fibers. It just doesn't feel as secure or supportive as my other lace-ups. The lining of the glove is slick and comfortable but is thin and the pair I received had rips and tears already. I've bought many gear 2nd hand or 2nd quality but none that ripped after only a couple of months of use. I wouldn't recommend these gloves for people with longer fingers since the gloves feel short especially at the fingers. I have fat hands but short fingers and with this glove I found myself at the very end of them. I also wish the grip bar was a bit fatter and stiffer since it feels like I'm folding my hands over instead of actually gripping something. One other thing I didn't like was the thumb compartment. It's very straight and when you make a fist the top of the thumb is the same height at the contact point of the glove. I jammed my thumb a couple of times on the bag and in sparring even though the thumb is stiffly padded. It's a little annoying and has the potential or injury people with long thumbs, and I think the gloves would have benefited with a curved thumb or if the thumb sat lower on the glove.
So there you have it. A glove that has good padding for the mitts, heavy bag, or for smokers but unfortunately that's all it seems to have going for it. The leather and the liner is thin, the craftsmanship could have been better, the thumb is too straight, and the glove feels like it is limited to those with shorter fingers. While I can't talk about their new and more current line I will say that their first try wasn't super successful especially considering the price range they are marketing them at ($80.00) is stacked with tried and true gloves. I will say it is much better than anything you can pick up from a department store.
Final score : 5/10
-1 for craftsmanship -1 for leather -1 for thumb placement -1 for lining
