Venum Challenger 2.0 Gloves 16oz Initial Review

[Taskmaster99]

UPS has come....review time!!!!

Today I am doing an initial review on the Venum Challenger 2.0 gloves. I bought these off Amazon last Friday during their one day gear sale. There wasnt a whole lot to choose from but what they did have had some killer prices. I have never owned anything Venum but figured I would give something a shot. These gloves cost me $33. With shipping I was still under $40. They arrived today thanks to Amazon's fast shipping!!! I love Amazon!!!

Anyway.....onto the gloves:

Construction
----------------
These gloves are NOT leather. They are in fact synthetic. I knew that when purchasing so its all good. I chose gold as the color becuz I have yet to have any gloves in that color and I needed a little bling in my collection. Im not sure if the color is painted on or what not. Looking over the glove, the stitching is flawless!!! All are even and tight. The wrist strap is a combo of elastic and synthetic. The velcro is super sticky. There is mesh on the palm but that is clearly for looks. A few vent holes in the palm to help keep the hands dry. The inner liner is a silky material and just right. No extra to bunch up. The gloves also contain a grip bar. Overall I give the construction of these gloves an "A".

Fit
------
I wrapped a hand with a 180 wrap and slid it in. Nice snug fit. Not too tight but not loose. Fingers are very comfortable as is the thumb. This glove is very easy to make a fist and also open the palm. I give the fit an "A".

Padding
-----------
Holy Crap this padding is dense!!!!!!!! I would not spar with these right out of the box. You are liable to knock the piss out of your partner!! We will have to see if it loosens up over time....but for now...these will be heavy bag and mitt gloves. I went out into the garage and slammed the bag a few times just to test it out. I felt absolutely nothing!!! The gloves made a loud ass crack when hitting and brought a smile to my face. As a bag glove I give the padding an "A". As a sparring glove right away...."F". That doesnt mean things wont change. Remember...this is just an initial review.

Wrist support
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With just putting the glove on and hitting the bag a few times....the wrist was solid as hell!!! I have no fear of going all out with these gloves. I give it an "A".


Conclusion
-------------
I know alot of people hate MMA brands. I used to, but am changing my mind with good experiences from Bad Boy and Warrior International. These gloves seem like they will be no exception. I am very happy so far with this purchase but all could go to hell in a month. They could fall apart next week for all I know....but based off my first impressions....I like these gloves, especially for the price. And if they do take a crap too soon....what did I lose??

I thank everybody for reading this. I have posted some pics for your viewing
pleasure.

Remember...comments on my reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.

 

[DrDoom]

Awesome review bud! I look forward to hearing how these hold up for sure!

 

[musicrocks9393]

What is your take on leather VS synthetic leather.... i know hayabusa uses synthetic leather as well....

In the past we have found synthetic lasts longer and is more durable but leather is more comfortable and just higher quality overall.... would you agree? do you prefer leather to synthetic or synthetic to leather? Just wondering what your thoughts are

Thanks

 

[Taskmaster99]

What is your take on leather VS synthetic leather.... i know hayabusa uses synthetic leather as well....

In the past we have found synthetic lasts longer and is more durable but leather is more comfortable and just higher quality overall.... would you agree? do you prefer leather to synthetic or synthetic to leather? Just wondering what your thoughts are

Thanks

I cant make the comparison Dan. All my gloves are leather...this is my first pair of synthetics. Im glad you asked that....hopefully someone can chime in with their thoughts.

 

[Taskmaster99]

Awesome review bud! I look forward to hearing how these hold up for sure!

Thank you my friend. I will definitely be doing a follow up on these since I think they show alot of promise.

 

[GHVA226]

What is your take on leather VS synthetic leather.... i know hayabusa uses synthetic leather as well....

In the past we have found synthetic lasts longer and is more durable but leather is more comfortable and just higher quality overall.... would you agree? do you prefer leather to synthetic or synthetic to leather? Just wondering what your thoughts are

Thanks

I tried both and cannot stand synthetic to the point where I sold a pair of Hayabusa Tokushu Plus to get a pair of Kanpeki, because of the leather. I lost a little in terms of fit but could not deal with the crappy vylar.

