Winning Gloves etc in Japan

[RDL81]

I have a friend from Japan he maybe returning over the holidays. Could he buy winning gear whilst he is there that would be cheaper than me ordering via American-Ya paying the fees etc?

Is there a Japanese website or better still local store etc?

Thanks
Rich

 

[j-boxing]

I'm pretty sure several of the sellers on Rakuten have physical retail stores. You can find out about them via Rakuten, I think. This is just off the top of my head, though.

 

[Hitmesoftly]

Hey guys, not to open a new thread - not sure if I'm allowed to anyway, I need an advice on buying new gloves.

I've used mostly cheaper gloves like Adidas, Pride and RDX and been changing them like underwear until I've recently badly hurt my left wrist while landing a hook during pad training! Took me good 2-2.5 months for the wrist to feel almost as good as new and now this made me think it might be a good time to invest in durable high quality gloves with decent wrist protection.

I'd like to get a pair of Winning gloves and I'm not sure which size to opt for first. Considering the high price of Winning - are they durable enough to buy 16oz for bag work or are they going to get ruined anyway in a year or two?

Also what size do you use for technique/pad work ?

Cheers!

 

[ericPorkChop]

I'll probably get flamed for this, but you can get better wrist protection and more durability for half the price. Full disclosure: I'm biased about their durability because I've personally seen 2 pairs each go in under 1 year (one split over the knuckles, the other split on the thumb). Both pairs were used extensively on hard bags, so you're probably okay if you're just using them on mitts.

Technique/pad work - most fighters use a size comparable with fight glove size on pads and even bags. So, depending on weight class & amateur/pro status that might be 8, 10, or 12oz.

PS - Rakuten and Kobudo prices went up and are on par with Winning-USA.com for price now. www.wjapanboxing.com/ is the official store in Japan and is the most expensive place, but has the most color options.

 

[Hitmesoftly]

It's hard not to cave under all this hype around the Winning gloves. I've never used the lace n loop converter but I'm thinking of getting Winning 10oz for pad work and technique and a lace n loop converter as the lace ups should provide better wrist protection.

I've been talking to someone from the Winning company and was told that they receive loads of inquiries about fake Winning gear sold by other sites but wjapanboxing.com - i.e. gear not shipped directly from Japan. Guess it's not hard to imagine that scenario happening as one can make tons of money selling fake gear for 300-500+ EUR.

Thing is I've been reading reviews and forum posts for about two weeks now and can't seem to find the perfect match - never imagined it could be so hard. First I stumble on mention of Sabas that I haven't heard of before and I've read so many praises of their gloves, but as I kept reading newer posts - guess again, the quality went south and I was like damn!

I keep going and I start reading about Cleto Reyes lace ups, indestructible, great quality, nice pop, but hard as a rock. So where do you go from that? And I don't like any modern looking gloves with a bunch of details and tacky logos.

 

[Inquisitus]

It's hard not to cave under all this hype around the Winning gloves. I've never used the lace n loop converter but I'm thinking of getting Winning 10oz for pad work and technique and a lace n loop converter as the lace ups should provide better wrist protection.

I've been talking to someone from the Winning company and was told that they receive loads of inquiries about fake Winning gear sold by other sites but wjapanboxing.com - i.e. gear not shipped directly from Japan. Guess it's not hard to imagine that scenario happening as one can make tons of money selling fake gear for 300-500+ EUR.

Thing is I've been reading reviews and forum posts for about two weeks now and can't seem to find the perfect match - never imagined it could be so hard. First I stumble on mention of Sabas that I haven't heard of before and I've read so many praises of their gloves, but as I kept reading newer posts - guess again, the quality went south and I was like damn!

I keep going and I start reading about Cleto Reyes lace ups, indestructible, great quality, nice pop, but hard as a rock. So where do you go from that? And I don't like any modern looking gloves with a bunch of details and tacky logos.

I feel that gloves are a rabbit hole, there's so much choice at many price points right now that it becomes exhausting triangulating reality after a while.

If it's too exhausting, bite the bullet and spend the cash on authentic Winnings. Think of hours of research you save and the possibility of disappointment. You won't know what you really love until you get these in your hands and use 'em. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. And really, is the priority on the gear or activity?

Best resources IMO are the guys (minowa, RDL81, etc..) in this forum on Sherdog. For Youtube;

• Csquared boxing also has good variety and detailed reviews to triangulate and actually see closeups. He has a video on the different categories of gloves.
• Expertboxing is not detailed enough and has had some credibility missteps.
• Fit2Box seems to be mostly a shill.
• Thee Combat Corporation seems ok due to the details he brings up. He also has a video on the different types of gloves (Mexican puncher vs. Japanese winning style)

 

[Hitmesoftly]

Triangulation sounds like the right word for picking boxing gloves.

