AmazonBasics (14oz Velcro)
“The Ford Focus of Boxing Gloves”
Intro
Amazon has its own brand of gloves? I’ve bought an amazon laptop cover, and an amazon computer mouse. Both of those were decent products for the money. Hey, why not boxing gloves. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. These will be pretty okay for the sort of people I think would get them. That is, people who have strung up a punching bag in their garage to beat up on a little bit or are taking some boxercise and don’t want to spend an arm and a leg, but aren’t super into the technical aspects of the sport.
The Wrist 6/10
The wrist closure is about as standard as they come. The closure isn’t very wide, but it’s improved by the elongated shape of the glove itself. The ‘head’ of the glove before the seam at the wrist comes down farther than any other glove I’ve tried. Kind of an interesting design really, allowing the single piece of foam that forms the bulk of the glove to extend further down than other gloves. This makes up for the narrower wrist closure, and gives decent enough support. There is no lace up version.
Hand Comfort & Ease of Use 6/10
They are pretty comfy and light. It’s something you notice right away. Hand slips in easy and lining is comfy enough. There is no lining on the back of the inside of the wrist and not much in the way of ventilation, so expect these to become a bit of a sweat box once you get going.
AmazonBasics synthetic leather on the left that have a certain rubbery feel, and genuine Winning leather on the right. You just can’t beat the real thing.
Punching & Protection 6/10
You can throw decently hard with these and still be protected. The reason for that is partly that they’ve really bulked up the padding over the knuckles. When I put them on and feel them, they have a certain “conehead” quality to them. Almost as if there is an air pocket over the knuckles. That makes them really good at absorbing impact and protecting your hand, but also gives them a “bounce” off a heavy bag and really deadens any feedback you get. If all you are using these for is fitness classes, then you might like it, but if you are looking to get better at boxing, you will want to feel a bit more what you are doing.
AmazonBasics on the left and Winning on the right. Both are 14oz gloves. You can see the “conehead” design of the Amazon pair. The extra padding is in the right place over the knuckles, but you can see how much more volume is needed to offer adequate protection.
Other Features & Intangibles 4/10
You won’t be the coolest kid in your boxing club when you walk in with your AmazonBasics gloves. They also don’t feel like they will last an incredibly long period of time, but are sold for a decent price and you could definitely do worse for a fitness pair offering good protection. Worth a consideration.
Other versions:
10oz, 12oz, 14oz, 16oz
