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Venum Challenger 2.0 Gloves 16oz Initial Review

Harukaze said:
It's cuz they're Cleto's, regardless of the color -- anyone that would even attempt to mock Cleto's would get shouted down soooo badly haha! :icon_chee

For the record, I personally think that gold gloves look dope, regardless of whether they're Cleto's or Venum's.
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^^ this. I really want those gold Cletos and I really like the gold venums.
 
Yeah speaking of venum give the tribals a shot, very very good gloves.
 
StRatoCastR said:
I had the opposite reaction with my gold Cletos, no haters
but some people did laugh and ask why I don't display them instead of use them.
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Thats because they are Cletos. Respect has already been earned. Venum, on the other hand, not so much.
 
I can confirm the denseness of the padding and the wrist security. I bought this glove too during the sale but I bought the 12oz for sole purpose of mitts and bag
 
Great review. I found this thread by looking into leather vs synthetic boxing gloves. I just bought brand new Bad Boy Pro Series "Leather Sparring Boxing Gloves". All the websites say 100% genuine leather, highest quality leather, etc. I have seen a couple sites though that say PU Leather or Engineered leather. So I feel there may be 2 versions but the ones I bought said" highest quality leather". They showed up today and I can tell they're clearly not genuine leather. The tag on the bag also says leather but nothing on the gloves says leather. I was curious if the Ebay seller swapped them or something. I paid $45. I requested a refund but after reading that yours held up well, and others giving positive responses about synthetics, I am reconsidering because I am trying to cap my spending on $50. There are very few reviews on these. I was considering the Venum 2.0 Challengers but they look too flashy for my taste, atleast for now.
 
SirMezmo said:
Great review. I found this thread by looking into leather vs synthetic boxing gloves. I just bought brand new Bad Boy Pro Series "Leather Sparring Boxing Gloves". All the websites say 100% genuine leather, highest quality leather, etc. I have seen a couple sites though that say PU Leather or Engineered leather. So I feel there may be 2 versions but the ones I bought said" highest quality leather". They showed up today and I can tell they're clearly not genuine leather. The tag on the bag also says leather but nothing on the gloves says leather. I was curious if the Ebay seller swapped them or something. I paid $45. I requested a refund but after reading that yours held up well, and others giving positive responses about synthetics, I am reconsidering because I am trying to cap my spending on $50. There are very few reviews on these. I was considering the Venum 2.0 Challengers but they look too flashy for my taste, atleast for now.
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Do they smell like leather? :icon_chee
Sounds like I'm being sarcastic, but no, leather gloves do smell like, well, nice leather!
 
SirMezmo said:
Great review. I found this thread by looking into leather vs synthetic boxing gloves. I just bought brand new Bad Boy Pro Series "Leather Sparring Boxing Gloves". All the websites say 100% genuine leather, highest quality leather, etc. I have seen a couple sites though that say PU Leather or Engineered leather. So I feel there may be 2 versions but the ones I bought said" highest quality leather". They showed up today and I can tell they're clearly not genuine leather. The tag on the bag also says leather but nothing on the gloves says leather. I was curious if the Ebay seller swapped them or something. I paid $45. I requested a refund but after reading that yours held up well, and others giving positive responses about synthetics, I am reconsidering because I am trying to cap my spending on $50. There are very few reviews on these. I was considering the Venum 2.0 Challengers but they look too flashy for my taste, atleast for now.
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Yup....my Bad Boy Pro Series said leather as well on the site I bought them from. Ended up being PU.....but I love the gloves. They have been through hell and high water and are still going strong. Give them a chance....I dont think they will disappoint.
 
TS, how do you are a bad boy Pro Series compare to your venum 2.0 challengers? which would you give a better recommendation for? anyone else who has experienced both gloves, I would love to hear your responses as well.
 
Synthetic doesn't necessarily mean its low quality. On top of that bad boy has been around for a long time in the motocross scene so they prolly have a decent handle on equipment that protects you from injury. Of course this all depends on their commitment to their MMA lines.
 
SirMezmo said:
TS, how do you are a bad boy Pro Series compare to your venum 2.0 challengers? which would you give a better recommendation for? anyone else who has experienced both gloves, I would love to hear your responses as well.
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I have had the Bad Boy's longer so more time has been spent abusing them trying to get them to fail......and they havent. The Venum's are too new to me to make an accurate comparison. I love both. But if I had to buy again.......it would be Bad Boy as of right now. That could change. The Bad Boys could fall apart tomorrow and the Venums could last for the next few years.

