Hi all, long time lurker on the forums; I've really enjoyed reading the product/equipment reviews over the past year, and figured I'd kick off the new year with a pair of reviews of my own. Enjoy, links to pictures at the bottom!
First up are the Winning MS-400 12 oz pro gloves. I've been using these gloves for the past 5 months for pads/bags on a pretty regular basis, roughly about 4-5 times a week. I live about 35 minutes away from the Winning USA showroom in Redondo Beach CA, and was fortunate enough to be able to stop by and pick these up in person, as well as speak with Kazumichi. As referenced many times on the forums, he's quite the character who loves talking about scotch, photography, and how much he hates phones haha. I got these before the recent price increase for $240, and after taxes, the total was about $260 and some change.
First Impression:
As most people have noted, these gloves have an extremely polished and high quality appearance and feel to them. The leather was very smooth, no chipping on the screened logo, overall a very aesthetically pleasing product. Winning uses some sort of nylon lining on the inside of the glove that is very soft and comfortable that I also found to dry fairly quickly after training sessions. The stitching on these gloves was also top notch, with no popped or broken threading on the inside or outside. Although I initially thought that the laces looked sort of cheap, especially given the price of these gloves, I actually prefer the round ones that Winning uses as opposed to the more flat/squared off laces that most other companies use as I feel that they move much more smoothly through the holes and thus makes lacing them up a little easier.
Comfort/Performance:
The hand compartment, at least for my hands is great; not too big so that my hand is sliding all over, and not too small to pinch or press on any pressure spots. At 12 oz's, the gloves feel extremely light and have a fairly even balance which I like. A hallmark Winning characteristic, the padding is excellent and thus far, I have not had any pain or discomfort after any of my training sessions with these gloves. Breathability is good, the split where the laces go extends pretty far up the palm, which helps keep your hands from getting smothering in sweat while training. I should note that these gloves do take a few sessions to break in. The first few times I used them, the gloves and padding had a sort of rebound effect off the bags, and the impact of my punches was almost too blunted. However after a week or so, the padding sort of stabilized out, and they now have a great pop to them while still staying just as protective. The biggest complaint I've heard about these gloves is the wrist protection, and I would have to say that it's just ok; definitely not as good as that found on the cleto reyes, grant pro training, or even the imf tech gloves that I've tried, but not terrible either. I tend to wrap a lot around my wrists, so that's something I would definitely recommend.
Durability:
As noted before, these gloves are just as comfortable as they were when I first started using them, with no real noticeable breakdown of the padding. They've also held their color well; although the striking surface has gotten a little dingy, you really have to be looking at them close up to notice.
Conclusion:
After waffling a little bit over buying these given the high price, I'm definitely happy with the purchase. I rely very heavily on my hands for my normal, everyday job, and have been very satisfied with the comfort, protection, and overall phenomenal craftmanship that these gloves provide. Now, with that said, keep in mind that this was before the recent price hike. At $300 now, these gloves can easily end up being $330 with taxes/shipping and even more if you get custom colors, and at that price, I'm not quite sure I would take the plunge were I deciding on these gloves now, especially given the fact that there are other high quality gloves that can be had at a fraction of the price.
Next up are the Cleto Reyes Safetec 10 oz gloves
I had heard/read a lot of great things about these gloves and had been wanting to give them a shot. After seeing them online, I bought them on a whim for about $135.00 shipped. I've been using these on a pretty regular basis the past 3-4 weeks, rotating them in with the Winning's.
First Impressions:
Like the MS-400's, these gloves also looked great. The leather looks and feels thicker than the type that Winning uses, and has an awesome smell out of the box. One thing that I did notice was that the leather that Cleto Reyes uses had more wrinkles in it, making it look more like the normal horsehair fight gloves that they make as opposed to the smoother leather on some of their other training and bag gloves. On a similar note, I also noticed that one glove was slightly smoother than the other. Not necessarily a good or bad thing, just an observation that can probably be attributed to the fact that the gloves are handmade. The lining was also some sort of nylon that was very comfortable. Again, like the Winning's, the stitches and seams were excellent. One thing that I noticed was that the stock laces that these gloves came with were very short, and only allowed me to make maybe 1 or 1.5 turns around the wrists; I ended up tossing them and replacing them with longer laces, so not too big of a deal.
