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Welcome to Pooch's Vale Tudo Glove Road Test - a comparative review
of a load of major brands of Vale Tudo Gloves tested hard and back to back. The
gloves were tested in grappling, sparring and pad work. Pooch has lived with these
gloves for months and in some cases, years, so has been able to take a long term
assessment of each pair. Updateded
28 February 2004.
Gloves reviewed: Boxergenics, Kikskin, Harbinger, Ouano, RINGS Holland, M.A.R.,
Ronin & Viper.
Boxergenics 
The
original glove used by Extreme Fighting and the UFC. The Boxergenic glove is probably
the most used glove in MMA and itÕs easy to see why. The
gloves are made of Neoprene with padded leather attached. The glove has an open
palm design with four neoprene "loop" straps that secure the fingers. The thumb
is left completely open, the glove is strapped around the thumb using a thin piece
of leather (around 7mm). The
padding for this glove starts at about two inches back from the knuckles and coverÕs
the back of the hand up to just before the second finger joint. All the finger
padding is separate to each finger to allow the fingers to have complete freedom,
I call this design "Splayed". The glove
has a Velcro wrist wrap with a unique neoprene cover. Pros:
These gloves are great for grappling, they are small enough to allow for most
standard grips and do not get in the way when attempting submissions. The
Boxergenic was the first glove to adopt a unique wrist wrap cover, this is a neoprene
piece of material that is attached to the glove just above the wrist, this is
then pulled down to cover the Velcro fastening to help prevent the glove from
coming undone. These gloves can be bought
in a number of sizes from M-XL. Cons:
This glove does not have a lot of padding, which are fine for competition but
not that good for full contact sparring. I
did have some trouble with my fingers coming out of the neoprene loops during
training. The longevity of these gloves is questionable, these gloves do start
to fray around the ends of the fingers after about six training sessions. Overall:
A good solid glove that has led the way in its field for a long time. I feel that
the glove could use a bit more extra padding especially with the new athletic
commission laws coming into play. Note:
These gloves were THE glove of it's time but now due to the rapid evolution of
the sport the gloves no longer hold there own in a market that continues to improve
on the quality of its products. -
Design:
7/10 -
Quality:
7/10 -
Value
for money: 7/10 -
Overall:
7/10
8oz
Kikskin - prototypes tested.
 Kikskin
make the official glove of the IFC. Kikskin
have used the design as the Boxergenic glove but instead of using leather coated
padding on a neoprene glove Kikskin have decided to make their whole glove out
of a tough, durable nubuck leather which will appeal to those who like their gloves
to last. The glove has the same open
palm design, the same finger loop fastening’s and the same open thumb strap
as the Boxergenic but the neoprene has been replaced with nubuck leather. When
you first try on these gloves they do feel quite bulky and a little uncomfortable,
however once you have worn them in you will find that they are very comfortable
and are a great fit. The padding is the
same splayed design as the Boxergenic and the wrist wrap is the same design also
so you won’t have any problem with them coming undone during training. Pros:
The glove comes in four sizes, S - XL and two weights, 8 oz and 10 oz, this is
due to the California Athletic Commission who require a MMA glove to be at least
10 oz’s. I also prefer the 10 oz glove, the extra padding makes sparring
a little less bloody. These gloves are
also very hard wearing, I have used these gloves a lot and they still look as
good as new. Cons: If I had to pick a
fault with this glove it would have to be with the excessive use of leather around
the pinkie finger loop, there seems to be twice as much leather on the little
finger then on the others, it does feel a little uncomfortable. Make sure you
buy the right sized glove, I tried on a large pair and it felt like I had a shoe
box on the end of my hand. Overall:
The Kikskin gloves are expensive but I definitely feel that you get what you pay
for. The glove is well padded and incredibly durable, I would definitely recommend
these gloves to anyone who want’s a tough long lasting glove that they will
not have to replace for a very long time. I
have been informed that Kikskin have modified their gloves since I obtained my
pair.* Apparently they have made the
leather softer and have taken some of the excess leather off the pinkie finger
loop. If this information is correct I think Mr. Kikskin may have a potential
winner on his hands. A great alternative to the Boxergenic. -
Design: 7/10 -
Quality: 9/10 -
Value for money: 8/10 -
Overall: 8/10 You
can buy the Kikskin gloves at www.kikskin.com
or you can e-mail Scott at MrKikskin@aol.com
Gloves cost $59.95.
