After using the gym’s gloves for my first couple of classes, I knew I was going to have to buy my own as soon as possible. It’s the first thing I recommend to people other than buying handwraps.
Before buying anything I tend to read as much as possible on the subject and I spent hours and hours debating what my first boxing gloves would be. I‘ve written this article to hopefully spare you some time digging online for more information on these gloves.
First things first, you have to choose what size of gloves you want to train with. I do a lot of muay thai and boxing and I would say 80% of the time I’m hitting thai pads / focus mitts and 20% of the time I am working the heavy bag. I personally bought 14oz Fairtex BGV1’s but they actually weighed almost exactly 16oz each.
There’s a lot of different opinions online about what weight of gloves your training gloves should be but it all depends on hand size, weight, type of training and most of all your personal preference.
I now have 10 oz Cleto Reyes that I use for light bag work and all of my padwork and I absolute love them. The Cleto’s (which I’ll be reviewing next) are sublime but if you have large hands you’ll never be able to fit them in the 10 ounce or small size Cleto Reyes Hybrids.
I recommend trying different weights and choosing what to buy accordinly. Important note : If you’re only going to be able to afford one set of gloves and you intend on sparring; buy 16oz gloves and you’re good to go.
For me, I think having a nice light pair (10 ounces) and a heavy pair for sparring (16 ounces) would be perfect.
Now onto the actual review of the Fairtex BGV1’s…
Quality
First things first, these gloves are beautiful…I had never owned a pair of boxing gloves but had checked out tons in person and online and these were definitely some of the nicest of the bunch.
The build quality is excellent and there’s actually no double stitching whatsoever and not a single thread out of place that I’ve seen. The leather is beautiful and I have nothing but positive things to say about the finish of these gloves.
Score : 10/10
Performance
As far as fit goes, I have mixed feelings about the BGV1’s. I found the hand compartment to be way too big but I also have relatively small hands. If you have large hands and use long hand wraps you would most likely find the fit to be just fine. Because of the large hand compartment, I never felt like my knuckles were in the correct position. I found that my knuckles were too far back and too high up and I actually think this led to me eventually having a knuckle injury.
Of all the gloves I’ve used so far, the hook and loop that the BGV1’s have are the best. My Cleto Reyes Hybrids are worth $100 CAD more and the hook and loop and velcro is nowhere near as strong or high end as the one on my BGV1’s.
The protection on these gloves is very different than on most boxing gloves because they are a Muay Thai glove. Muay thai gloves have more padding on the top hand of the glove and also on the sides in order to protect from kicks. This means that a Muay Thai glove can weigh as much as a boxing glove but the padding is more spread throughout whereas a boxing glove has padding focused primarily at the front of the glove.
These gloves are very stiff… after weeks of using them, I still found them to be very hard. They did eventually soften up but I had a lot of hand and knuckle pain throughout the use of these gloves. I don’t believe that there is a lack of padding in the knuckle area, I just think that the padding used is too dense. Compared to my Cleto Reyes with 6oz less padding, the Cleto’s feel like pillows and the Cleto’s are considered to be “Puncher’s Gloves”.
The lack of grip bar in the glove did not bother me when I first bought these gloves. The lack of grip bar was not an issue because I hadn’t used many other gloves and didn’t realize how much I love having a grip bar. Some people find the lack of a grip bar as a positive so I will chalk this one up as personal preference and not as a negative.
Score : 6/10
Value
I have a really hard time judging the value of these gloves. The gloves were purchased for $120 CAD and the build quality is worth every penny but I just don’t feel that the performance of the gloves justifies the price.
After paying $220 CAD for Cleto Reyes Hybrids and using them for a couple of weeks, I can truly say they are 10 out of 10 for build quality and performance and the price is justified.
It’s hard to say that the BGV1’s are a great value from my experience because the hand compartment was so large and the padding was so dense that I had to move onto a new set of gloves. I also believe that someone with larger hands that likes a harder glove may find these to be perfect. It all boils down to to personal preference and for me, spending the extra $100 CAD was worth it for the Cleto Reyes Hybrids.
Score : 6/10
Pros + Cons
Pros :
- Build Quality is phenomenal
- Padding on the top of the hand and wrist is great
- Aesthetically the best looking gloves out of Thailand
- Lack of grip bar
Cons :
- Large hand compartment (if you have smaller hands)
- Dense padding in the knuckled area
- On the higher end price-wise
- Lack of grip bar
Verdict
I think to some people, these gloves could be the perfect boxing / muay thai glove. I think the important thing when buying BGV1’s is that you try them on first. People who have always used gloves with grip bars may love/hate the lack of one in the BGV1’s. Some may find the padding to be too dense and some may not. Smaller individuals with small hands may find them to have too much room in the hand compartment and others may enjoy the extra room.
Overall Score : 7/10