Comfort/Performance:
The hand compartment on the Safetec's is great, and I actually preferred it slightly to the MS-400's as it felt a little bit more snug. I also felt that the glove overall was a little less stiff, and allowed me to make a comfortable fist a little more easily than the Winning's. At 10 oz's, although the Safetec's are 2 oz's lighter than the Winning's, the weight difference that I felt was negligible as both gloves felt extremely light and maneuverable. Now on to the padding. Although the padding on the Safetec's is thicker than that on the MS-400's, it's far less dense. While it definitely provides enough protection for pad work and gave a sweet pop, I felt that it was just too cushy when hitting bags, and I could definitely feel the impact through the gloves. Wrist protection is another aspect that I felt was a problem. The wrist cuff is very flexible, and even with thick wraps, there were times where I felt some discomfort after making awkward contact with a bag. I remember one of the other members saying that the Safetec's feel more like fight gloves despite the padding, and I think that's a 100% spot on description.
Durability:
I've only had these gloves for about a month, but like most Cleto Reyes products that I've used, I'm sure these will last a while. Since getting these, the padding does feel like it has compressed down a bit, but definitely not to the extent of the MS-400's.
Conclusion:
After hearing a lot of positive things about these gloves, I really wanted to like these and even tried to convince myself of that, but at the end of the day, I think the padding just isn't enough for what I use my gloves for. For dedicated padwork and maybe even for something like the DE bag, I would actually prefer these to the Winnings as I feel the padding allows for a little more feedback and pop on your punches, while also providing adequate comfort and protection. However if you do a decent amount of heavy/uppercut bagwork like I do, I just felt that the Safetec's just didn't provide enough protection. With that said, I still think they're excellently crafted, high quality gloves, though I probably won't be keeping these since what they provide doesn't really match up with how I train.
Pics here:
Flickr: j1oyama's Photostream
First up are the Winning MS-400 12 oz pro gloves. I've been using these gloves for the past 5 months for pads/bags on a pretty regular basis, roughly about 4-5 times a week. I live about 35 minutes away from the Winning USA showroom in Redondo Beach CA, and was fortunate enough to be able to stop by and pick these up in person, as well as speak with Kazumichi. As referenced many times on the forums, he's quite the character who loves talking about scotch, photography, and how much he hates phones haha. I got these before the recent price increase for $240, and after taxes, the total was about $260 and some change.
First Impression:
As most people have noted, these gloves have an extremely polished and high quality appearance and feel to them. The leather was very smooth, no chipping on the screened logo, overall a very aesthetically pleasing product. Winning uses some sort of nylon lining on the inside of the glove that is very soft and comfortable that I also found to dry fairly quickly after training sessions. The stitching on these gloves was also top notch, with no popped or broken threading on the inside or outside. Although I initially thought that the laces looked sort of cheap, especially given the price of these gloves, I actually prefer the round ones that Winning uses as opposed to the more flat/squared off laces that most other companies use as I feel that they move much more smoothly through the holes and thus makes lacing them up a little easier.
Comfort/Performance:
The hand compartment, at least for my hands is great; not too big so that my hand is sliding all over, and not too small to pinch or press on any pressure spots. At 12 oz's, the gloves feel extremely light and have a fairly even balance which I like. A hallmark Winning characteristic, the padding is excellent and thus far, I have not had any pain or discomfort after any of my training sessions with these gloves. Breathability is good, the split where the laces go extends pretty far up the palm, which helps keep your hands from getting smothering in sweat while training. I should note that these gloves do take a few sessions to break in. The first few times I used them, the gloves and padding had a sort of rebound effect off the bags, and the impact of my punches was almost too blunted. However after a week or so, the padding sort of stabilized out, and they now have a great pop to them while still staying just as protective. The biggest complaint I've heard about these gloves is the wrist protection, and I would have to say that it's just ok; definitely not as good as that found on the cleto reyes, grant pro training, or even the imf tech gloves that I've tried, but not terrible either. I tend to wrap a lot around my wrists, so that's something I would definitely recommend.