*Note: The gloves tested were early Kikskin prototypes. The
full production gloves are made from softer materials.
Harbinger
Wrist Wrap Gloves 
These
are nice gloves. Originally designed as bag gloves the Harbingers have now been
used in events such as WEF, many people involved in MMA swear by these gloves. The
Harbinger glove is cut to form a fist and is made completely out of leather that
covers most of the hand from your wrist right up to the last joint on your fingers.
Although this glove is really a closed (covered) palm design you really don’t
notice because the gloves fit that well. The
glove has three sections of padding separated out over a splayed finger design.
The first section is placed just above the wrist. The second section covers the
knuckles and the first finger joints (similar to Boxergenics) and the third section,
or should I say sections, is placed between the first joint and the second joint
of the fingers, the thumb is left completely unpadded. The padding on these gloves
is slightly thicker then that of the Boxergenics. The
glove is fastened with an extensive wrist wrap, which wraps around the bottom
of the hand and twice around the wrist, this helps to support the wrist while
punching. Pros:
This glove is incredibly comfortable. All standard grips and holds can be used
while wearing this glove. The padding is well balanced and the wrist wrap helps
to prevent injury. The Harbingers are well made and last very well, these gloves
have been used a lot and show no signs of fraying. These
gloves come in a number of sizes from S-XL and you can even get them in women’s
sizes. Cons: When
you buy these gloves they come with a padded bar which is attached across the
palm of the hand, this bar needs to be removed by un-picking the stitching around
it, this will allow the glove to perform better when grappling. After
training for a while in these gloves you will notice that the palm becomes slippey
due to it being covered in leather, I had to keep wiping the palms on to my shorts
to regain good traction. Due to the extensive wrist wrap design it can become
a pain in the arse when the Velcro fastening comes undone. There
are a lot of Harbinger copies on the market at the moment and yes they are different,
to avoid disappointment make sure they have the Harbinger logo on them. Overall
: An excellent
glove with only a few minor flaws. As these gloves were originally designed to
be used on the heavy bag it surprised me how well they adapted to MMA use. Harbinger
is onto a winner here and I feel that they should think about modifying their
standard glove. By removing the padded bar themselves and maybe introducing some
form of cover for their Velcro wrist wrap I feel Harbinger would have an unbeatable
glove. Note:
Harbingers were excellent several years ago and were the preferred glove of most
MMA'ers. However in the past couple of years many company's have used the Harb's
design and modified significant areas of the glove to make a far superior product.
A champ in it's day but now it's time to move over for the newcomers.
-
Design:
7/10 -
Quality:
9/10 -
Value
for money: 8/10 -
Overall:
8/10 You
can buy Harbinger gloves online from www.fcfighter.com
Gloves cost $44.95 Or
you can buy them online in the UK at www.mlsports.co.uk
Gloves cost £39.99
Ouano's 
Ouano
supply the new official gloves used in Zuffa’s UFC. Unfortunately
the gloves that I’m reviewing are Ouano’s original gloves and not the
new re-designed UFC glove. The designers
at Ouano seem to have wanted to incorporated several key ideas from the Boxergenic
and Harbinger glove’s and have tried to bring some of the better ideas together
into one glove but have they succeeded in making a winner? The
Ouano glove has the same splayed style padding as the Boxergenic glove although
I feel that the padding on the Ouano is not as thick and instead of finger loops
it has been placed on a pure leather closed palm style glove as the Harbinger. Ouano
have also gone for a similarly designed wrist wrap as the Harbinger, unfortunately
this wrist wrap is not as practical as the Harbinger and I feel that it does not
suit this glove. The actual glove is a good fit and and sticks to the hand well,
the problem with the wrist wrap is that it's the complete opposite to the rest
of the glove, it's bulky, it's baggy and it's very uncomfortable, It just doesnt
go with the rest of the glove and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Pros:
The Ouano glove is very well made and very sturdy and will definitely last a long
time. The glove comes in all sizes from S-XL and is reasonably priced. Cons:
Although Ouano have tried to copy the Harbinger style wrist wrap I feel that it
is far inferior. it’s bulky and leaves a lot of free space around the wrist,
you will have to tape these gloves around the wrist if you want to have a good
sparring session. Due to the bulkiness caused by the wrist wrap (see photo), It
feels like you are wearing a gauntlet rather then a glove. It is also quite hard
to maintain any kind of grip during grappling, you will have to rely on finger
grips rather then palm grips. Due to
the thin padding you may want to go careful during sparring sessions with friends,
that is if you want to keep them as friends. Overall
: The Ouano glove is an extremely tough and long lasting glove and
has a fair cost to accompany it, they are not cheap but they also won't cost you
a arm and a leg. The trouble is that
they feel too bulky and are uncomfortable to wear, this makes them pretty unpractical
for MMA use. Save your pennies and go for one of the better gloves.
