Lemarr Ultimate Pro Edition MKII Gloves Review
Published September 1, 2008 by Boxing Capital
After 10 solid days of testing, our 4 equipment 'testers' got together to deliberate over our first equipment review and I am pleased to tell you that we have reached a Unanimous Decision. All 4 of us used the 14oz size of both the Velcro and Lace Up versions of the 'Lemarr Ultimate Pro Edition MKII' Gloves for both Sparring and Bag/Pad work to test the Quality, Durability, Value and Protection offered by the Gloves.
For all 4 'testers' it was the first time that we had used any Lemarr equipment, so we were all eager to see how they matched up to the various brands each of us are currently using.
First Impressions.....
Were good as we all agreed there was a striking attention to detail evident in all aspects of the gloves - for example, you usually purchase gloves and they come packed in a clear plastic bag, which you simply rip apart and throw in the bin. Lemarr's gloves did too come packed in a clear plastic bag, but this was actually within a separate 'glove bag', which can be utilised again and again, keeping your gloves away from all the other sweaty items in your gym bag, which clearly does not do the longevity of the exterior of your gloves any good.
The Look.....
Despite significant interior padding it should be pointed out that this does not in anyway affect 'The Look' of the gloves. They certainly do not have an unattractive padded appearance that some competitors have, in fact, quite the opposite. They look like genuine, Mexican crafted contest gloves - that unmistakably crisp look that you see in televised contests.
On closer inspection, it soon becomes apparent how the gloves have been made to fit so well and look so crisp at the same time - there is a two-layer system in place, an excellent idea. The inner layer leaves your hand snugly wrapped in flexible cotton wool type surroundings (see 'The Fit' for further details on this), whilst the outer layer is exactly the type of sharp, crisp and protective foam often seen in boxing gloves of the highest quality.
The Fit.....
The fit of gloves is important - they need to be comfortable, yet compact enough that you hand is not slipping inside them. The fit of gloves is not always noticeable at the first attempt - I've often heard fellow boxers say that gloves need to be 'worn in' or used more to 'mold to your hands'. Whilst this may be true to some extent, any gloves we have previously used have never molded to such a degree that we have noticed the fit as a major positive of the gloves.
'The Fit' of this set of gloves is where Lemarr really excels; we all agreed that as soon as we put our hands inside the gloves it felt fantastic. Obviously the explaining the feel inside a glove in writing is not always the easiest thing to do, but from the inside, your hands feel like they are packed in amongst tightly packed cotton wool - making it a comfortable, yet secure position. Because of the soft nature of the inside material of the gloves, the interior padding seems to move, adjusting to the size of your hand, giving it the most secure fit possible.
Protection.....
Of our 4 'testers' 2 of us have suffered long term hand injuries and whilst these were not attributed to the type of gloves being used at the time, it has highlighted the importance of protection when selecting your gloves. Even if you have not suffered any hand injuries yet, you should still treat this as a major factor when purchasing gloves; after all, your hands are the tools of your trade and put quite simply, you cannot box if you are injured. For amateurs this can mean frustration and missing out on bouts/championships, for professionals, this can mean no income.
Protection in The Lemarr Ultimate Pro Edition MKII is excellent. We have already mentioned the two layer system (see 'The Look'), the inner layer of which provides superb protection. In addition, the protection around the wrist area is unparalleled - dense foam covers your inside cuff area and also goes higher towards the inside of your hands. There is also good protection offered to the top of your wrist (an area that can be exposed to elbows inside etc). We all agreed we had not seen such importance placed on protection in these areas - impressive.
Durability.....
It can be hard to judge the durability and effective lifespan of a glove in a 10 day test (and we plan to revisit this in a few months time for an update) but after 10 solid days of punching - including two days by a hard hitting super heavyweight - we have seen no ill effects. The general quality offered by the gloves suggests to me that even if you used these gloves for bagwork, padwork and sparring, it would take at least 12 months before you noticed any wear and tear, although I actually suspect that they may last even longer than that.
Value.....
Both the Velcro and Lace Up versions of the gloves retail at GBP 69.99, which is an excellent price for the quality of these gloves. Gloves of comparable quality usually retail at GBP 90.00 or more, which underlines the good price point. However, we do realise that some of you may not be looking to spend quite so much on gloves.
To underline the quality of the Lemarr products, check out their customer feedback page on their blog here - its shows lots of satisfied customers and prompt responses from The Lemarr Team where required, so you have the assurance of good after sales service, in the unlikely event that it is required.
Negatives.....
After such a complimentary review - I hear you ask, what's the catch? There must be something wrong! Well, we asked ourselves that question numerous times. The first criticism raised was that the thumb attachment to the glove appeared weak and looked like it would come apart. I then reluctantly proceeded to try and rip apart the thumb attachment! After a fair amount of tugging the attachment it did not come apart (don't ever say that we don't stretch the boundaries in our reviews)! So back to the drawing board we went.
The two minor (and we stress 'minor') criticisms we had were - The Price; GBP 69.99 is a lot of money. But, for the fantastic gloves you are purchasing, this represents a superb price (see 'Value' for more) but it will put it out of some people's reach. However, if you are looking to pay a max of GBP 40-50 for gloves then it's likely you will have to make sacrifices in terms of quality. In our experience, you get what you pay for (although we certainly don't mean the more expensive the gloves the better the quality is).
Another minor point relates to the lace up gloves; the customary brand label on the top of the wrist area is very small - quite clearly, this in no way detracts from the performance of the gloves, but it just doesn't quite look right/perfect. On the Velcro gloves, the brand label covers the whole wrist area, as is more commonly seen on other brands of gloves. Both of the above points are minor issues and certainly would not prevent any of our team purchasing these gloves, but it should give you some indication of how thorough our equipment testing process is.
Velcro vs. Lace Up.....
Clearly, this is an interesting topic - I mean how different could Velcro and Lace Up versions of the same glove be? That question was immediately raised by three of our team.
The obvious answer is not very different, but, there are a couple of small differences that we should highlight to ensure that you make the right choice between the two.
The most obvious is in 'The Fit' of the gloves. Both gloves offer a compact and secure fit, but the Lace Up Gloves, when tied correctly, do feel that much more compact around your hand than the Velcro version. This then comes down to a personal choice - do you want a tighter fit or a fit that allows your hand a small amount of room to breathe?
The second difference is with regards to 'Protection'. This is another subtle difference in that there is more actual padding offered on the top of the wrist by the Lace Up gloves - protection offered by the Velcro version seems to amount to the Velcro itself.
Despite what appear to be two points in favour of the Lace Up Gloves, the final vote perhaps reiterated that this simply comes down to a personal preference.
Of our 4 'testers' the
final score came out Lace Up 1, Velcro 3.
Judges Scorecard
Value - 9
Durability - 8
Protection - 9
The Look - 9
The Fit - 9.5
Overall - 9
*** Your should note that Durability has only scored an 8, despite our positive comments. This is due to the fact that we only have the experience of a 10 day test and therefore have to rely on assumptions from what we've seen during that period. As assumption is involved, we are not comfortable in rating any gloves higher than 8 in this catergory. We will revisit this topic with further use of the gloves and adjust the rating accordingly.
Summary
To summarise, if you are looking for a good quality pair of training gloves and have GBP 69.99 to spend - look no further. Even if your budget is a little smaller, it is worth trying to stretch the budget to purchase these gloves. We will be reviewing other Lemarr products in the future (including Lemarr's Headguard with Cheek Protection) and look forward to seeing if all of the equipment offered by their brand is of such high quality.
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