Fairtex BGV5 Review

StRatoCastR

Gear Tester/Reviewer
@Brown
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Let me just say, I don't even know where to start... I've been hesitant about posting this review as I know it will result in backlash. But I try to make reviews as accurate as I feel is possible in my own eyes. If you are a fan of Fairtex, I suggest you stop reading you now as this review will more than likely piss you off.

So I reviewed the BGV1s, I felt initially they were a better glove but in the end they came in at a B-. Still a good glove but I just felt Fairtex gets a lot of passes. It had some issues that I felt couldn't be overlooked from being stiff and unforgiving, to the lack of a grip bar. I felt the quality was great though, somewhere along the line though the Sherdog myth is the quality of materials were on par with Reyes, sadly they are not even in throwing distance.

So what does this all mean? It means I wanted a better Fairtex glove and people said I would enjoy Fairtex had I given another model a shot, so here I am, rolling into the BGV5 review.

The Review:

The Materials: I felt these were better and even side by side with my BGV1s the 5s looked better, and felt better. Again though Fairtex's leather is pretty far from Reyes quality leather, or Winning, Beaulieu, or some of the "other" Mexican brands out there. I mean its great leather don't get me wrong but it is no where on par with those companies. Id say if you were comparing vs the generic Everlast or Title yes Fairtex is quite better.

The padding: It is god awful... Around here another myth is Reyes is a puncher's glove and you can break your hands and mess up your hands. I've used them for YEARS and YEARS with NO issue. BOTH the BGV1 and 5 aggravated my hands and wrist (we will get into that later) that I had to strictly use my Winnings and my Ring to Cage customs for over a week while my hands slowly healed. I was not about to take time off. These are supposed to be sparring gloves, so my sole intent was to use them for sparring. So I logged in three rounds by the end of the 2nd my knuckles were throbbing, BOTH of my wrists were throbbing. These gloves have absolutely no shock absorbing value. While they didn't damage my sparring partner the shock absorbing value of these gloves were about as good as 20 dollar Everlasts. I gave the gloves the benefit of the doubt, halted the timer and rewrapped. I landed a straight right on my sparring partner and it felt if lightning struck my hand and went almost to the elbow. The padding in these gloves are complete shit and overhyped.

Ive been threw a PLETHRA of brands, title S2 & gels, ringside, Ring to cage, Beaulieu, Winning, Boxeo, Reyes, Classics, Zepol, Windy, Triumph United, Hayabusa, and theres more.

And this is coming from the guy that USES Reyes on the bag! The padding the BGV5 IS garbage. I shouldn't NEED to use Gel Knuckle guards so gloves are usable!

And I know that someone will come up and say but Strat, you never tried Thai gloves extensively. I tried Windy, and in almost every regard OTHER than the leather they are superior (Windy Proline)! Hayabusa (MMA) isn't a boxer's glove either and my rating of those were ranked one of the best!

Skip Fairtex, its overhyped especially for the price you pay. Even against Ring to Cage pound for pound the Deluxe MiMs are LEAGUES above the padding of Fairtex both BGV1 and BGV5, I wont even try the BGV9 now because of the padding issues with Fairtex.

The Feel: I wont cover the way the padding feels as I've discussed that the in paragraph above. The feel without punching is great, you can make a solid fist, the thumb is much more comfortable than in the BGV1. I was not a fan of the wrist half closure, I prefer the full 360 for more support. The gloves were easy to manipulate I felt.

The Leather: Again, No where near Reyes, though it is good quality, I feel this needs to be stressed because the word on the street is, it is on Reyes level. I assure you it is NOT.

The look: The look is sleek, its mostly smooth, the leather on the backhand wrinkles up rather easily it is not tight like the gloves I am used to. The thumb look is like something Ive never seen before. Its massive and its huge, but it doesn't bother me, its just different. The black is a super nice glossy black. If the review was based on looks alone, this glove would rank high. But this review encompasses more than just looks.

The Liner: I only put about 5 rounds in, 3 rounds of sparring, 2 rounds of light bag work. The liner seemed to work out pretty good, but someone would have to test this for more than 5 rounds.

The Wrist: It was okay at best, I felt the BGV1s were far superior in this regard. The 5s left me with the feeling of "Meh, its alright"

The Weight: Like before the Fairtex's run heavy at 17.1 oz per glove. But its always better being heavier than lighter especially when it comes to sparring. That's just my opinion though.

Overall: I don't know how you can justify buying and KEEPING these gloves unless you are a die hard Fairtex fan. A lot of areas to me are subpar and the padding is not suitable for sparring and forget bag work. They sport a 70 dollar price tag from Muay Thai fighting but shipping costs will bring the glove into the 90-99 dollar range. I think for that price range these gloves fail. There are so many better options out there. Again, if you like Fairtex, then these may be the gloves for you. Otherwise, move along and get something else. If you HAVE to get Fairtex I would suggest getting the BGV1s over these. The padding seriously brings the glove down to the barely usable category.

Other Thoughts: Now I know what you guys mean when you say a glove does not absorb shock. It literally felt like having an aluminum bat and taking a swing at a tree or something stupid. I could feel every shot that I landed both in my knuckles and my wrist, and this was in SPARRING! Now when someone says OMFG you use Reyes on a bag? I'm going to say Dude if you think that's nuts, I used Fairtex PERIOD!

Score 69% / D+

For those that do not like to read (
 
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I really want Minow to read this, Im curious on his thoughts. His big thing is wrist support so Im anxious to see if hes tried these before.
 