Most probably I'm going to bite the bullet. If I don't I'll get another brand which I might be super happy with and save 100-200 bucks or I'll save that money on buying gloves that I won't exactly fall in love with and wonder whether I should've just taken that chance on a pair of gloves that most people absolutely adore.

I can't lie, it's NOT just the activity. Don't get me wrong though I love the sport and I've been training every single day even now that the gym is closed but didn't think I would consider spending this much money on gloves regardless to the fact that I can easily afford them. It's just that once I started reading reviews all leads started inclining towards Sabas, Winning, Reyes, Casanova and such. I love the mexican style gloves and if I'm going to spend north of 100 EUR for something that might not last that long at all I might just as well spend extra and get the real deal - MAYBE that is.

I also love the way they look - especially the sky-blue lace-ups, schweeeeet! I've been using 16oz RDX for both heavy bag and technique/pads lately (I weigh 165 lbs) and it's just super hard to keep a good pace whilst doing exercises with pads.

Thanks, I'll take a look at their forum posts and the yt videos. Muchas gracias senor!

 

[Inquisitus]

in that case, i suggest looking at the following if you haven't already done so. Plenty of threads here and also on YT reviews.

Winnings pattern (lower price but some are north of $100 USD) - R2C C17, Triumph United Bushido, TopBoxer Win1, Supreme Winnings, Sabas SS
Mexican Style (Expensive) - No Boxing No Life, Gil (incredible stock colour options, really nice, felt some up but haven't tried on or used), seems to be getting more options in this range
Mexican Style (mid-range) - TopBoxer Aliens (really really love these), TopBoxer Flores ("older school" pattern gloves; just got them but haven't tried out; prefer the Aliens on first impression)

I'm focused to 100 - 125 USD normal price gloves myself which is why the list above is roughly in that range. There's nothing like getting the exact combination of price, quality, performance, and aesthetics. Happy hunting!

 

[Hitmesoftly]

I see another week or so of reading and watching videos, I'm loving the hunt for new gloves tbh.

All of these seem pretty sweet to me. I was very interested in Sabas SS until I've read a couple of posts saying their quality has gone down. Not sure if the same still applies to their 2020 production but if I could come across that good a pair for the price they ask for a pair that would be sweet. I guess it's sometimes a hit and miss.

Gil already caught my eye, very nice looking gloves, might give it a research again. Need to do a bit of reading on the other ones you've mentioned.

Thanks for all the info this is gold!

 

[CMSherdog]

I see another week or so of reading and watching videos, I'm loving the hunt for new gloves tbh.

All of these seem pretty sweet to me. I was very interested in Sabas SS until I've read a couple of posts saying their quality has gone down. Not sure if the same still applies to their 2020 production but if I could come across that good a pair for the price they ask for a pair that would be sweet. I guess it's sometimes a hit and miss.

Gil already caught my eye, very nice looking gloves, might give it a research again. Need to do a bit of reading on the other ones you've mentioned.

Thanks for all the info this is gold!

One pair to add to the list are the Fly Superlace X or Superloop X. They're amazin . Great wrist support, padding and comfort. Similar to Winnings too.

 

[Hitmesoftly]

How about the BGV9? Read a couple of good words about them

 

[ericPorkChop]

Just to be clear - both pairs of Winnings I was talking about were authentic, one was a custom pair.

Reyes - I have 4 pairs of Reyes right now (2 hybrids, 1 lace up, 1 velcro-turned-into-hybrids). "Hard as a rock" isn't how I'd describe any of them. In fact, I think their padding is softer than some other Mexican brands. I use the lace up pair, which is 12oz, for mitt work. Their "hard as a rock" reputation comes from their horsehair fight gloves. The only gloves I avoid people with in sparring are underweight gloves, cheap Everlasts, and gloves that are rated as "bag only", like one or two of the Fairtex models used to be. If you're hitting bags and pads the density of the bags and pads will make more of a difference, as most actual super bag gloves are harder & more dense. Horsehair gloves tend to break down quick on bags, so if you do go that route only use them on pads and expect them not to last as long.

Gil - one of the few Mexican brands I have and I don't like. The wrists on my hybrid 16oz are just way too big for me. I can slide my fully-wrapped hand in and out all the way with the laces tightened fully.

Juan's Torres Medina (TM) brand is really solid. If you want Mexican gloves, he'd be my first stop. Cheaper than NBNL, same ballpark of quality as their fight gloves.

Sabas - I do believe the dip in quality was temporary. Their prices on their clearance page are worth going for: @sabasfightgear on instagram.

