Cleto Reyes 16oz Hook & Loop Training Gloves (Black)

[ericPorkChop]

Part One

I finally got around to giving Cleto Reyes training gloves another shot. The causes for this about turnaround have actually had a lot to do with this forum. Besides the awesome reviews I'd been reading, there were a few Sherdog-driven purchases I made that really changed my mind. The first was the KOFightGear glove purchase. Out of the box, i wasn't a fan of those gloves, but watching the night and day difference once I'd finally broken them in made me realize that initial reactions can be extremely deceiving. The second was the Boxeo glove purchase. I love my Boxeos; but they were also a somewhat rough break-in. I didn't need another pair of gloves because my Boxeos are just that good, but I just wanted a pick-me-up for my birthday. I kept thinking how people who'd tried Boxeos and Reyes (like Strat) still had wonderful things to say about Reyes. So I realized maybe I was too hasty in my initial reactions from 8~9 years ago.

I ordered the gloves from Lockwoods late Sunday evening and Mike from Lockwoods was really helpful when PayPal auto-filled the incorrect address. The gloves arrived today and here are my initial impressions....




It's always cool when you have packages like this showing up on your doorstep:

Could hardly contain my excitement when I opened them up to look inside:

Something about a shrink-wrapped pair of gloves... makes you feel like you're in uncharted territory:

After opening them up, here they are side by side:

In person, the 2 gloves are practically mirror images of each other.

My initial reaction was:
"The leather's a lot glossier than I remember."

I thought they were going to smell more. I remember the Cleto Reyes headgear I have filling the room with leather smell when I first cracked it open. With these gloves it's only a faint trace, but lean in close and sure enough that familiar smell of high quality goatskin leather permeates this glove.

The leather's beautiful. I don't remember the Reyes gloves I got from Ringside, circa 2005~2006 being anywhere near as nice, or as glossy. My memory of those gloves is that they had a smooth feel, with a matte finish. On these new gloves, the gloss finish makes them feel very slick, like a high end leather jacket or something.

From underneath:

 

[ericPorkChop]

Part Two

At this point I really took a serious look at the craftsmanship.
The stitching is superb:

In fact, I haven't seen a single stitch out of place, from the tip of the thumb, to the cross bar, to the welted seam at the base of the thumb, all the way down to the cuff. Nothing looks out of place - but please correct me if you guys notice something that I don't.

The velcro enclosure is a pleasant surprise. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but from some pictures you can get the idea that soft part of the velcro is sunken into the wrist padding, which is definitely not the case:

Also, the velcro strap's a bit wider than I was imagining:

 

[GHVA226]

I love Reyes! Great purchase, man.

 

[ericPorkChop]

Part Three

I started thinking about trying them on, even though my finger injury is still prone to splitting open. Opening them up, I was surprised at the liner. The gloves I had from Ringside only had a white crosshatch pattern that lined the inside of the glove, that looked more like part of the outer shell of the padding than a proper liner.

As you can see, these new gloves have a nice, smooth, dark blue liner that feels like it might be somewhat water resistant.

So as I slide a glove on the good hand, all I can think is:
"Ohmygod, why did I wait so long to get a real pair of Reyes gloves from Lockwoods?"

The fit on these gloves is amazing. It's properly snug, I would even venture to say it fits more snugly than the 14oz Reyes from Ringside. There are absolutely no problems with the thumb - from the basic fit to making a fist. The seam at the base of the thumb doesn't cut off circulation like the 14 and 16oz versions from Ringside. The main pocket is a HUGE surprise. My knuckles fit right up against the padding. They make my Grants (which my knuckles don't touch the padding) feel like hangar bays. I'd been planning to use knuckle guards with these gloves, but I'm not sure I could fit any in there. The padding still has a divot over the index finger (towards the thumb flap), but it's a total non-issue. In fact, it helps with my tendency to protrude my index finger's middle knuckle when making a fist. The length of the pocket seems ideal - I didn't have any problems with long fingers poking through the end. The width of the glove is also a lot more reasonable than those other models. I may have an inch extra, but it should be easily taken up by wraps and a knuckle guard (if I can even squeeze one in). Out of the box, making a fist in these is easier than just about any other glove I have. I'm even able to make a good fist with my injured fist, so that's saying a lot.

I am glad to see that Reyes' take on a hook & loop enclosure really reflected a lot of thought put into the design. The velcro enclosure fits my dainty wrists perfectly, with no excess strap hanging off. The velcro teeth feel strong & provide nice resistance against tugging. The inner flaps of the wrist close nicely with little or no overlap, providing a nice firm grip around my wrists (the complete opposite of my recent Sandee purchase). The cuff on these is longer than a Thai glove, but I prefer this type of cuff, which comes a little past mid-forearm. Best wrist support I've ever had were my old school Grant trainer lace ups and my Grant ultimate bag gloves (with the biggest vecro enclosure I've ever seen). Number 3 would probably be my Boxeos or my ASUs (maybe even Boon), and these feel right up there, but it's a little early to tell.

