Introduction
Adidas has been strongly associate with sports and fashion, and are quite popular in their mainstream products. However, when it comes to martial arts or boxing, it's certainly not one of their strengths. Moreover, Adidas products aren't always the cheapest or most value for money around.
That said, these pair of gloves fair decently, and are included because they might be more easily available locally than other brands MMA brands.
Official Specs:
- Made of buff calf leather
- Palm and thumb in '3G' nubuck-II 'HL' 100% PU hi-tec artificial leather
- Mesh finger area plus full moisture wicking palm inside
- 8cm wide leather / velcro elastic wrap around strap closing
- Injection moulded foam padding with air channels
- Contrast stitching
Aesthetics
Plain and simple black and white motive, with the distinctly Adidas 3 stripes. This particular model is also available in black and yellow with a slightly different design that makes it look like a bumble bee. The ClimaCool logo is printed on the palm area. There's a little mesh area where the grip bar is.
All the logos are printed on, but have not used these pair long enough to see if they will fade.
Form & Fit
On the first fitting, the inner lining was a little stiff and felt like cardboard. They'll soften over time though, but there's really nothing else special going for it in terms of comfort and feel. In fact, the whole glove feels rather stiff and needs awhile to break in.
The gloves do fit the hand pretty firmly though, and while there's a little space for the hand to shift, putting on a pair of handwraps should do the trick. I tried both the 12oz and 14oz, and they don't feel as oversized as some other brands. The weight range for these gloves run from 8oz to 16oz.
Functionality
Wrist protection is so-so, doesn't feel as deep as the Everlast or as tight as the Hayabusa. However, the elastic velcro strap does allow it to strap tighter than other single strap non-elastic gloves.
I don't usually feel the heat in my gloves, so I'm not sure how much added difference the ClimaCool moisture wicking helps to make things comfortable. Didn't make much of a difference for me, put might be a plus point if you're concerned about ventilation.
Being fairly compact, the gloves work efficiently on pads, bag, and sparring work without feeling like I'm carrying a bulk on my fists. Again, the stiffness may not be most suitable for sparring until it's been broken in somewhat. Even then, bag gloves should only be used for light sparring at best.
Affordability
Not the most value for money pair of gloves on the market, clocking in at roughly SGD$ 100 (US$ 78) at a local store here. For that price, I'd rather spend a little more on other brands and get something more comfortable or snazzier looking.
However, they do go for a pretty cheap price online, and if you're able to find a good deal, it might be worth your while. If you can find them locally, which shouldn't be too hard given how global the Adidas brand is, it might be worth considering if you're not patient enough to wait for shipping from the States for other brand names.
Conclusion
The Adidas gloves are a decent pair of workhorse gloves, just not the best bang for your buck. If you're not in a hurry if and don't mind spending the trouble to look for other options, I'd suggest taking the time to order a different pair of gloves.
Disclaimer
All comments in the review are my own personal opinion. Prices provided in brackets are merely for reference and are based on exchange rates at the time of writing.
If you like this review and found it helpful, please post a comment or let the company or retailer know too. Should you decide to purchase them online, you might want to consult the online buying guide for advice.
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