Sounds like you're getting overwhelmed by reviews. I think step one would be sussing out objective comments on gloves vs subjective comments.

For example, people talk about the uncomfortable thumbs on Reyes as if it's some sort of rule, but fit is very individual. I got my Reyes gloves because I traded for them with a coach who didn't like the fit. Personally, I love how they fit. Mexican gloves have thick leather and take a bit longer to break in a lot of times.

In other cases, it's bias. With Sabas, people have been pushing a claim (with no concrete evidence provided) that they're made in Pakistan as a harsh criticism. In the next post, the same people promote TopBoxer gloves which are definitely made in Pakistan. They're cheap gloves that fit very comfortably for a lot of people (myself included).

If I had it to do over, I would probably recommend to start with the cheapest model(s) you like and gradually buy more expensive ones, only buying the more expensive ones if you find the cheaper ones inadequate. Nothing worse than buying a super expensive glove and realizing you don't like them. Also, make sure you break them in! Some gloves are miserable to use for the first 2 weeks to a month and then they become a part of you. One or two sessions is not going to cut it in a lot of cases. It's more of a matter of whether or not those sessions are too miserable to grind out.

 

[Hitmesoftly]

It's hard to be objective when there's no measurable attributes besides the glove weight. I'd say put together all the positive and negative opinions you've read, add a safe dose of skepticism depending on the depth of your pockets and either take a chance or don't.

I just got a pair of white hook and loop Reyes training gloves in 16oz but need to wait to get to the gym now with the whole lockdown situation. I've read a great deal about them and don't really mind if it'll take longer to break them in. Can't say I've held in my hands a pair of training gloves that cost more than 100 dollars before but judging by the looks, the feel and the smell of the leather these gloves seem to be worth of breaking in as they seem to be made to last. I can definitely see how people can dislike the uncomfortable thumbs though, just putting them on without any handwraps I can feel them choking my thumbs like a noose but I'm willing to invest time and effort to see if they will break in to my satisfaction. If not - fuck it they'll look nice on a shelf. In any case I'm putting my 40 EUR 16oz RDX gloves to bed - saved a lot of money buying those and seriously injured my wrist.

In the meanwhile my right index finger made a hole in the lining of my 12oz Adidas Hybrid 200 during mitt work just this Thursday and mind you I used them no more than 10-15 times. 80 GBP + shipping, not a whole lot but went down the drain nevertheless.

At the end of the day I have to be honest and say I don't really care if someone will judge me for buying expensive gloves. I like the fact that they look good and possibly/probably/hopefully even perform well. So what have I done? I purchased a pair of hook and loop Sabas SS 12oz for mitt work, 10oz might not be enough protection for my shabby wrist as my coach likes to slam that mitt.

Also I got a pair of Winning 10oz on the way which I'll be using on my double end bag at home. I spoke to someone from Kozuji and the guy told me he doesn't recommend using them on heavy bags because the padding will get flat, however regardless to that many people still use them on heavy bags. This is where personal experience comes to play. Someone might use them for a longer period of time without ruining them on a heavy bag, but maybe you hit harder with yours ending up ruining them faster. Who knows!

 

[RDL81]

It's hard to be objective when there's no measurable attributes besides the glove weight. I'd say put together all the positive and negative opinions you've read, add a safe dose of skepticism depending on the depth of your pockets and either take a chance or don't.

I just got a pair of white hook and loop Reyes training gloves in 16oz but need to wait to get to the gym now with the whole lockdown situation. I've read a great deal about them and don't really mind if it'll take longer to break them in. Can't say I've held in my hands a pair of training gloves that cost more than 100 dollars before but judging by the looks, the feel and the smell of the leather these gloves seem to be worth of breaking in as they seem to be made to last. I can definitely see how people can dislike the uncomfortable thumbs though, just putting them on without any handwraps I can feel them choking my thumbs like a noose but I'm willing to invest time and effort to see if they will break in to my satisfaction. If not - fuck it they'll look nice on a shelf. In any case I'm putting my 40 EUR 16oz RDX gloves to bed - saved a lot of money buying those and seriously injured my wrist.

In the meanwhile my right index finger made a hole in the lining of my 12oz Adidas Hybrid 200 during mitt work just this Thursday and mind you I used them no more than 10-15 times. 80 GBP + shipping, not a whole lot but went down the drain nevertheless.

At the end of the day I have to be honest and say I don't really care if someone will judge me for buying expensive gloves. I like the fact that they look good and possibly/probably/hopefully even perform well. So what have I done? I purchased a pair of hook and loop Sabas SS 12oz for mitt work, 10oz might not be enough protection for my shabby wrist as my coach likes to slam that mitt.

