Not sure what everyone is using for bag gloves, but since good ones are a $50-$100+ USD "investment" I figure I would share my recent experiences. In the past I found Ringside IMF Tech Bag gloves to be a nice sweet spot between price, quality, and features. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. They used to be made in China, but now all seem to be made in Pakistan. The quality has gone from consistent to crap. I have ordered two new pair. Sent the first back hoping it was a fluke. I am about to send the second pair back. I wouldn't suggest anyone waste their time or money ordering them. What went wrong? -- Screen Print Logos - The logos look literally sloppy. The colors are misaligned and "see through". (You can see it on the 2010 catalog cover!) -- Leather Quality - Dried splotches on the gloves that look like too much paint was applied. -- Left/Right Glove Size (deal breaker) - I expect some differences, but the gloves are literally a half of an inch difference in size! I didn't even get a chance to weigh them. -- Stitching (deal breaker) - The gloves literally look like they were stitched by rookies. I am talking SERIOUSLY bad. - Around the palm opening the stitching is off - The stitching at the front of the glove has "bubbles" like they didn't gather the leather in spots - The hook-n-loop fastner (fuzzy side of Velcro) is literally twice as high up from the cuff on one glove as it is on the other. - Leather looks to be "pulling" exposing string all over at random spots. -- Customer Service - Basically is now crap. Their attitude is just "Oh well just return it." I have returned them twice hoping for "a good batch". Nope. They are ALL horribly made in Pakistan! I know a lot of people box on a budget or expect decent quality for the buck. I do. I just wanted to let you guys know before you wasted your hard earned money on a product that is nowhere near the level that it used to be. Nothing is worse than ordering the same thing and getting a crap version of the product you loved. :bart I say this as a hardcore (former?) Ringside boxing gear fan. Time to look elsewhere.
big disappointment. i was just about to order a pair of them. thanks for the heads up. have you tried the everlast protex 2 or any other gloves in that price range?
Nope. I was "deeply in love" with my IMF Techs and "faithful". :yep I did have a pair of the $89 Pro training gloves from Everlast though. They had rock hard padding and leather. They hurt the hell out of my fingers at the second finger joint. They also stunk like some type of "gasoline/petroleum related" smell. I gave them to a buddy. I am probably going to go with either Title Fighting Sports Pro Punching Bag Gloves (which I hate due to blatant knock offs of other brands) or Grant Campeon super bag gloves. I am leaning toward Grant. I am hearing that Triumph United makes a SWEET glove for the price, Japanese Heetseeker. I would rather get a 100% boxing brand though.
Wow this is a big surprise. I was considering these as my next training gloves since I've read nothing but good things about them on here. Thanks for the review. I'm gonna look into the TU Japanese Heetseekers (another pair that has gotten good reviews).
This crap is killing me too. I swore I wouldn't wear ANY other brand unless I went all out (Winning or Grant Pro). That is just how good my original pairs were. Oh well... Things change. Damn. I am getting the Grant Campeon's (12oz) and something else hopefully in 14-16oz. Title's or Fighting sport's probably. Heard the Heatseekers don't work too well for guys with longer fingers.
i'm trying not to spend much over 120 for a pair of gloves, but protex 3 are on sale on ringside.com and i've heard nothing but good things about them.
I agree. I only want to spend $50 to $100 on bag gloves as they just take a beating and funk up anyway. Used to be the IMF Techs were AMAZING for the price. I would be more likely to spend on sparring gloves. The Everlasts I had were NOT the Protex. Please don't use my experience as a reason why not to get the Protex. It was more of a general comment on the Everlast. If you get them I would like to hear your perspectives.
I actually had a similar experience to this. I ordered a pair of IMF Tech 16oz Sparring Gloves (Lace-up) and I was surprised by the quality of the gloves. I've used Twins & Grants before and the leather on the Ringside gloves seemed thinner and didn't have that leather smell. Also, the printed Ringside logo was missing from the left glove. The other defect I noticed right away was the right glove lace being about 3-4 inches shorter than the left, making it difficult to even wrap the lace around the glove just once. I initially spoke to someone on the phone who told me to send them back (meaning I would have to pay for shipping). Then I spoke to someone through their online system who emailed me a shipping label so that I wouldn't have to pay shipping. I'm waiting for the replacement pair right now. Overall though, the gloves did feel awesome when I put them on. I know a ton of kids who use these for sparring and I've used a pair myself for a couple of rds before so I know they are good gloves. I guess I was just expecting more considering all the great reviews these gloves get.
