Revgear Original Thai Boxing Gloves Review (2024) – Thoroughly Tested

Revgear Original Thai Gloves Key Features

Being in the business since the mid-1990s, Revgear is one of the original martial arts brands and have products across all ranges of combat sports and martial arts.

You can get any kind of gear, apparel, training equipment, gym equipment, etc. with the Revgear tag, but today we will take a look at the Muay Thai niche, which is usually dominated by the originators in Thailand.

The Revgear Original Thai boxing gloves are part of a range of products handmade in Thailand.

If you’ve ever used products manufactured there, you know they are always of excellent quality and flawless craftsmanship.

These gloves aim to offer a fit familiar to fighters who use Thai-style gloves but with some modern improvements, and in this review, I will tell if they hit the mark or not.

Let’s first start with the official key features and then dive in deeper.

Revgear Original Thai Gloves Review

Leather/Material

As any respectable pair of Thai gloves should, the Revgear Original gloves are made from 100% genuine cowhide leather.

I get that synthetic alternatives are good, and I have used more than a few pairs, but the real deal is more durable, feels better, even smells better, and always wins in my book.

The leather used is thick, well-treated to a pleasant gloss, and has a nice texture and grain to it. It smells like real leather, and I think it will last quite a while.

Stitching

My experience with Revgear stitching hasn't been the best. I’ve used other gloves and shin guards from the same brand, and to be honest, the work was subpar and there were loose or uneven threads. I am happy to say there is none of that in the Original Thai gloves.

The Made in Thailand stamp on the front is well deserved, and the entire construction is flawless. There is double stitching in a lot of places, and there isn’t a single seam out of place on both gloves. Excellent craftsmanship. I am yet to test a product made in Thailand that has production flaws whatsoever.

Lining

The lining is nothing special, just the regular nylon used in the majority of gloves below the premium segment. I am not a big fan of it because it creates folds inside, but it gets the job done. A nice detail I like is that instead of the nylon lining, Revgear have used leather on the inside of the wrist cuff.

Padding

Revgear aim to recreate the distinct Thai glove feeling, and the padding distribution reflects this.

You get the typical well-rounded padding on all sides of the hand, designed to take bare-bone strikes like knees and elbows. The padding starts at the wrist and is spread almost evenly across the gloves.

A nice detail you can feel on the inside is that the padding close to the wrist starts thinner, and you can notice where it becomes thicker around the midway point of the hand.

This allows a better feel and mobility around the wrist and reinforces the padding on the spots where you will be taking more hits.

There is a piece of padding on the outside of the palm for blocking, which is typical for Thai gloves, but in this Revgear model is much thinner than usual.

Overall, the padding is definitely on the harder side. Perhaps it will soften with more use, but even after some rounds on the bag and sparring, it remains quite stiff. The overall size of the padding is not big for 14 ounces, meaning it has to be dense.

Shape

As I said, the gloves have a distinct Thai-style shape that is short and stocky. But where some Thai gloves go overboard with the outside padding and become too bulky,

Revgear have stayed in the sweet spot. I hate oversized gloves, and Thai models are sometimes way too big, but the Revgear Original are normal-sized even at the 14 ounces I have.

The thumb is also typical for this style of glove and is big and rounded, with the tip curved towards the palm.

Comfort

In terms of fit, the Revgear Thai gloves somewhat replicate other Thai brands and are comparable to Fairtex and Twins.

One area where I believe they are better is in the hand compartment size. Where others make it huge and loose, even hand wraps, the Revgear compartment is perfect.

It’s not too big and is not too tight; I find the one on the 14-ounce model just the right size with hand wraps.

The overall comfort, as I said, is average and comparable to other brands. Not great, but not poor either; just regular Thai-style boxing gloves.

One downside is that the finger compartment is a bit tight, but I have long fingers, so for most, this may not be an issue.

Making a fist feels natural, and you can open your hand a lot, which is a must for good clinch control.

Wrist Protection

The wrist cuff is short, round, and hard, just like with other Muay Thai gloves. I have thin wrists, and the strap still provides more than adequate protection, which cannot be said for all Thai gloves.

This type of cuff allows some wrist movement for clinching, but the overall wrist protection is quite good.

Visuals

As Revgear themselves say in a promo video, the visuals of this model are understated. For me, this is not a bad thing.

The full black gloves I got look classy, and the color is deep and rich. I like that they’ve chosen to go with a simple white logo on top and the “Original” sign.

The patch on the wrist strap has the standard California Revgear logo in white and red, which in general looks good, but I would have preferred it to be in black and white for this model. But even so, the gloves look nice.

Price and Competitors

The Revgear Original Thai gloves sell for $99, which is in the same segment as Twins and Fairtex’s comparable models. The three are of comparable quality, and the difference is more about personal preferences.

The price is fair for Thai-made gloves from genuine leather, and I believe these are much better than many gloves imported from other places that cost nearly the same.

Using the Gloves

This type of glove is usually used for all-around training and must be suitable for sparring, bag work, and pads at the same time.

Bag work

The relatively stiff padding feels great on the heavy bag. Even with the 14 ounces, you can feel your punches land, and there is enough feedback.

The wrist protection is good enough, and the thumb does not get in the way. I actually like these a lot as heavy bag and pad work gloves because of the well-maintained balance between protection and feedback and pop.

Sparring

I can tell you these are not my sparring partners' favorite gloves. As I explained, the padding is stiff and dense, and the punches can be felt.

They protect the puncher's hands excellently, but the one receiving the punches does not get the same treatment.

This is not to say these gloves are not good for sparring. At 14 ounces, they have enough padding, and I have done a few sparring sessions with no complaints, but other gloves are much gentler for sparring partners.

If you do Thai-style light sparring, the Revgear Original Thai gloves are great. The shape and the ability to open your hand almost completely make it perfect for clinching and catching kicks.

Lighter fighters will also find these protective enough for sparring.

But if you are over 180 pounds or want to spar with full power, you should probably look elsewhere for your sparring gloves.

Summary

The Revgear Original Thai gloves are handmade in Thailand with 100% cowhide leather which means they are durable and perfectly put together. While not ideal for sparring, the Revgear Originals are great as Muay Thai training gloves.