-
Design: 6/10 -
Quality: 7/10 -
Value for money: 6/10 -
Overall: 6/10 You
can buy the Ouano gloves online at www.ouano.com
Gloves cost $35.00 not including shipping. If
you live in the UK e-mail Mike Lee at likemee@netscape.net
He will probably be able to sell you a pair at around £30. Note by SFUK, Mike
also stocks the excellent Ouano Gi's, vale tudo shorts and the official UFC glove
@ £50.
Ouano
Official UFC gloves 
Now
this is more like it. The Ouano official UFC glove
is on a much higher level then it’s poor inferior brother. Ouano
have gone back to the drawing board with this baby and managed to take the best
aspects of the Harbinger and Boxergenic and even added their own touch of magic. Ouano
have stayed with their initial closed palm design but have changed some key aspects.
Firstly Ouano have removed the leather that supported the thumb, now making it
open like the Boxergenic, they have also cut a hole in the palm area which will
help prevent slippery grip. This is something that was a problem with the Harbinger
glove, this gives the glove a unique semi open design. Ouano
have also redesigned the wrist wrap for their new glove. The padding on the back
of the hand has now been removed to allow the wrist wrap to lie more comfortable
next to the wrist, (Some fighters prefer this padding and some do not its all
down to your own preference.) The new wrist wrap is a little slimmer then the
old one, although this is an improvement I still felt that the wrist wrap was
a little uncomfortable, you will still need to tape these for long grappling sessions
as the wrist wrap does have a tendency of coming undone. The
padding on the glove is a little on the thin side very similar to that of the
old Ouano glove. The glove only weighs in at 4 oz’s so you can see that it’s
a "Hardcore Glove" meaning that you are not going to like being hit
with these babies. The leather that the glove is made out of is very good, it
breaks in quickly and lasts for a long time it’s also very soft and comfortable
to wear. Pros: The glove is comfortable and light.
The leather breaks in very quickly and will last for some while. The gloves come
in four sizes from S-XL and come in two colours, Black = UFC, Yellow = King of
the Cage. Cons: The wrist wrap is still a little uncomfortable
and the padding is on the thin side, you will look like John Mericks long lost
brother after training with these, just look at the guys in the UFC :o) Overall
: A huge improvement on Ouano’s original glove. The
glove is comfortable and hardwearing and not as expensive as people think. This
Glove is the official glove of both the UFC and King of the Cage, which I think
speaks for itself, these guys are not going to endorse a shabby product. The padding
does not make these the best gloves for training with but as competion gloves
go, you will be hard pressed to find a better glove than this.
Design: 8/10 Quality:
9/10 Value for money: 8/10 Overall:
8.5/10 You can buy these gloves online
at www.Ouano.com
the website has all the information you require including a sizing chart. Gloves
cost $60, which isn’t that much for an official UFC licensed Product.
