Getting good boxing gloves is extremely important to your practice as a boxer for fighting in the ring. Having a really good set of boxing gloves will protect your hands.
Is Leather Or Synthetic Boxing Gloves The Best?
Leather is one of the best materials you can get for boxing. This is because the material is longlasting where as synthetic can easily split and not last half as long. With so many brands to choose from you really want to be informed on which is best.
Here are some really interesting facts regarding synthetic and leather boxing gloves.
After reading these facts you will have a better understanding of which gloves to choose.
Which Gloves Are Better For Boxing Leather Or Synthetic?
If you want to become a boxing pro, leather gloves are your best choice.
Real leather is more durable and resistant to hard impacts, stretching and moisture. It makes your hands feel comfortable even after hours of uninterrupted training.
Given its higher comfort and durability, leather gloves are perfect for you if you train frequently.
If you don’t have a major goal in boxing and practise this sport just to stay in shape, you can buy a set of synthetic gloves.
Synthetic gloves are lower-quality, being not so good for frequent training, because they can get easily split under intense hitting sessions.
They are pretty flexible and lightweight, but their durability leaves much to be desired.
Moreover, a big disadvantage of synthetic gloves is that take long to dry.
So if you train daily, they may not have time to dry fully. The moisture left inside can cause odour that will make you feel uncomfortable while training.
You can use synthetic gloves if you practise boxing rarely and have a low hitting power.
This will slow down the gloves’ splitting and make them last for longer. Once you bring your skills to a new level, you are best off to buy a set of professional leather gloves.
Are Synthetic Leather Gloves Good?
Synthetic gloves are good as long as not exposed to intense use. They aren’t as bad as you imagine. Using them moderately keeps them far from splitting, premature wear and tear and mold.
They can perform not worse than leather ones if you keep hitting with amateur power.
They are resilient, light, and easy to clean. If you subject them to a more intense training, their weaknesses will start getting on the surface.
The most vulnerable synthetic gloves are vinyl and polyurethane.
They are sensitive to frequent training and powerful hits. Also, they retain moisture, slowing down its evaporation, which leads to mold growth and odour.
Fortunately, not all synthetic gloves are low-quality. If you are a vegan and refuse wearing clothes made of real leather, you can buy a set of microfiber gloves. This synthetic material is very similar to leather.
It’s resilient, durable, lightweight, dries out fast and holds up to intense and frequent training.
It can last just as long as natural leather does. The main difference is that microfiber gloves are smoother, because they don’t contain coarse grain found in animal hide.
Smoother texture may come handy to your sparring partner. It’s not necessary for him to wear a head guard given that smooth gloves are less likely to leave scars on his face.
However, if you punch hard, the smooth glove will feel as painful as the coarse glove.
Is Leather Good For Boxing Gloves?
Leather is definitely better than synthetic materials. But, is leather actually good for boxing? Let’s take a look at the features of natural leather and how they can affect your boxing experience.
First of all, gloves made of this leather material are resilient.
You need your boxing gloves to be resilient when throwing hard punches as well as when putting on and taking off the gloves. The more flexible the gloves are, the more comfortable your hands feel inside them.
Leather boxing gloves are also extremely durable, which is highly important in combat sports. Hard punches can create enough tension to split the material of the glove.
This is not what happens with such ultra resistant leathers as cowhide and buffalo.
In spite of the draconic stress they are exposed to, they resist.
Even after months of intense training, natural leather maintains its integrity and glossy appeal. Light weight is another advantage of leather gloves.
If you train 2-3 hours a day, you need a set of light gloves that don’t put a burden on your arms.
The heavier the gloves, the faster you get tired. You have to spend a lot of energy on keeping your hands up, rather than on punching.
Heavy gloves also make you do the punching technique wrongly. In result, your hit is low effective. Leather gloves save you from all these issues, being lightweight and easy to handle.
Other features you want to find in boxing gloves is odorless and fast drying.
Leather gloves do not trap moisture as synthetic ones do. This makes the growth of bad-smelling mold impossible, unless you dry the gloves wrongly.
To ensure all moisture evaporates from inside the gloves, hang them air dry in a ventilated place. Make sure, though to avoid artificial heat sources, like hair dryer, as extreme heat can shrink the leather boxing gloves
Furthermore, steer clear of direct sunlight. The sun’s UV slowly ruins the leather on the chemical level, making it stiffer and less durable.
How Long Do Leather Boxing Gloves Last?
The longevity of your leather boxing gloves depends on a bunch of factors.
Firstly, it’s the amount of beating it gets. A pair of gloves used primarily for sparring will last for up to 3 years, because sparring implies gentler punches.
Hence, your boxing handwear will wear out slower.
If you use the gloves for heavy bag punching, their normal wear and tear will take place faster. It’s because you use to hit harder and quicker in a punching bag than in a sparring partner.
With that said, such gloves will last for 1 year and even longer if it’s superior-quality leather.
How you care for your gloves also impacts their longevity. You have to treat your leather handwear like gold to make it serve you for years to come.
Make sure to clean your gloves after each training with natural products that contain no harsh chemicals. This will help prevent infections and get rid of debris and germs your gloves collect in the gym.
After you clean them, let them air dry. Avoid using hair dryer and sunlight to dry the gloves faster. These sources of heat may speed up the drying, but they make the gloves less flexible and shrunken.