Synthetic just feels and looks cheap even in the FG2900. It is not smooth enough and the texture is unpleasant, plastic-like. Plus, when used in the headgear it doesn't breath well.

 

[Taskmaster99]

Just a little update....I went ahead and weighed the gloves(forgot to for the review).

They are labeled as 16oz and came in at 16.2oz. Thats close enough for me. Thumbs up Venum!!!

 

[MEGAhorse]

Nice review man.

I personally love synthetic because its so easy to care for, as long as it's high quality. Vylar, winning synthetic and pu3g I like personally.

 

[Taskmaster99]

I have to take back my earlier statement. I do have a pair of gloves that are also synthetic. They are the Bad Boy Pro Series Training gloves. I forgot about these cuz some websites list them as leather but they are actually PU. These things have been through hell and high water and are still holding up perfectly. Something to be said about synthetic.

 

[ironwolf]

nice review!!!

I prefer leather but have no issue with a high quality synthetic like vylar or something.

 

[Jaime81]

Nice review. I was looking at these same gloves. I'm on a tight leash when it comes to purchasing. One of the guys has come Venums and his gloves have held up pretty well over the last 6 months. I've been tempted to try them.

 

[MEGAhorse]

Nice review. I was looking at these same gloves. I'm on a tight leash when it comes to purchasing. One of the guys has come Venums and his gloves have held up pretty well over the last 6 months. I've been tempted to try them.

What style you train? Because if its kick boxing I'd go with these, if straight western boxing the Adidas pro tactiks are great and only 49.99

 

[Jaime81]

I've been focusing more on traditional boxing but should be training more kick boxing as one of the guys has an mma fight coming up. Those taktics are also on my radar.

Once the leash is off, I'm expecting to buy both of these. Im working on a mount to hang my gloves, so once that's done, I can have a nicer, more organized office and add to my collection.

 

[rskbreaker]

What is your take on leather VS synthetic leather.... i know hayabusa uses synthetic leather as well....

In the past we have found synthetic lasts longer and is more durable but leather is more comfortable and just higher quality overall.... would you agree? do you prefer leather to synthetic or synthetic to leather? Just wondering what your thoughts are

Thanks

I've never seen synthetic leather outperform real leather, and I'm not just talking about mma or boxing equipment. Boots, shoes, jackets, chairs, sofas, gloves, etc.

Seems like a lot of companies are trying to keep cost low by cutting back on using real leather. You have gloves and mitts with leather only on the striking surface. Companies trademarking a clever name for synthetic leather. Vylar, so revolutionary the only reference you can find to anyone using it, is hayabussa.

 

[MEGAhorse]

Vylar was used by a Muay Thai company and it absolutely failed, so they discontinued the line. Atleast hayabusa did vylar right, can't really fault them for that

 

[StRatoCastR]

Im just not a fan of how it feels and it gets HOT.
The looks is another department that it just fails at.

 

[Taskmaster99]

Just a little update:

Took these to the gym today for their first workout. All bag and mitts. Wrists,knuckles, everything felt great after it was over. A few people liked the look of them and then there were the haters. Will keep updating as time goes on.

 

[StRatoCastR]

I had the opposite reaction with my gold Cletos, no haters
but some people did laugh and ask why I don't display them instead of use them.

 

[Taskmaster99]

I had the opposite reaction with my gold Cletos, no haters
but some people did laugh and ask why I don't display them instead of use them.

That gold on your Cleto's is tight!!!

All my haters were the jerk offs with the big bad expensive gear who dont even go regularly but bought the top end stuff to look good. Some of the guys I've seen only once or twice. You know the type.

 

[Harukaze]

I had the opposite reaction with my gold Cletos, no haters
but some people did laugh and ask why I don't display them instead of use them.

It's cuz they're Cleto's, regardless of the color -- anyone that would even attempt to mock Cleto's would get shouted down soooo badly haha! :icon_chee

For the record, I personally think that gold gloves look dope, regardless of whether they're Cleto's or Venum's.