Review of Fuel Fight Gear X2 Sparring Gloves and Lace-Guards

A staple of any fighters’ gym bag, the boxing glove is the most basic training tool for combat sports and a pair could be found in three out of four homes with a male between 18-35 in it. In other news, I completely made up that statistic, but it sounds pretty accurate to me. What is definitely accurate is that this is going to be a product review of a new pair of boxing gloves from Fuel Fight Gear, a company that specializes in professional boxing equipment and, therefore, should be ahead of the curve when it comes to boxing gloves.

Today we are reviewing the Fuel Fight Gear X2 Sparring Gloves, which come in red, blue, and black, and according to the makers of the glove, “are super-protective without being over-stuffed like many other brands and makes for a world-class training glove.” The goal of these gloves is to be incredibly comfortable without being too full of padding, as well as durable and long-lasting. My job as The Fight Nerd is to make sure these claims are legit, and to see if they are not just comfy, but also practical and keep your hands safe from harm while you inflict pain on others.

Hit the jump for the full review of the Fuel Fight Gear X2 Sparring Gloves!

To their credit, the gloves are some of the most comfortable ones that I have worn, while not being burdened with an excess of hard padding. Most new gloves are very stiff, but these gloves felt like someone had broken them in for me and slid right on, ready for action. High-quality leather is the key to this, along with a soft FLEXarmor lining designed to keep moisture out of your gloves. The palm side has a grip, but not one of the huge ones I have seen on other boxing gloves. Lacing the gloves up is easy, but will take a helper to get you through your second hand, and maybe even your first one if you want them to be as tight as possible.

This is the first pair of boxing gloves that I have reviewed where I can use the word “luxurious” to describe how they feel. It feels like I am putting on a fancy expensive glove for a night out on the town rather than four rounds in the ring, and that is a great feeling to have. Cheaper gloves always have that harsh, rough texture to them, while higher-end ones will invest in a softer material, but the Fuel Fight Gear X2 sparring gloves take that comfort to a new level, all while doing a great job of keeping your hands safe while you box.

Making a fist feels easier than ever, thanks to a lower amount of hard-padding in the fist part of the glove. With hand-wraps on, your hands will be super snug in these and very secure, but even without them you will be protected. As the product description mentioned, these gloves do have less bulky padding as opposed to boxing gloves from Knockout Athletics. At first, this was a turn-off as I was worried about feeling the impact of my blows. While you will feel the impact slightly more than other gloves, that comes with the concept of sparring gloves as opposed to gloves meant for training. The gloves are closer to competition gloves, so if you are a serious student, you will want that added bit of realism for when you spar.

The interesting thing that came with these gloves are the lace guards, which at first glance looked like enormous wristbands. In reality, they are, but have a very high functionality on boxing gloves with laces. This band provides a new layer of protection, in that it not only protects you better, but also protects your gloves. Many people will tape their gloves up to keep the laces from flopping around, but with the lace guards, you can simply slip them on your wrists and snugly tuck them away.

Made from a highly elastic terry-cloth, these wide guards can be troublesome at first when you try to put them on. I found the best way to put them on was to put them on your wrists first, high up on your forearm. Then put your gloves on, tie them up, and slip the lace-guard down. This is really a two-person job, but that comes with the territory of laced gloves. Once they are on, the guards are tight and keep the laces in place without adding unnecessary pressure or restraint to your wrist. In the long run, this guard will keep your gloves free from potential damage from tape, as well as protecting you and your opponent from wild lace-caused injuries.

The gloves come in a variety of weights which you can easily navigate through on the Fuel Fight Gear site before you purchase them. The lightest weight starts at 8 oz. and goes up in increments of two ounces all the way up to 18 oz., with the exception of 12 oz. gloves. The weight of the gloves does not seem to affect their cost however, and every pair will cost you $89.95. High-end gloves will cost you that much, but as much as I enjoyed these gloves I have a hard time with that price-tag. It might be the fact that most of the gloves I see for this price typically have more padding, but the comfort factor is the biggest sell-point with these gloves and they absolutely deliver with their promise of luxury while you beat up people. If you are wearing wraps with these on, it might not be as noticeable, but beyond the comfort they still deliver a secure and safe glove that fits right into your training routine. If you are looking to invest into a pair of high-end gloves, I would recommend these, but don’t come back to me later complaining about other companies, since Fuel Fight Gear is really spoiling their customers with how comfy their products are. The lace-guards are a mere $6, but come free with any pair of gloves you buy from Fuel Fight Gear, and I would recommend those if you use boxing gloves with laces, or even ones with zelcro straps as an added layer of protection to your opponents when you spar.

Overall, I would give these my thumbs up, but make a decision on how much padding you need from a glove. If you are okay with the Everlast style of gloves in terms of how much padding they have and want a good upgrade beyond that, these are the gloves for you. If you require more protection, you might want to check out a different pair, but there is still plenty of padding here for a student of any level and your fists and wrists will be protected and safe no matter what. If you would like to order a pair of the Fuel Fight Gear X2 Sparring Gloves for yourself, head to this link here. If you would like to purchase a pair of the lace-guards, you can check out this link too.

If you enjoyed this gear review, you might like to check out these other reviews: Knockout Athletics “Evo Sparring Gloves” Review, The Elevation Training Mask, Roman Fight Gear MMA “Battling” Gloves review and the Aries Fight Gear Pro MMA gloves review.