Introduction
Adidas offers a variety of hand protection including handwraps and gelwraps, and this one here is a gelwrap for your convenience.
Official Specs:
- 2mm neoprene with 10mm GEL (14mm in total) padded knuckle
- Neoprene thumb and moisture wicking breathable palm and back of hand.
- Transfer Printed Adidas Logo & heat transferred Climacool sticker.
Aesthetics
A simple black design, pretty basic. And unless you're the sort who likes flashy handwraps that probably go unseen under your gloves, this is fairly decent. The logos will probably wear quickly with use though, mine had use marks after just one session.
Form & Fit
These gelwraps come in those irritating S/M and L/XL sizes. I'm not a big fan of combined sizes, as it defeats the purpose of sizing in the first place. Just call it Regular and Large (like McDonalds) then, why mix it up that way? It irritates me because I know an S/M will always be a little to big for the S size guys, namely me, and sometimes a little too small for the M guys.
Anyway, yes, this pair of gelwraps are a little large for my small hands. They bulge out just a bit at the sides, while the finger holes are a little roomy. While these are just minor issues, the main problem I have with it is the thumb slot. They must have designed it for a really big thumb, because the cover reaches almost to my thumbnail! It's also quite baggy around the thumb, which makes movement of the thumb a bit awkward.
Unlike some of the other gelwraps out there, this one comes with a Mexican (elastic) wrap extension that's attached to the gelwrap. This allows you to tighten up at the wrist to a suitable snugness, so at least that's the saving grace for adjustments.
Functionality
Now, I'm not really a fan of gelwraps, being an oldschool handwrap traditionalist. Handwraps usually offer more wrist protection if you wrap it right, while gelwraps are designed for lazy asses to just slip on, so they only protect the knuckles but not the wrist.
With this gelwrap though, it does seem to offer the better knuckle protection through the gel, while still maintaining some level of wrist protection with the wrap extension, though at the expense of convenience. One way to do this is to wrap the extension around the fingers and back to the wrist again like how you would with a normal pair of handwraps, instead of just going round and round the wrist.
Unfortunately, the side effect of wrapping that way means it covers most of the breathing mesh at the palm and back of hand, making it less breathable.
That said, the gelwraps are fairly comfortable once you overlook the sizing issue on the thumb. The gel protection is also quite good, I can do light bagwork without gloves, though these can be worn under a pair of gloves as well. The gloves and the gel protection combo ensure that you're highly unlikely to hurt your knuckles unless you punch like Shane Carwin.
For those who like to feel how their knuckles impact on the pads though, this might numb the feeling somewhat, as I'm not always able to tell if I punched correctly with my front two knuckles.
As with any pair of gelwraps, the gel will wear over time when absorbing impact, and will eventually be smashed to pulp. Not too sure how long before it needs replacing, but just keep that in mind when using gelwraps.
Affordability
These cost SGD $36 (US $28) locally, that's about 3 times the price of a pair of handwraps. Personally, I wouldn't cash it in, but I was curious. Being Adidas products, they should be fairly accessible at your local store.
Conclusion
Overall, a decent product. Get this if you're a hard hitter and need some extra knuckle protection without compromising wrist protection. Or you could use two handwraps instead, which would still be cheaper.
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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