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So here’s my review for the Windy TG-5 ‘beige label’ version in 16oz. Which I think this is the newer version of the one here: http://www.ringside.com/ringside/windy-hook-loop-sparring-gloves-9483.html
I used to own a set of the old TG-5 about 3 years ago, but I left them at a gym in Thailand because they were extremely soft and giving me knuckle pain. Anyway, I picked these up off KarateJoes.com for a cool $29.99 and $7.95 shipping. Hiya!
On to the review karate fans. As a preface, I’ve been using these gloves from 3 weeks now for everything; pads, bag, and sparring.
Quality & Craftsmanship:
Construction quality of these gloves is pretty excellent. No errant stitching to be found and everything seems to be solid. Weights were slightly off, with the left weighing 15.0 oz and the right weighing in at 15.5oz. The liner feels nice and is not loose and bunchy, which drives me crazy. I also like the aesthetics of these gloves. The beige trim of the thumb piping, grip bar and palm padding add a nice bit of elegance along with the palm logo.
Material quality is a mixed bag. There is quite a bit of pitting in the leather on these gloves. While the pits are small, and most casual users wouldn’t notice them, they are prevalent and I feel like this is not leather you would see on top of the line gloves. I tried to get a picture of the pitting on the thumb of one of the gloves.
On the positive material side, the Velcro on these really roars! I almost couldn’t get them off the first time I used them. This is a good sign since one of my gym mates has older TG-5s, and he constantly has to refasten his Velcro because it is shot. Judging by the sound, I have faith that the Velcro on my new gloves will last.
Fit & Comfort:
These gloves have a nice snug typical Thai fit, but are not boa constrictor tight like Top King. They fit nicely with or without wraps. Looking at the pics, you can see that these gloves have more curve than my Rajas, and keep your hand in a tighter fist, where the Raja are more of an open hand.
Now, the other day as I was standing in the gym (a hot, humid, basement gym in the southeast US mind you) listening to instruction before drilling technique, I thought “my hands feel kind of hot.” So I looked down and saw that these gloves have no palm venting at all. Huh. I didn’t even notice that initially when I got them. We’ll see how this works out as the summer progresses.
Protection & Performance:
Protection wise, I like these gloves. They definitely seem to have at least a double layer of foam, a softer outer layer and a much denser inner layer. They feel good on the bag and I don’t notice any of the knuckle pain I sometimes get when wailing away on the KO fightgear bags at the gym. I don’t know how they feel on my sparring partners faces, but nobody has complained yet, and perhaps the softer outer layer makes for a nice punch to the face (on the rare occasion I land one). They are definitely not as soft as my Fairtex BGV-5 super sparring gloves though.
These gloves also have really great wrist support. There is no flop factor and the wrist is also very well padded. I tried to capture this in one of the pictures, but I don’t think it worked.
Conclusion:
These are great gloves, especially at the price point of $38 shipped which I paid from karatejoes.com. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better Thai glove at that price. My plan was to use these as my sparring glove to replace my Fairtex BGV-5, but I may end up using them as bag/pad gloves in rotation with my Rajas. I think I will like these as training gloves more, and I rarely take my gloves off on sparring nights so I think the lack of ventilation may be an issue (or I could just bust out the leather punch…anyone done any diy palm venting?).
Score: 8/10
-0.5 pitting in the leather
-1 lack of palm venting
-0.5 off weight (0.5-1oz)
+quality construction
+lion roar velcro
+nice aesthetics
+dual layer padding
+great padded wrist support
+value (if you can get them for $30 like i did)
Thanks for reading. Questions or comments appreciated.
I used to own a set of the old TG-5 about 3 years ago, but I left them at a gym in Thailand because they were extremely soft and giving me knuckle pain. Anyway, I picked these up off KarateJoes.com for a cool $29.99 and $7.95 shipping. Hiya!
On to the review karate fans. As a preface, I’ve been using these gloves from 3 weeks now for everything; pads, bag, and sparring.
Quality & Craftsmanship:
Construction quality of these gloves is pretty excellent. No errant stitching to be found and everything seems to be solid. Weights were slightly off, with the left weighing 15.0 oz and the right weighing in at 15.5oz. The liner feels nice and is not loose and bunchy, which drives me crazy. I also like the aesthetics of these gloves. The beige trim of the thumb piping, grip bar and palm padding add a nice bit of elegance along with the palm logo.
Material quality is a mixed bag. There is quite a bit of pitting in the leather on these gloves. While the pits are small, and most casual users wouldn’t notice them, they are prevalent and I feel like this is not leather you would see on top of the line gloves. I tried to get a picture of the pitting on the thumb of one of the gloves.
On the positive material side, the Velcro on these really roars! I almost couldn’t get them off the first time I used them. This is a good sign since one of my gym mates has older TG-5s, and he constantly has to refasten his Velcro because it is shot. Judging by the sound, I have faith that the Velcro on my new gloves will last.
Fit & Comfort:
These gloves have a nice snug typical Thai fit, but are not boa constrictor tight like Top King. They fit nicely with or without wraps. Looking at the pics, you can see that these gloves have more curve than my Rajas, and keep your hand in a tighter fist, where the Raja are more of an open hand.
Now, the other day as I was standing in the gym (a hot, humid, basement gym in the southeast US mind you) listening to instruction before drilling technique, I thought “my hands feel kind of hot.” So I looked down and saw that these gloves have no palm venting at all. Huh. I didn’t even notice that initially when I got them. We’ll see how this works out as the summer progresses.
Protection & Performance:
Protection wise, I like these gloves. They definitely seem to have at least a double layer of foam, a softer outer layer and a much denser inner layer. They feel good on the bag and I don’t notice any of the knuckle pain I sometimes get when wailing away on the KO fightgear bags at the gym. I don’t know how they feel on my sparring partners faces, but nobody has complained yet, and perhaps the softer outer layer makes for a nice punch to the face (on the rare occasion I land one). They are definitely not as soft as my Fairtex BGV-5 super sparring gloves though.
These gloves also have really great wrist support. There is no flop factor and the wrist is also very well padded. I tried to capture this in one of the pictures, but I don’t think it worked.
Conclusion:
These are great gloves, especially at the price point of $38 shipped which I paid from karatejoes.com. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better Thai glove at that price. My plan was to use these as my sparring glove to replace my Fairtex BGV-5, but I may end up using them as bag/pad gloves in rotation with my Rajas. I think I will like these as training gloves more, and I rarely take my gloves off on sparring nights so I think the lack of ventilation may be an issue (or I could just bust out the leather punch…anyone done any diy palm venting?).
Score: 8/10
-0.5 pitting in the leather
-1 lack of palm venting
-0.5 off weight (0.5-1oz)
+quality construction
+lion roar velcro
+nice aesthetics
+dual layer padding
+great padded wrist support
+value (if you can get them for $30 like i did)
Thanks for reading. Questions or comments appreciated.
haha but nice review mate, seem like great gloves. I have a pair of BGVH 10oz and love them
