Rival RS11v (16oz Velcro)

“The Toyota Highlander of Boxing Gloves”

Intro

Rival has been around since 2003 and is well respected as a producer of quality gear. Their profile has really taken off, and I would say I see them being used professionally with as much frequency as Everlast, Cleto Reyes, and Grant. And of those, they are the most innovative. They have a pretty wide selection, from “fitness bag” gloves all the way up to fancy matrix-styled gloves with space age padding.

Today we are looking at the RS11V which appear to be positioned as their best velcro sparring glove, behind the RS1 lace up gloves. They are also twins with the RB11V bag gloves (RS for “sparring”, vs RB for “bag”), which are positioned as second best bag gloves, next to the more gimmicky RB10 “intelli-shock” gloves.

The Wrist 9/10

These use Rival’s “Wrist Lock 2” system which I have to say does a very good job of keeping your wrist tight and secure. I think there is definitely something to the wrist innovations that have come out for velcro gloves and they aren’t just gimmicks for the most part. If anything, my only concern is that the rough part of the velcro will sometimes rub against the nylon strap (picture the same material a seatbelt is made of) and that has made part of the wrist closure a bit worn and fuzzy. I take pretty good care of my gloves and recognize that as a bit of a durability weak spot.

Hand Comfort & Ease of Use 9/10

They are snug. Don’t expect a ton of room in there with your hand wraps on. That said, it’s the one glove with a good wrist innovation that is just as easy to use as any other standard wrist closure, as opposed to Hayabusa’s T3 and Onx. For that reason I can easily recommend these to people training alone, however the more you put these on and take them off, the more you might end up scratching up the wrist strap with the velcro as mentioned above. There is mesh on part of the palm, but it’s not excessive. Just right if you ask me.

This isn’t your run of the mill synthetic polyurethane that feels like a thick plastic bag. I would call this a true synthetic leather that seems durable and heavy duty.

Punching & Protection 9/10

I find these to be the single best “all around” boxing glove I have tried to date. They are designed as a “sparring” glove but are nearly identical to the purpose built “bag” version Rival also sells. Shape is ideal, feedback on the bag is solid, hand protection is EXCELLENT. This sparring version has a few sparring-specific features, like more padding down the wrist, printed logos instead of embroidery, and it covers the wrist lock buckles so they don’t risk cutting your sparring partner. The padding is also a little bit softer with a little less “pop” than the bag version. All of those make it more suitable for sparring BUT they are still quite stiff and solid for a sparring glove. They would definitely not be my first choice to get hit with, but they technically could do the job. That’s why I say they are the best all-rounder, but are not the absolute best on the bag, nor absolute best for sparring.

Other Features and Intangibles 8/10

The synthetic material feels extremely durable, but if you’re a leather snob then you’re out of luck. I think they look super cool but try not to rate based on looks because that’s a very subjective thing. Still, Rival does have a certain coolness factor to it and the fact these gloves are so versatile goes a long way.