Here is a little side by side comparison pic:
 
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taskmaster99 said:
i have had the bad boy's longer so more time has been spent abusing them trying to get them to fail......and they havent. The venum's are too new to me to make an accurate comparison. I love both. But if i had to buy again.......it would be bad boy as of right now. That could change. The bad boys could fall apart tomorrow and the venums could last for the next few years.

Here is a little side by side comparison pic:
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bro down!!!!
 
Just a little follow-up on Task's review: I had the chance to try out Venum's Challenger 2.0, Giant, and Tribal, and I hate to say it, but I didn't like any of the gloves.

The Challenger I tried has lots of bunches on the PU skin and just felt as stiff and dense as a brick. The Giant and the Tribal had a ridiculously huge palm pad that made the gloves very tight and stiff, and the curve of the finger compartment felt unnatural to me, as if it wasn't in sync with the curve of the grip bar. Also, they both felt dense as hell, but at least the leather was tight yet supple. I also disliked the elastic + hook and loop combo; I feel like they kind of cheaped out since the elastic didn't get me any tighter a wrap around my wrist than a standard hook and loop. I also hate mesh palms with a vengeance LOL. In terms of fit, they were also very "long" gloves, kind of like the Top Kings.

Overall, the gloves would be terrible for clinch-oriented fighters due to their stiffness and excessive palm padding. Interestingly enough though, the cozy hand compartment and all the dense padding surrounding it gave the Venum Giant and Tribal a bit of a Hayabusa-esque feel! It's just that Hayabusa's are a lot more pliable and have a weirder thumb LOL. It's like Venum's are the crack baby of Top King and Hayabusa LOL.

For me, I'll stick with Fairtex and Twins thank you very much. I guess it makes sense considering I'm a Muay Thai guy through-and-through haha. I like how they strike a balance between the ability to make a tight fist while being easy enough to open up to clinch effectively. I also like how the palm padding is "just right" so that you can catch kicks with confidence but still have a good sense of feel in the clinch. Maybe I'm just not a bomber when it comes to punches, but I also feel that both the Fairtex and Twins offer more than adequate wrist and first support (especially with a good wrap job inside).

My 2 cents, sorry to derail the thread a bit. :D
 
Harukaze said:
Just a little follow-up on Task's review: I had the chance to try out Venum's Challenger 2.0, Giant, and Tribal, and I hate to say it, but I didn't like any of the gloves.

The Challenger I tried has lots of bunches on the PU skin and just felt as stiff and dense as a brick. The Giant and the Tribal had a ridiculously huge palm pad that made the gloves very tight and stiff, and the curve of the finger compartment felt unnatural to me, as if it wasn't in sync with the curve of the grip bar. Also, they both felt dense as hell, but at least the leather was tight yet supple. I also disliked the elastic + hook and loop combo; I feel like they kind of cheaped out since the elastic didn't get me any tighter a wrap around my wrist than a standard hook and loop. I also hate mesh palms with a vengeance LOL. In terms of fit, they were also very "long" gloves, kind of like the Top Kings.

Overall, the gloves would be terrible for clinch-oriented fighters due to their stiffness and excessive palm padding. Interestingly enough though, the cozy hand compartment and all the dense padding surrounding it gave the Venum Giant and Tribal a bit of a Hayabusa-esque feel! It's just that Hayabusa's are a lot more pliable and have a weirder thumb LOL. It's like Venum's are the crack baby of Top King and Hayabusa LOL.

For me, I'll stick with Fairtex and Twins thank you very much. I guess it makes sense considering I'm a Muay Thai guy through-and-through haha. I like how they strike a balance between the ability to make a tight fist while being easy enough to open up to clinch effectively. I also like how the palm padding is "just right" so that you can catch kicks with confidence but still have a good sense of feel in the clinch. Maybe I'm just not a bomber when it comes to punches, but I also feel that both the Fairtex and Twins offer more than adequate wrist and first support (especially with a good wrap job inside).

My 2 cents, sorry to derail the thread a bit. :D
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No need to apologize. I appreciate reading another opinion from someone who has tried these!!!
 
Update: I let a good friend of mine borrow these. He trains hard and has put them through the ringer for about 2 weeks. Came back to me still in excellent shape. Stitching still solid.......padding still brick hard....lol. The synthetic material is still looking great!!!
 
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