Damn Strat, that glove review was on point. I was as just going off the top of my head, so I didn't remember the exact score of even that it was you that reviewed them. Definitely wasn't a call out in any way brother. Do you consider them Thai style? They look like boxing gloves to me in shape and design, but the thumb attachment is like a Thai glove. However, I heard some Rival gloves have the same style attachment. Definitely want to hear what style you think these gloves are designed for.
Man, the headgear is where we are really on opposite ends. I agree that the padding was/is a bit dense, but I've found that for really hard sparring the dense foam keeps me less rattled. The cheeks work for me because I haven't had a busted nose and I'm referring to the Storm Trooper headgear, which supposedly has even worse nose protection. Apparently the Death Stars added slightly more padding to the forehead and cheeks. Did you get a good amount of rounds in? Cause I really think this headgear (storm trooper) got better over time, but I'm talking a good 50-100 rounds. My Adidas headgear, which I absolutely love, is going on 2-3 months of use and is just starting to feel perfect, so it might have taken some real love. I can see, since you have so much better quality headgear, just kinda getting tired of breaking the DS in and moving on. Our version is community gear, so it broke in nicely because of a collective effort of everyone using is back to back. That headgear, sometimes, gets over 10-12 rounds a day. That's some serious use.
Strat, can I get some opinions on the RS1 vs RS11v. Even if you've never used em, tell me what you see with that expert vision. I got somebody to lace me up, but having HnL is always easier. The RS1 looks friendlier to spar with too. Don't even factor price into the equation, just performance. Would really appreciate your opinion on this brother