Also I got a pair of Winning 10oz on the way which I'll be using on my double end bag at home. I spoke to someone from Kozuji and the guy told me he doesn't recommend using them on heavy bags because the padding will get flat, however regardless to that many people still use them on heavy bags. This is where personal experience comes to play. Someone might use them for a longer period of time without ruining them on a heavy bag, but maybe you hit harder with yours ending up ruining them faster. Who knows!

Those 16oz Reyes on the heavy bag will be be great. Have to let us know how the 10oz winning are I assume it’s a fight glove.....I have a new pair of 14oz I can’t wait to use once lock down is over (I have had 14oz winning before though)

 

[tekkenfan]

man crazy how often they go up and down i decided t buy a pair recently since last time i looked i saw them for 220 for lace up white 16 oz then recently looked up and they were in the 300s lol was a bit annoyed i can afford them still but i cant justify to myself paying over 250 for a pair of boxing gloves guess gonna wait till i see them go back down in future and use top boxer for now

 

[Hitmesoftly]

Haven't been hitting the heavy bag now as the gym is still closed but I might start breaking in the Reyes on my aqua bag tomorrow. I think it's going to be a good glove provided that the thumb area gets more comfy over time. Their smell though, like a pair of brand new leather shoes - amazing.

How were the 14oz winnings?

I managed to get a few training sessions on pads mitts with the 10oz and use them on a daily basis on a double-end bag. I'm loving them! I was worried before I got them whether I should've ordered the 10 or 12oz because someone on the forum was saying the 10oz were a bit snug. No worries there, I use them with Fortress Super Slim fastwraps and no issues there! Standard cotton handwraps with a knuckle guard also no problem. Now a couple of training sessions later just perfect. My palm circumference is 20.5cm and 20cm length from wrist to the tip of the middle finger.

@tekkenfan: I paid $295 on Kozuji. Could be better. Could be worse.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Reyes - I have 4 pairs of Reyes right now (2 hybrids, 1 lace up, 1 velcro-turned-into-hybrids). "Hard as a rock" isn't how I'd describe any of them. In fact, I think their padding is softer than some other Mexican brands. I use the lace up pair, which is 12oz, for mitt work. Their "hard as a rock" reputation comes from their horsehair fight gloves. The only gloves I avoid people with in sparring are underweight gloves, cheap Everlasts, and gloves that are rated as "bag only", like one or two of the Fairtex models used to be. If you're hitting bags and pads the density of the bags and pads will make more of a difference, as most actual super bag gloves are harder & more dense. Horsehair gloves tend to break down quick on bags, so if you do go that route only use them on pads and expect them not to last as long.

Gil - one of the few Mexican brands I have and I don't like. The wrists on my hybrid 16oz are just way too big for me. I can slide my fully-wrapped hand in and out all the way with the laces tightened fully.

Juan's Torres Medina (TM) brand is really solid. If you want Mexican gloves, he'd be my first stop. Cheaper than NBNL, same ballpark of quality as their fight gloves.

Sabas - I do believe the dip in quality was temporary. Their prices on their clearance page are worth going for: @sabasfightgear on instagram.

Sounds like you're getting overwhelmed by reviews. I think step one would be sussing out objective comments on gloves vs subjective comments.

For example, people talk about the uncomfortable thumbs on Reyes as if it's some sort of rule, but fit is very individual. I got my Reyes gloves because I traded for them with a coach who didn't like the fit. Personally, I love how they fit. Mexican gloves have thick leather and take a bit longer to break in a lot of times.

In other cases, it's bias. With Sabas, people have been pushing a claim (with no concrete evidence provided) that they're made in Pakistan as a harsh criticism. In the next post, the same people promote TopBoxer gloves which are definitely made in Pakistan. They're cheap gloves that fit very comfortably for a lot of people (myself included).

If I had it to do over, I would probably recommend to start with the cheapest model(s) you like and gradually buy more expensive ones, only buying the more expensive ones if you find the cheaper ones inadequate. Nothing worse than buying a super expensive glove and realizing you don't like them. Also, make sure you break them in! Some gloves are miserable to use for the first 2 weeks to a month and then they become a part of you. One or two sessions is not going to cut it in a lot of cases. It's more of a matter of whether or not those sessions are too miserable to grind out.

Thank you for your thoughts on The Cleto Reyes gloves. I am planning to buy a pair and was curious about how objective some of the criticism on those gloves are.

I agree with you about the quality of Sabas gloves. I own a pair of their Pro-Series and a pair of Super Soft gloves. I would rate the quality of those gloves as being very good.

As a frame of reference for comparison sake, I have a pair of 16 oz. and 12 oz. Winning gloves.

Your thoughts on the Cleto Reyes is helpful and much appreciated.