You could also check out www.ufc.tv
or www.kingofthecage.com
see also
SFUK's first impressions
RINGS
Holland 
These
use to be the official glove used by Ring’s Holland, I’m not sure if
they still use them though. This is essentially
a modified version of the original Ronin glove. The
glove has the same leather coated padding as the Ronin but this is now situated
on top of leather closed palm glove similar to that of the Quality glove. Ronin
have also done away with the padded thumb section, this allows for a better movement
of the hand and also cuts down on the bulkiness of the previous glove. Ronin
have also done away with the lace up style wrist fastening system and have now
gone with the basic style Velcro wrist wrap. Pros:
This glove has the same pros as the standard Ronin glove. It is excellent for
both bag work and sparring, striking practice is excellent while wearing this
glove. The new design is less bulky and
is slightly better for grappling. Ronin have seen sense and done away with the
awful thumb padding so no more crab claw nonsense. The
gloves come in two colours black and red. Cons:
Unfortunately the glove also has the same draw backs as the standard Ronin glove. The
glove is bulky and hard to grip so it’s pretty poor for grappling and competition
use. The stitching which holds the padding
to the glove is of quite a poor quality, I get the feeling that if someone pulled
the padding during a training session you could be left with just a pair of leather
bike gloves. These gloves are hard to
find. The pair that I’m reviewing was bought at a UK Total Fight Forum event
run by Mr. Lee Hasdell, I haven’t seen these gloves on sale anywhere else.
These gloves also come in only two sizes, L and XL so be careful when ordering. Overall
: The Rings Holland glove is a slight improvement over the original
Ronin glove. The glove is less bulky
and is a much better fit. Unfortunately this glove is still too big for practical
MMA use. It is encouraging to see that Ronin have tried to improve on their original
design, this is something that other manufacturers need to look at, Unfortunately
I feel that Ronin need to go back to the drawing board again if they wish to produce
a practical MMA glove. -
Design:
6/10 -
Quality:
5/10 -
Value
for money: 6/10 -
Overall:
6/10 You can get these gloves
at www.aiki-budo.nl Gloves
cost around £35.00
Ronin 
These
were the original gloves used by the UK’s TotalFight
Forum who are an association with Ring’s Japan. The
Ronin glove design has been based on the same glove that was used in the 1994
and 1995 Japan Vale Tudo events. If you have seen the documentary Choke you will
remember Todd Hayes taking the piss out of them, "What are we going to do,
have a pillow fight." This is without
a doubt the biggest MMA glove available on the market. The
glove is basically a big piece of leather coated padding, (similar to a boxing
glove), with finger loops attached to it, this gives the glove an open palm design.
The thumb area is a separate piece of padding also with a finger loop attached
, this does make the glove resemble a crabs claw. The
glove comes in two different styles the difference being how the glove is attached
to the wrist. One style is lace up, again like that of a boxing glove, and the
other is a standard Velcro strap which wraps once around the wrist. Pros:
This glove is excellent for striking, the huge amount of padding ensures that
your partner doesn’t go home a bloody mess and that you don’t go home
with a broken hand. Although the gloves
don’t look too sturdy I have had my pair for over three years and I’m
still using them, they have stood the test of time surprisingly well. The
two different styles of wrist fastening* are a welcome change and the gloves come
in red and black. Cons: Due to the size
of the glove it does make grappling very difficult, It’s nearly impossible
to sink a rear naked or a guillotine choke on your opponent when wearing these
gloves. Although the lace up fastening
is a unique feature it’s not that practical, you will need to tape this up
or your partner will be complaining about the whip that they get off them. The
Velcro fastening gloves also have a knack of falling off during ground work which
can be a real pain in the arse. The Ronin
gloves only come in two sizes L and XL so if you’re like me and have quite
small hands you could be out of luck. Overall
: I have used this glove a lot in the past and have found them second
to none for stand up training but unfortunately that’s where the gloves usefulness
ends. The bulkiness of this glove is
just too impractical for grappling or competition use. Try
before you buy. -
Design:
5/10 -
Quality:
5/10 -
Value
for money: 5/10 -
Overall:
5/10 You may have trouble
getting hold of these gloves, I bought them over three years ago from a British
firm who were stocking Vale Tudo gear you can check out their web site at www.Ryea.com
you should be able to get contact information here. Gloves cost around £40. *
Note: Ryea have now modified
the Ronin gloves slightly and they now feature an velcro & elastic closure
(very similar to RINGS Holland & MAR), over the laces.
