Thursday 28 February 2013

Fairtex BGV1 vs Hayabusa Ikusa [14oz]








Before you read the comparison, do understand that my knowledge of boxing gloves is quite small. I only had 6 months of training in Muay Thai and I have been using this gloves for a really short period as they both are new.
Moreover, I am 165cm tall and weight 56kg, my hand are quite small, so you can understand my impression on the gloves.

I have been researching for a while on the internet for what gloves to get, and although I have a thing for Hayabusa I could not get my hands on their gloves as they were not in the catalog in the european store until now.
I received the Ikusa today, and had the BGV1 for a week now.

My main concern was that I have been training with a pair of cheap Londsdale 8oz for 6 months and when I went competing the interclub, my hands felt heavy. I did not know that my gloves were 8oz until after I competed.
I happened to have some problems with my wrist while doing hooks and uppercuts on the Lonsdale.

I read that the Fairtex is a beloved brand, although a bit pricey but the quality was outstanding, I decided to buy them over Twins or Top King and other Thai brands.

Fairtex BGV1

The leather on the BGV1 looks really good and well pull on the glove.
The compartment is snug, however I feel a little gap on the wrist.
The strap is of a really good quality, but I can't make it to wrap the wrist as tight as I would like it to be.
The glove seems quite compact overall and feel sturdy but I could not tell until I got the Ikusa.
The palm is hard to open, in fact I can't.

What I don't like is how the leather fold on the palm inside. Is not smooth, it wrinkles in a way that bumps on the fingers, and so does the seam on the tip of the fingers. On the other side, it doesn't really bother me while training and it does not affect my performance.

Hayabusa Ikusa

Ikusa gloves uses engineered leather, but is not pulled well as the BGV1, leaving wrinkles on the sides and the tip of the glove.
It has really nice graphics.
The compartment is bigger than the BGV1.
The Ikusa has a dual strap system which should give better protection on the wrist. Also the glove look slightly longer and should get more surface of the wrist, and the opening of the glove goes up to the palm so that you can pull one side to the other more easily.
The glove itself seems slightly wider than the BGV1 but lighter too.
The palm can be open with some effort which makes it good for clinching.

I don't have the problem inside the compartment that I have with the BGV1, in fact I have a smooth grip inside.


No comments:

Post a Comment