My 16 oz Zepols came in earlier today. They are the white ones with the turquoise palm and thumb that you saw a few pages back on page 99.
My initial impressions:
The glove is definitely "smaller" than most 16 oz gloves that I have experience with. I've worn 16 oz Reyes before in the "community tub" at Wild Card, and I think that the Zepols are roughy as small, or even smaller than the Reyes.
When I say "small," I mean that the hand compartment is smaller in width. I own a pair of 16 oz Ringside Safety RP-16 Training Gloves (old 2001 style) and I also own a pair of Pro Boxing Equipment 14 oz Hook and Loop gloves.
http://www.kofightsports.com/catalog/product/gallery/id/521/image/632/
http://proboxingsupplies.com/showim...57.jpg&width=310&height=293&showfullimage=yes
At the knuckle, the 16 oz Zepols are less wide than the 16 oz Ringsides, and they are about as wide (possibly narrower) than the 14 oz Pros.
Between the three gloves, the Zepols have the most dense foam, but also the most springy. They essentially "bounce back" after each punch. However, the foam isn't broken-in yet.
The Zepols have a distinct smell...a really good smell actually! My Ringside RP-16s have a white palm, and the white leather used in those gloves have a bit of a thickness and a grain that are similar to the feel of the upper part of Air Force One Sneakers, and have that smell as well. The Zepol white leather has a much smoother white surface, and a smell that is more reminiscent of real "country" leather. The cuff is longer than typical Ringside/Title 16oz sparring gloves, and the wrist compartment is more narrow.
My initial criticisms would be that the Zepols use a basic lining that doesn't extend all the way up to the fingertips, and that many areas of the glove use a single line of stitching. For example, the stitching near the grip bar and around the piping near the lace-holes is usually double-stitched on other gloves, but single stitched on the Zepols. The gloves do feel incredibly durable, but they're brand new and its too soon to tell. It does feel a bit weird to touch suede and seams in the fingertip area. However, the FIT is very, very comfortable.
I will use the Zepols ONLY for sparring, so I won't know how anything about heavybag durability. You might wonder why I'd use a somewhat dense-foam glove for sparring, and my response is that it isn't any worse than the Sporting Goods Everlast Gloves that my sparring partners always hit me with.
So those are my initial impressions after day one.