The padding on these gloves doesn't feel too soft or too firm. Padding is firmer than I remember in the old gloves, but I wouldn't call it a stiff padding either. For example, I can't feel my knuckles when I push into the padding, which puts it ahead of my Shevlins. I'll have to see how these perform on heavy bags of varying densities. I may or may not need the knuckle guards afterall, I'm not sure. The consistency of the padding is awesome, no lumps, just a nice striking surface. As I mentioned earlier, there's still a divot, but it's not distracting and even seems beneficial to making a proper fist. The padding doesn't allow for opening the palm; such as for parrying, like Grants & Shevlins do, but there is a little flexibility.

Finally, I weighed these gloves to see if Strat's observations hold true.
The right glove comes in at 17.5 ounces.
The left glove comes in at 18 ounces.
(I have pictures for these but they came out way too big, the links go to the imgur.)

 

[ericPorkChop]

Part Four - Summary and Scores

Well it looks like I'll have to eat my words in regards to my earlier complaints about Reyes. I think I may have been the victim of a bad batch of gloves from Ringside. These gloves are amazing. The price is steep, but the materials and craftsmanship you get for that price is worth it.

Looks:
Sex Appeal (ie. Overall Looks): 10/10
Overall Materials: 10/10
Overall Craftsmanship: 10/10
Leather: 10/10
Colors: 10/10
Label: 10/10
Profile: 10/10
Stitching: 10/10
Average Looks: 10/10

Form (Fit):
Overall Fit: 10/10
Thumb: 10/10
Pocket: 10/10
Wrist Closure: 10/10
Velcro: 10/10
Cuff length: 10/10
Padding (consistency): 10/10
Weight: 9/10
Average Fit: 9.9/10

Function:
Ability to make a proper fist: 10/10
Open palm: 8/10
Wrist Support: 9/10
Convenience: 10/10
Break-In period: N/A - unused
Protect Self: N/A - unused
Protect Opponent: N/A - unused
Overall Durability: N/A - unused
Velcro Durability: N/A - unused
Padding Durability: N/A - unused
Leather Durability: N/A - unused
Stitching Durability: N/A - unused
Feedback: N/A - unused
Average Performance (preliminary): 9.2/10

Cost:
Price: 8/10
Value: 10/10
Average Cost: 9/10

Overall: 9.75 / 10 (roughly)

 

[StRatoCastR]

yeah man, why would i be WRONG about Reyes?!
Anyhow grats on the new pair, you will love them as Reyes are like fine wine they get better with age up to a point. Before i started getting into reviewing gear and stuff my Red Reyes lasted about 2.5 years with HEAVY use 5x a week with rounds upon rounds on them.

Now ive got a lot of newer pairs of Reyes which i love, I should be doing a review on the E300s which i got about a month ago, ill log some more rounds in and publish that soon.

 

[ericPorkChop]

yeah man, why would i be WRONG about Reyes?!

I'm sorry I ever doubted the master.

Anyhow grats on the new pair, you will love them as Reyes are like fine wine they get better with age up to a point. Before i started getting into reviewing gear and stuff my Red Reyes lasted about 2.5 years with HEAVY use 5x a week with rounds upon rounds on them.

Thanks. Wow, that's a long time.

I may end up using the Boxeos for bag and Reyes for sparring, but not sure. I often go through droughts of no sparring and I'm not sure I'd wanna limit the gloves to that. When I feel the sparring's productive, then it's a blast. When I'm just getting hurt or having to hurt someone else, I'm just not into it (an actual bout's a different story). I dunno, we'll see.

In all likelihood, I'll probably end up getting 1 pair of Classics, at least one more pair of Cletos, and maybe even another pair of Boxeos before selling a kidney in order to purchase custom Winnings like you got.

 

[ironwolf]

Im going insane here....I want a pair of these BAD....

 

[Minowafanatic]

Good review!

When I feel the sparring's productive, then it's a blast. When I'm just getting hurt or having to hurt someone else, I'm just not into it (an actual bout's a different story). I dunno, we'll see.

Sparring should always be productive! Sounds like something is wrong if you feel that are just trying to hurt each other, although when fighters go for sparring at different clubs that can happen.

 

[JuanB]

In the picture of the part three, the label on the cuff, does it have printed "Manufactured in goatskin and/or head leather"?

 

[ericPorkChop]

Minowafanatic
I've had some very bad luck with sparring partners and (to a lesser extent) coaches.

