Brand
Originally founded in 1910, Everlast have been a big name in the boxing world for many years. They’re now one of the most widely known USA boxing brands, with gear lines for boxing, mixed martial arts, and fitness related sporting goods.
About the gloves
The Everlast Pro Style Training Gloves are Everlast’s base, entry level Boxing Gloves. There’s no question that these are aimed at beginners. As a result, they come with one of the lowest price points you’ll find on the market. A glove this cheap may seem like a good idea for a beginner, but as the famous saying goes, you get what you pay for.
We’ve reviewed the 14oz, a good all-round weight for starters. If you’re planning on sparring you’ll probably need to go up to 16oz. Here’s some info on how glove sizes work and how to choose the right size.
Visuals
These gloves come in a range of colours, so there are plenty of options to choose from. We opted for one of the ‘flashier’ colour combinations, blue and lime green. Although it’s not the sort of colours I’d go for, I actually quite like how different these gloves feel. There certainly aren’t many other options out there like this.
Materials/Craftsmanship
The Everlast Pro Style Training Gloves are made with synthetic leather. The material has a nice, smooth finish to it, but is quite noticeably synthetic and has a little bit of a rubbery texture if you pull at it. The internal material is a little bit stiff when new, but softens up slightly after some good use. This can be a bit annoying around the fingers to start with, however with hand wraps on isn’t a problem otherwise.
The hand is almost entirely a mesh palm. Unlike most gloves which just have a small breathable section, these are mesh from down by the strap, right up to the fingers, with a little bit on the fingers itself. This means that the gloves have superb breathability and will air out much easier than most, although the glove does lose its shape slightly when not being worn. The inside of the mesh palm is smooth to the touch, and doesn’t feel too rough on the skin, so shouldn’t rub too much.
The other problem with this mesh palm is that it provides almost no protection for the palm, meaning if you parry a punch (or kick, depending on your sport), you’ll feel the full impact.
The Velcro on these gloves is a small section rather than a long wraparound strap. This has it’s benefits, such as being quick to put on. Overall I don’t like this system much though. Where the gloves have only a small amount of velcro, the strap doesn’t last as long
The build of these gloves has its pros and cons. The stitching all seems well done and neat, however there are a few loose threads at the ends of stitches which could have been cleaned up. The synthetic leather is pulled fairly tightly over the glove. There are some crumples at the edges where the gloves curve. This is more of a visual issue however. Inside the glove, the material is a little loose and I find it gets caught up around the fingers sometimes. A little wiggling about can usually fix the problem. The thumb position feels a little high for my personal liking, and felt a little more upright than I would prefer, although everyone has their own personal opinions when it comes to thumb positions.
Comfort/use
The first thing I noticed about these gloves was the fit. I have fairly average sized hands, and these gloves seemed fairly tight. The thumb, however, seems to push against the end of the glove. This may be a problem for people with larger hands. As a result, I’d probably advise to give these a miss if you’re particularly tall or have larger hands.
This sort of wrist strap always feels weird to me. They’re a little hard to get a tight fit with. You don’t really get a choice on the velcro placement. If you want to pull the strap any tighter, you’ll end up with less velcro securing the gloves and some sharp exposed velcro, which will no doubt scratch your training partners. Fortunately when you first get these gloves the elastic is rather sturdy, but it gives up a little over time.
Unfortunately the padding around the knuckles is very basic, and I wouldn’t advise using any of the lighter weights for long periods of time, but for short or light sessions they work fine. I wouldn’t suggest sparring in these, simply because it means less protection for the person you’re hitting. Over the years I’ve sparred with a number of beginners who picked these up, and they really don’t soften the blow much.
For fitness purposes, the padding is good enough, and the mesh palm is great at keeping your hands cool. While some gloves may get hot and sweaty, these felt cool to use at all times.They also have a grip bar which is actually a little softer than that on most boxing gloves, which allows a nice fist to be made.
There’s one other major issue I have with these gloves though – there is absolutely zero wrist support. In fact, there’s actually a fold exactly where my wrist joint falls, meaning these bend with my wrist. The padding is situated above the fingers, rather than the knuckles. This means when you throw a punch the pressure makes your wrist naturally roll down. If you follow through with this too much, you’ll end up taking the entire impact on a bent wrist. It could be a recipe for disaster.
If you do get these gloves, I’d advise that you make sure you’re paying good attention to keeping your wrist straight when you punch.
Cost
The Everlast Pro Style Training Gloves gloves currently retail at $44.99, which is actually a little steep for the quality of these gloves. Many stores frequently have these gloves discounted. Sports Direct in the UK almost always have these on sale for half price. The gloves have a few nice features, but overall the poor quality and lack of wrist support means you’re probably best looking elsewhere.
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