Also dislike the padding in the BGV1s, and with the BGL7s/BGV9s. Disagree that it is a myth that Reyes is a puncher's glove -- sparring in 16oz, I can definitely feel my knuckles piercing through the padding which led to sore knuckles. Reyes padding absorbs shock well but it's just your knuckles go through the foam too easily to be protective. That won't happen in Fairtex, but Fairtex won't absorb any shock, at least not in the BGV1s or BGL7s/BGV9s. Never tried BGV5s.

The Fairtex is very well made though, so I think some people are fine with them as they'll last a long time, though won't necessarily be protective. Different strokes for different folks, and they're a great buy for some just as Reyes are, but not for everyone. From Thai brands, I like the Twins padding the most. I like that of Top King's, too, both often described as "pillowy".
 
That's reassuring, I tried Windy Pro-line and I felt they were a GREAT glove in general. The padding was very absorbing, the craftsmanship was up there, the leather was pretty good.

Yeah I have Boons on the way making it my 3rd Thai Brand but my 4th thai glove. So Im curious to see how that one turns out.
 
Did your Prolines have that really hard outer shell like they do in 16oz? Not sure how I'd describe it, especially with not having it in front of me. The Prolines and BGV5 are pretty much Western style boxing gloves, same as the Boon, from how I look at it.
 
So what youre saying is that's why I like em hehehe

Hard leather shell or you talking about when you slip your hand in the hand compartment its hard? No not quite but the wrist is THE most rigid wrist ever, it is literally impossible to bend it (all good).
 
The leather's not hard, it's something interior, not sure how to explain it and am just going off of memory. If yours were the same I think you'd know what I was referring to. If you tried to squeeze/squish the glove, you wouldn't be able to and would feel what I'm talking about. The same as in a 16oz pair of Kings we have at the gym.
 
Ok Minow, I just put on the Windy glove, the knuckle area is free of the rigidness you are talking about, the backhand is very rigid, but you can make a full on fist no problem.
 
Agree they are complete garbage. Will never bother with Fairtex again.
 
Well, I heard the 9s are worth it. Just don't know if I want to go down that road again of trying, ill probably trade for a pair.
 
Well, I heard the 9s are worth it. Just don't know if I want to go down that road again of trying, ill probably trade for a pair.

Most people I know who wear fairtex gloves love to feet their knuckles on the pads. The 9's will do this, even from the start and get "better" with each use.

I remember you saying you do not do MT? In MT most pad holders SLAM the thai pad against each punch and kick, elbow, knee. They do not really like ultra protective foam, just a well fitting, quality made glove. Hell, lots of thai wear 6oz bag gloves with no wrist support for nearly everything.

 
I guess I don't understand the analogy Santa, Reyes allow that of a Punchers glove but with SHOCK absorption. its one thing to get great feedback its another to just wear a glove. I mean I might as well trained wraps only no glove.

Again everyone thinks the oz size is protectiveness its not.. I could wear a 8oz winning and undoubtedly have more protectiveness than the BGV5 at any given weight.
 
I would get golden gear over fairtex. Hand made in Thailand, Dan's awesome, gear is top notch
 
Hey Strat, I'm glad you wrote this review. Honestly, I never understood the hype behind Fairtex. I started Muay Thai as a Windy guy and could never understand why everyone raved about Fairtex like they were really that much better. I honestly believe it's in part due to the Chivas Regal effect: You take a product that really isn't much different in quality from its counterparts (Windy & Twins in this case), raise the price and people naturally assume they're getting a superior product. Grant has taken this concept to the extreme and many people still buy into the hype (admittedly, I may be one of those people).

Where did you get your Windy Pro lines?
 
Hey Strat, I'm glad you wrote this review. Honestly, I never understood the hype behind Fairtex. I started Muay Thai as a Windy guy and could never understand why everyone raved about Fairtex like they were really that much better. I honestly believe it's in part due to the Chivas Regal effect: You take a product that really isn't much different in quality from its counterparts (Windy & Twins in this case), raise the price and people naturally assume they're getting a superior product. Grant has taken this concept to the extreme and many people still buy into the hype (admittedly, I may be one of those people).

Where did you get your Windy Pro lines?

Hell im a fairtex fan and I think the BGV-5 sucks. I dont really think fairtex is better than windy or twins, just what fits you the best. I also see windy gloves which cost as much as fairtex on a regular basis. I pay about 75 bucks for a pair of fairtex but I see windy for around 100 bucks most places.
 
I got a set of BGV9s Iron, so lets find out!

Also yeah so far Windy Proline have been my favorite Thai glove so far. I sent you a PM sutten
 
I got a set of BGV9s Iron, so lets find out!

Also yeah so far Windy Proline have been my favorite Thai glove so far. I sent you a PM sutten

I think youll like them better than other fairtex models, my 9s are REALLY much nicer than a 1 (and I personally like the 1). The leather and construction is defiantly higher quality. I think you will agree when you get yours.
 
For me, I can be fine with most thai gloves, be it Boons, Fairtex (with exception of the bgv-9 but thats not really a "thai" glove) or Windy, they all feel about the same to me with subtle differences. The only Thai gloves I really just dont like for training are Twins, they are just too big and bulky for my liking and the wrist support dosent suit me very well. Not that they arent a great glove, just not my cup of tea. As far as Top King, I really like their lace up 10oz gloves but Im not a fan of their training gloves. I usually just end up with more Fairtex stuff because its easiest for me to get.

All these brands have things that some people love and some people hate. Windy makes a good glove, I think their shin guards blow, same with boon, fairtex headgear sort of sucks IMO (even though I use it). Reyes is awesome, I wouldnt be caught dead in their MMA gloves.
 
What is the padding like on the Top King lace-up 10oz gloves? Quite soft?
 
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