JuanB
The side facing the camera is in Spanish. The reverse I'm assuming is the same thing in English. It says:

"Made in Mexico by:
Industria Reyes, S.A de C.V.
R.F.C. IRE790302-S39
Manufactured in goatskin
www.cletoreyes.com.mx "

 

[ericPorkChop]

Lord help me, I think I'm going to buy the hybrids in Medium.

 

[StRatoCastR]

You only live once might as well

 

[ericPorkChop]

You only live once might as well

Not if you're Buddhist. :icon_lol:
Ordered 'em anyway.
Will probably break in the 16s for maybe 1 solid month, then relegate them to sparring gloves, while making the Medium Fit Cuffs my workhorse glove.

 

[JuanB]

I am a Reyes lover too, but Why not to try other mexican brands? I don't like Reyes for sparring, the protection for your sparring partner is not good, Last time I used my Reyes 16 oz for sparring i knocked out my sparring partner from a left hook to the liver,since then i use it only for training with NG2 and 200" mexican wraps, lovely combination.

For Sparring now Im using R2C C17 2.0 and I have ordered from Juan a custom set of Classics 16 oz extra padded in the wrist, palm and knuckle, a cheek protector and a cup , I am going to alternate both gloves.

 

[ericPorkChop]

I have a nice pair of Boxeos that I like very much. Some day I might buy some Classics. My experience with Classics a long time ago wasn't very good, but I can tell they have become much better since then.

PS - I don't hit hard at all unless someone's trying to hurt me. In that case, I don't mind causing damage.

 

[JuanB]

I have a nice pair of Boxeos that I like very much. Some day I might buy some Classics. My experience with Classics a long time ago wasn't very good, but I can tell they have become much better since then.

PS - I don't hit hard at all unless someone's trying to hurt me. In that case, I don't mind causing damage.

Sad to hear that you had a bad experience with Classics, Boxeo gloves look really good.
Btw, some guys in my gym spar like they were fighting so i have to use my legs and counter hard to keep them at distance

 

[ericPorkChop]

Sad to hear that you had a bad experience with Classics

Wasn't so bad, but just not worth doing again.
Like I said, they've changed a lot.
The new Classics are worth trying out.
Here is a picture of the old style of classics.

Btw, some guys in my gym spar like they were fighting so i have to use my legs and counter hard to keep them at distance

Unfortunately that's not really an option for me.

 

[ericPorkChop]

Used the 16 ounce Reyes Velcro training gloves today for the first time (have been using the Fit Cuffs exclusively).

Initial thoughts:

-All the hybrid gloves have been spoiling me. The fit around the base of the palm isn't as snug, so the wrist support feels a little lacking. Can make up for it with a good wrap at least a little though. It's really just making me want a pair of the laceups (to use with RSKBreaker's converters) that much more.

-Finger pocket seems significantly shorter than the Fit Cuffs (like maybe 1/3 inch). There's also what is probably some sort of liner seam that you can't see from the outside of the glove. Could be where the padding stops, not sure. When I really slide my right hand all the way in, the seam (or whatever it is) was very noticeable. Stopped noticing it after a while, but by then i think my hand wasn't in there quite as deep. Felt like the leather on the fingertips will probably stretch a bit as they break in so I think this will become a non-issue in the long run.

-HEAVY. These gloves weighed in at 17.5 and 18 ounces, and they feel every bit of it. The Fit Cuffs are smaller than my Boon 12s, but feel heavier than my Boxeo 16s, so I was kind of expecting it. They didn't burn out my shoulders so much as make my upper back cramp up. I had done some lat work (to help me eventually do pullups) this morning after road work, which may have had something to do with it. I didn't think the morning workout would be an issue, coz I'd had 8 hours to recuperate, I didn't feel it in the mean time, and I hadn't really pushed it that hard to begin with. Boy did I feel it during the workout, center of my back like 2 inches below my shoulder blades. By the end, shadowboxing (even without gloves) was agony.

-Much more protective than I thought. These were a lot more protective than the old ones I bought from Ringside back in the day (I'm talking both the 14s and the 16s). They're not as protective as the Fit Cuffs, but I really didn't have any issues. I think even the Boxeos gave me more issues with sore knuckles during the break in than these. If I ever use knuckle guards with these, i think it'll be more of an issue of trying to achieve a snug fit, but I really can't see needing them.



On a side note, this week I'm starting to realize that I think my Boxing days are numbered. I think I'm just a lot more suited to Muay Thai. I'll still use the same gloves, but the emphasis on fists will be different.

 

[ericPorkChop]

Ended up shelving these gloves. The pocket's just a bit too big for me. Between the padding on the wrist being so soft and it being a velcro glove, that I really don't feel much wrist support - way too roomy and too flexible. Not a fan of the latex padding used in these gloves. So soft, I'm able to punch through it pretty easy. I keep them around mainly because the leather's nice & pretty. I break them out about once a year and then remember why I put them away.