Durability:
As noted before, these gloves are just as comfortable as they were when I first started using them, with no real noticeable breakdown of the padding. They've also held their color well; although the striking surface has gotten a little dingy, you really have to be looking at them close up to notice.
Conclusion:
After waffling a little bit over buying these given the high price, I'm definitely happy with the purchase. I rely very heavily on my hands for my normal, everyday job, and have been very satisfied with the comfort, protection, and overall phenomenal craftmanship that these gloves provide. Now, with that said, keep in mind that this was before the recent price hike. At $300 now, these gloves can easily end up being $330 with taxes/shipping and even more if you get custom colors, and at that price, I'm not quite sure I would take the plunge were I deciding on these gloves now, especially given the fact that there are other high quality gloves that can be had at a fraction of the price.
Next up are the Cleto Reyes Safetec 10 oz gloves
I had heard/read a lot of great things about these gloves and had been wanting to give them a shot. After seeing them online, I bought them on a whim for about $135.00 shipped. I've been using these on a pretty regular basis the past 3-4 weeks, rotating them in with the Winning's.
First Impressions:
Like the MS-400's, these gloves also looked great. The leather looks and feels thicker than the type that Winning uses, and has an awesome smell out of the box. One thing that I did notice was that the leather that Cleto Reyes uses had more wrinkles in it, making it look more like the normal horsehair fight gloves that they make as opposed to the smoother leather on some of their other training and bag gloves. On a similar note, I also noticed that one glove was slightly smoother than the other. Not necessarily a good or bad thing, just an observation that can probably be attributed to the fact that the gloves are handmade. The lining was also some sort of nylon that was very comfortable. Again, like the Winning's, the stitches and seams were excellent. One thing that I noticed was that the stock laces that these gloves came with were very short, and only allowed me to make maybe 1 or 1.5 turns around the wrists; I ended up tossing them and replacing them with longer laces, so not too big of a deal.
Comfort/Performance:
The hand compartment on the Safetec's is great, and I actually preferred it slightly to the MS-400's as it felt a little bit more snug. I also felt that the glove overall was a little less stiff, and allowed me to make a comfortable fist a little more easily than the Winning's. At 10 oz's, although the Safetec's are 2 oz's lighter than the Winning's, the weight difference that I felt was negligible as both gloves felt extremely light and maneuverable. Now on to the padding. Although the padding on the Safetec's is thicker than that on the MS-400's, it's far less dense. While it definitely provides enough protection for pad work and gave a sweet pop, I felt that it was just too cushy when hitting bags, and I could definitely feel the impact through the gloves. Wrist protection is another aspect that I felt was a problem. The wrist cuff is very flexible, and even with thick wraps, there were times where I felt some discomfort after making awkward contact with a bag. I remember one of the other members saying that the Safetec's feel more like fight gloves despite the padding, and I think that's a 100% spot on description.
Durability:
I've only had these gloves for about a month, but like most Cleto Reyes products that I've used, I'm sure these will last a while. Since getting these, the padding does feel like it has compressed down a bit, but definitely not to the extent of the MS-400's.
Conclusion:
After hearing a lot of positive things about these gloves, I really wanted to like these and even tried to convince myself of that, but at the end of the day, I think the padding just isn't enough for what I use my gloves for. For dedicated padwork and maybe even for something like the DE bag, I would actually prefer these to the Winnings as I feel the padding allows for a little more feedback and pop on your punches, while also providing adequate comfort and protection. However if you do a decent amount of heavy/uppercut bagwork like I do, I just felt that the Safetec's just didn't provide enough protection. With that said, I still think they're excellently crafted, high quality gloves, though I probably won't be keeping these since what they provide doesn't really match up with how I train.
Pics here:
Flickr: j1oyama's Photostream
lol
