Was going to do this review a lot sooner but was waiting to borrow my friend's digital camera. Which I still didn't get so I'll just post this review now and add the pictures sometime this weekend. First off I'd like to thank Joe @ CSI for providing me w/ excellent service.
First impressions:
Wow these things feel great just holding them! The leather is very soft and feels like the leather on couches unlike some other gloves I've owned which felt like shoeskin leather or leather that have rubbery textures. Anyway while slipping these on, I instantly noticed one thing right away. Wow these things are pretty small! I have small hands and I just managed to squeezed into the gloves w/o much resistance into a snug fit. With such a snug fit I began to worry that the glove may not fit with handwraps on. After trying 180" mexican handwraps, 120" traditional handwraps, and 110" mexican gauze (stretches to ~ 170") I could not use the conventional 180" mexican wraps as they bulked up my hands enough so that I can't squeeze into the gloves. The 120" wraps were still cumbersome bit I managed to force my hand into the glove and the fit was completely solid however while squeezing into the glove i noticed on the side *see pic* some seams were being pretty strained so I chose not to go w/ the 120 to prolong the life of the glove. Make sure if you are squeezing into the glove to push the glove from the top portion rather than trying to pull the glove on holding onto the base as this may risk ripping some of the seams apart (happened to my balazs gloves when friend tried pulling the gloves on w/o undoing velcro but it's pretty much the same idea). Using mexican gauze, the fit was perfect. No forcing the glove on and the fit was perfectly snug. The tricot inner lining on most ringside gloves makes them most comfortable gloves compared to other brands I have used (twins, balazs, hybrid-x).
Structure:
Initially I was a bit hesitant on whether I should get these gloves because I was not a fan of the "finger loop design" from my experience w/ the hybridx gloves for the reasons posted here. My worries were gone after noticing that unlike the hybridx gloves which had cut fingers, these gloves just had visible seams along the top side of the glove making it appear to have the same design in pictures. These gloves do not shift around at all like the hybrid gloves did. Depending on fitment, some people might find the finger loops digging into the webbed area between fingers. I don't have the same complaint since the glove fits me perfectly and the leather is real soft so none of the edges were irritating. For future improvements perhaps tubing the finger ring edges would fix any problems some people might have with the loops. I should also note that the thumb area of contact should it accidentally hit the bag also has gel padding. The palm grip is also great for making a tight fist.
Information about the Gel Shock technology used by Ringside/CSI can be found here
Function:
Hitting the bags and pads, there was a very noticable difference compared to the conventional bag gloves. With these gloves, you can really feel your knuckles biting in much more. The gel does a pretty good job in distributing shock. The wrist wrap provides sufficient support. These gloves are much lighter than your conventional gloves therefore you'll be able to up your pace.
Suggested changes for the next revision:
These are great gloves but if I were to be picky, I'd like to see back of the glove to be like the CSI MMA sparring gloves. (finger loop design, but no finger seams on the other side of the glove) I noticed with the finger seams, the padding was a bit thinner around the knuckle/finger area so by adopting a similar design as the CSI MMA sparring gloves, the padding thickness can be more consistent. The padding is sufficient for me but I'm a small guy so I would like to see a review of the same gloves by a heavier hitter. Sizing may be an issue for some people with bigger hands so perhaps 3 sizes should be offered in the new revisions (R=S, L=M, and a new larger size). Thats all I can think of off the top of my head for now. These are great bag gloves and I don't see any major flaws as all mine were minor nitpicks. Just make sure you measure your hands and consult with Joe if you have large hands since these gloves MAY be too small.
Summary:
Pros:
MMA style gloves = convenience
Gel padding
Very comfortable
Much cooler hands since it's an open glove
Some may say this is a con but I find a lighter glove a pro
Cons:
Sizing might be too small for some larger fighters
Can use a bit more padding around knuckle area
Pictures:
First impressions:
Wow these things feel great just holding them! The leather is very soft and feels like the leather on couches unlike some other gloves I've owned which felt like shoeskin leather or leather that have rubbery textures. Anyway while slipping these on, I instantly noticed one thing right away. Wow these things are pretty small! I have small hands and I just managed to squeezed into the gloves w/o much resistance into a snug fit. With such a snug fit I began to worry that the glove may not fit with handwraps on. After trying 180" mexican handwraps, 120" traditional handwraps, and 110" mexican gauze (stretches to ~ 170") I could not use the conventional 180" mexican wraps as they bulked up my hands enough so that I can't squeeze into the gloves. The 120" wraps were still cumbersome bit I managed to force my hand into the glove and the fit was completely solid however while squeezing into the glove i noticed on the side *see pic* some seams were being pretty strained so I chose not to go w/ the 120 to prolong the life of the glove. Make sure if you are squeezing into the glove to push the glove from the top portion rather than trying to pull the glove on holding onto the base as this may risk ripping some of the seams apart (happened to my balazs gloves when friend tried pulling the gloves on w/o undoing velcro but it's pretty much the same idea). Using mexican gauze, the fit was perfect. No forcing the glove on and the fit was perfectly snug. The tricot inner lining on most ringside gloves makes them most comfortable gloves compared to other brands I have used (twins, balazs, hybrid-x).
Structure:
Initially I was a bit hesitant on whether I should get these gloves because I was not a fan of the "finger loop design" from my experience w/ the hybridx gloves for the reasons posted here. My worries were gone after noticing that unlike the hybridx gloves which had cut fingers, these gloves just had visible seams along the top side of the glove making it appear to have the same design in pictures. These gloves do not shift around at all like the hybrid gloves did. Depending on fitment, some people might find the finger loops digging into the webbed area between fingers. I don't have the same complaint since the glove fits me perfectly and the leather is real soft so none of the edges were irritating. For future improvements perhaps tubing the finger ring edges would fix any problems some people might have with the loops. I should also note that the thumb area of contact should it accidentally hit the bag also has gel padding. The palm grip is also great for making a tight fist.
Information about the Gel Shock technology used by Ringside/CSI can be found here
Function:
Hitting the bags and pads, there was a very noticable difference compared to the conventional bag gloves. With these gloves, you can really feel your knuckles biting in much more. The gel does a pretty good job in distributing shock. The wrist wrap provides sufficient support. These gloves are much lighter than your conventional gloves therefore you'll be able to up your pace.
Suggested changes for the next revision:
These are great gloves but if I were to be picky, I'd like to see back of the glove to be like the CSI MMA sparring gloves. (finger loop design, but no finger seams on the other side of the glove) I noticed with the finger seams, the padding was a bit thinner around the knuckle/finger area so by adopting a similar design as the CSI MMA sparring gloves, the padding thickness can be more consistent. The padding is sufficient for me but I'm a small guy so I would like to see a review of the same gloves by a heavier hitter. Sizing may be an issue for some people with bigger hands so perhaps 3 sizes should be offered in the new revisions (R=S, L=M, and a new larger size). Thats all I can think of off the top of my head for now. These are great bag gloves and I don't see any major flaws as all mine were minor nitpicks. Just make sure you measure your hands and consult with Joe if you have large hands since these gloves MAY be too small.
Summary:
Pros:
MMA style gloves = convenience
Gel padding
Very comfortable
Much cooler hands since it's an open glove
Some may say this is a con but I find a lighter glove a pro
Cons:
Sizing might be too small for some larger fighters
Can use a bit more padding around knuckle area
Pictures:
