This is my first review so be gentle and don't hate!
I purchased the gloves when they were onsale on MuayThaiFactory's website around October last year and decided to break them in before I give an official review.
I had been eyeing the premium gloves for quite some time before October and was hoping I could find it cheaper somewhere else. Fortunately they had gone onsale for about a month and I couldn't pass up the chance. I received the gloves from Thailand (to Los Angles) in about a week. Before this purchase, the gloves I had in rotation were Triumph United Thai Silencers, Fairtex BGV1, Fairtex BGV5, and Boon.
**MuayThaiFactory's website states that the premium gloves, "...is made of superb material. The leather and padding inside is a premium grade and better than that of other normal Muay Thai equipment." - in my honest opinion it could not be any more true.
Construction
Firstly, this review is about the Premium Cow Leather line of gloves and not the Premium Lambskin Leather line of gloves.
I am by no means an expert in types of leather and all I can say is that these gloves feel "rich" and would last for a very long time before they rip or break down. It is soft to the touch and seems stronger and a bit thicker than Twins, Boons, Fairtex and the regular Raja Gloves leather. I do not have a scale to weigh the gloves precisely but they do definitely weigh more than 12 ounces even after some being broken in. They do not seem top heavy and like many traidtional style thai gloves, the weight is distributed almost evenly.
The stitching is superb and tight. Double-stitching all around and the only single stitching is on the seam indentation on the strap. It's been six months since I've used these gloves and the velcro is still strong unlike what some people experienced years ago. I do not have to fiddle with it like I had to constantly do with my Fairtex gloves. To quote Taskmaster99's review "The inner liner is a satin type as usual with no excess for bunching" which couldn't be any more accurate. The fingertips area do show some sign of wear but all my gloves after a few months of constant heavy use have those and it hasn't faded the color nor does it look like it will crack in the near future. (Not sure if that is normal. I don't know why my gloves always end up like that but I've never had a glove crack open ... ever! Although they look like Twins gloves, they aren't as wide and narrow down towards the velcro area.
Padding
The padding at first was definitely dense although the break-in period for the padding was fairly quick. I noticed it started to soften up and shape into my hands within a couple of weeks. After six months, (I'm not sure if this is a good analogy) they feel like a brand new pair of Twins gloves before they start to soften up. Soft but not too soft, just right I guess … well at least it is for me. We always end with light sparring (50%) during our regular classes at the Muay Thai gym and although I also have a pair of 14 oz. Triumph United Death Adders, I tend to just go with these gloves and I have had no complaints. (Now I know some of you will say sparring with 12 oz. gloves, that's just wrong! ...but like I said it's just light technical sparring. If I wanted to spar harder, I could join the fighter's training class but my abused, closing in on 40 yrs. old body wouldn't like it.)
Fit
As stated above, the gloves have molded to my hands quite well. The pocket isn't tight nor is excessive. I do not have large or chubby hands by any measure but I believe somebody with a frame who is a bit more stocky may have to go up a size (I'm 5'11, 170 lbs on the leaner side). The gloves are quite supple as well. The pocket let's me open up to clinch easily as if these gloves were made for the clinch. The thumb placement and overall shape of the gloves let's me make a natural fist with ease which I couldn't naturally do with the Fairtex BGV1 and Boons. The length of the cuffs are much like what you would find on a pair of Twins, not too short like on the Fairtex BGV1 and not long like say, Boons or Top Kings. It works perfect for me as I am a fan of the traditional style Thai gloves and not a fan of long cuffs at all.
Performance
Coming from a background where I used wear bag gloves all day unless it's sparring, these gloves do the trick for my abused hands. Sometimes rolled punches are inevitable and more so with rounder gloves, the only one or two times when I've rolled a punched with these is because my partner is new and doesn't know how to hold the mitts correctly. I hardly ever wrap my hands (I know, I know here we go again) and the reason is that I have a dialysis shunt (think of a super vein) and wraps, when done correctly, just put to much pressure on my vein to where it becomes bothersome and I'm afraid it might clot. Even though I do not do dialysis anymore, I still wouldn't want to injure my vein just in case. Honestly, I have had no problems hitting 100% on the mitts, pads(even crappy, cheap tightly compacted foam ones), nor the heavy bag. The gloves offer enough protection even without the wraps. Even in light sparring sometimes you will catch someone pretty good in the face but I have never had a complaint of these hurting anybody. (opposite reaction from the BGV5 - ack!) I can honestly say I can wear these gloves all day without it bothering me or until they start to reek of a dead cow.
Conclusion
I know everybody is different with different taste so I will by no means suggest that these gloves are the best gloves on the market. As far as I am concerned, these are the perfect gloves for me. The fit, feel and quality is all that I could ask for and more. Admittedly, I have had a few people admire them due to the craftsmanship and just overall feel. I am extremely happy with the purchase and hope to purchase another pair of Raja Premium gloves in a different color palette in the near future.
Thank you for reading.