M.A.R.
by Quality Martial Arts 
These
are the official glove’s used by the UK’s Pancrase association in both
their amateur and pro events. The Quality
glove has a closed palm design and is made out of leather. The padding on this
glove comes in the form of three rectangle sections of padding which cover the
entire back of the hand and the knuckle area of the fist. Although the actual
glove is a splayed finger design the actual padding on the knuckles is not so
this does limit finger movement a little. The
glove is held onto the hand using a standard Velcro strap which wraps once around
the wrist Pros: The glove design is
pretty durable and well padded so it’s pretty good for striking. The
glove comes in four sizes S-XL so you shouldn’t have any problems finding
a pair that fit. The best thing about
these gloves is the price. At under £15 a pair these gloves are probably the cheapest
on the market and are great value for money. Cons:
My main gripe about this glove is the small wrist wrap Velcro strap, these gloves
do tend to come undone a lot during training, you may want to tape the wrists
up for long training sessions. Although
the glove is designed to allow for most grips I did find it quite hard to grip
my palms together, you may want to rely on finger grips like the Indian grip when
using these gloves. I have also noticed
that they are starting to show some wear around the finger area so the quality
of the leather is questionable. I have
only seen these gloves available in the UK so our American brothers may have to
pay extra for shipping if they want to order a pair. Overall
: This glove is probably the best value for money glove on the market.
The glove does have some flaws which may make you hesitate about using this glove
in competitions but if you want a cheap and cheerful glove that’s great for
training then this will be ideal. 6/10 -
Design:
6/10 -
Quality:
5/10 -
Value
for money: 10/10 -
Overall:
6/10 You can buy these gloves
online at www.qualitymartialarts.com
Look for the MAR_89 model. Gloves
cost £12.99. You can also try e-mailing
UK Pancrase promoter - Fred Rado eyheyhey@cwcom.net
to see if he has a spare pair.
Viper
Vale Tudo (photo coming) These
gloves are almost identical to the Quality Martial Art’s Glove. One
of the main differences between these two gloves is that the leather on the Viper
glove is much softer then that of the Quality glove. The
padding on the Viper glove is the same three section style padding as used on
the Quality glove. Unfortunately for some reason the third section that covers
the knuckles does not quite stretch far enough over the knuckle to allow the same
kind of protection that the Quality glove offers this leaves the majority of the
knuckle covered with just a thin piece of soft leather. The
Viper glove is held on using the same style Velcro strap design as the Quality
glove although the Viper glove has a slightly thicker and wider strap which leads
to less problems with the glove coming undone. Pros:
The glove comes in four sizes, S-XL and three colours, red, black and blue so
you should be able to find a pair that will match your favourite shorts. Because
the leather is much softer then the Quality glove you are able to get a slightly
better grip which is ideal for grappling. At
just under £20 a pair these gloves are pretty cheap. Cons:
The padding on this glove is ideal for throwing backfist’s but it’s
somewhat questionable for throwing straights and hooks, your training partner
could be in for a painful time. The glove
has a fair bit of excess material around the ends of the fingers, I tried a medium
pair and I’m pretty sure that Dennis Rodman could have fitted his hands in
there so be careful if your ordering a large or extra large. Overall
: The makers of this glove has obviously taken the Quality glove’s
design and tried to improve on it and in some ways it has, but it also feels that
the makers have taken a step back regarding the padding and the fit of the glove. At
just under £20 a pair the Viper glove is pretty good value for money and with
just a few modifications to the glove you could be looking at the best value for
money glove on the market. -
Design:
4/10 -
Quality:
5/10 -
Value
for money:9/10 -
Overall:
5/10 You can buy Viper gloves
online at www.mlsports.co.uk
Gloves cost £19.99
If
you have gloves or other MMA gear that you'd like Pooch to review please email
him here. | 