Pictures upon receipt in the mail:I purchased the gloves when they were onsale on MuayThaiFactory's website around October last year and decided to break them in before I give an official review.
I had been eyeing the premium gloves for quite some time before October and was hoping I could find it cheaper somewhere else. Fortunately they had gone onsale for about a month and I couldn't pass up the chance. I received the gloves from Thailand (to Los Angles) in about a week. Before this purchase, the gloves I had in rotation were Triumph United Thai Silencers, Fairtex BGV1, Fairtex BGV5, and Boon.
**MuayThaiFactory's website states that the premium gloves, "...is made of superb material. The leather and padding inside is a premium grade and better than that of other normal Muay Thai equipment." - in my honest opinion it could not be any more true.
Construction
Firstly, this review is about the Premium Cow Leather line of gloves and not the Premium Lambskin Leather line of gloves.
I am by no means an expert in types of leather and all I can say is that these gloves feel "rich" and would last for a very long time before they rip or break down. It is soft to the touch and seems stronger and a bit thicker than Twins, Boons, Fairtex and the regular Raja Gloves leather. I do not have a scale to weigh the gloves precisely but they do definitely weigh more than 12 ounces even after some being broken in. They do not seem top heavy and like many traidtional style thai gloves, the weight is distributed almost evenly.
The stitching is superb and tight. Double-stitching all around and the only single stitching is on the seam indentation on the strap. It's been six months since I've used these gloves and the velcro is still strong unlike what some people experienced years ago. I do not have to fiddle with it like I had to constantly do with my Fairtex gloves. To quote Taskmaster99's review "The inner liner is a satin type as usual with no excess for bunching" which couldn't be any more accurate. The fingertips area do show some sign of wear but all my gloves after a few months of constant heavy use have those and it hasn't faded the color nor does it look like it will crack in the near future. (Not sure if that is normal. I don't know why my gloves always end up like that but I've never had a glove crack open ... ever! Although they look like Twins gloves, they aren't as wide and narrow down towards the velcro area.
Padding
The padding at first was definitely dense although the break-in period for the padding was fairly quick. I noticed it started to soften up and shape into my hands within a couple of weeks. After six months, (I'm not sure if this is a good analogy) they feel like a brand new pair of Twins gloves before they start to soften up. Soft but not too soft, just right I guess … well at least it is for me. We always end with light sparring (50%) during our regular classes at the Muay Thai gym and although I also have a pair of 14 oz. Triumph United Death Adders, I tend to just go with these gloves and I have had no complaints. (Now I know some of you will say sparring with 12 oz. gloves, that's just wrong! ...but like I said it's just light technical sparring. If I wanted to spar harder, I could join the fighter's training class but my abused, closing in on 40 yrs. old body wouldn't like it.)
Fit
As stated above, the gloves have molded to my hands quite well. The pocket isn't tight nor is excessive. I do not have large or chubby hands by any measure but I believe somebody with a frame who is a bit more stocky may have to go up a size (I'm 5'11, 170 lbs on the leaner side). The gloves are quite supple as well. The pocket let's me open up to clinch easily as if these gloves were made for the clinch. The thumb placement and overall shape of the gloves let's me make a natural fist with ease which I couldn't naturally do with the Fairtex BGV1 and Boons. The length of the cuffs are much like what you would find on a pair of Twins, not too short like on the Fairtex BGV1 and not long like say, Boons or Top Kings. It works perfect for me as I am a fan of the traditional style Thai gloves and not a fan of long cuffs at all.
Performance
Coming from a background where I used wear bag gloves all day unless it's sparring, these gloves do the trick for my abused hands. Sometimes rolled punches are inevitable and more so with rounder gloves, the only one or two times when I've rolled a punched with these is because my partner is new and doesn't know how to hold the mitts correctly. I hardly ever wrap my hands (I know, I know here we go again) and the reason is that I have a dialysis shunt (think of a super vein) and wraps, when done correctly, just put to much pressure on my vein to where it becomes bothersome and I'm afraid it might clot. Even though I do not do dialysis anymore, I still wouldn't want to injure my vein just in case. Honestly, I have had no problems hitting 100% on the mitts, pads(even crappy, cheap tightly compacted foam ones), nor the heavy bag. The gloves offer enough protection even without the wraps. Even in light sparring sometimes you will catch someone pretty good in the face but I have never had a complaint of these hurting anybody. (opposite reaction from the BGV5 - ack!) I can honestly say I can wear these gloves all day without it bothering me or until they start to reek of a dead cow.
Conclusion
I know everybody is different with different taste so I will by no means suggest that these gloves are the best gloves on the market. As far as I am concerned, these are the perfect gloves for me. The fit, feel and quality is all that I could ask for and more. Admittedly, I have had a few people admire them due to the craftsmanship and just overall feel. I am extremely happy with the purchase and hope to purchase another pair of Raja Premium gloves in a different color palette in the near future.
Thank you for reading.
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