Zeal MMA Shooto Gloves

Introduction

Zeal Fightgear is a local gear supplier based in Singapore, with the purpose of providing affordable quality gear to locals and those in the SEA region. They have a wide range of products, including MMA gear, BJJ gis, and Muay Thai equipment. This time round, I have with me their Shooto gloves.

Official Specs:

• Designed to give you both the benefits of 6oz boxing gloves and mma gloves.
• For use during MMA/Ground n pound training. 
• Built with 100% cowhide leather .
• Comes with additional length wrist straps to keep your wrists secure while punching.

Aesthetics

The Zeal shooto gloves have a simple black aesthetics to it, with the Zeal text logo on the back of the glove, and the full Zeal logo patch sewn onto the strap. It's a no frills design for those who want something functional and non-flashy.

Form & Fit

Coming in sizes M, L, and XL, these gloves are on the smaller side especially when compared to US brands. The M size feels a little too small for me, and I have small hands. My knuckle circumference is around 21cm when forming a loose fist, and I had initial difficulties squeezing my hand past the elastic wrist strap. It has eased up somewhat after stretching it out a couple of times.

While I don't have an L size to compare against, I think it's safe for most guys with slightly larger hands to size up to L. 

The fit is tight, with the thumb loop cutting into my thumb initially until the leather stretched out. The rest of the glove fits well around my fingers though, and forms around the knuckles nicely. The inner lining is soft and comfortable, with a little texture to reduce shifting.

The wraparound strap for the gloves are fairly long, and I was able to tighten it snugly with little space in between. The strap also ends nicely within the velcro patch, something I'm particular about, as it reduces incidents of scratching a partner or getting caught somewhere and coming loose accidentally.

Functionality

If there's one thing that I noticed about these gloves right off the bat, it was the padding. These guys are thick! It looks like 1.5-2 inches of foam, and feels like I'm wielding mini turtle shells on my fists. Cowabunga dude! Check out the comparison photo below.

Putting them to the test, they work excellent on the bag, and could be used instead of regular boxing gloves. However, the padding's a little stiff, so it may not be suitable for sparring work, at least initially until the foam as been broken into.

Wrist support on these gloves is actually quite decent, because of the tight strap and the way the padding extends down closer to the wrist. But still, don't expect it to be the same as boxing gloves.

One minor gripe would be the lack of any decent padding on the thumb loop. It's completely flat, as though someone stuck another piece of leather to make it thicker, but no foam to provide any cushion at all. 

Another thing I noticed is the lack of any piping on the inner edges of the gloves where the thumb loop joins to the main section of the glove. At the moment it's merely an aesthetic issue, but only time will tell whether this will have implications on durability as well.

Affordability

Zeal's official website is under construction at the moment, but their official distributor in Singapore, Thatmmashop, is selling it for SGD $85 with free local postage. With other brand name shooto styled gloves going for US $60 (SGD $77) and up without shipping, Zeal could be a possible alternative if you're having difficulties finding decent international shipping options.

Conclusion

The Zeal MMA shooto gloves are a simple, functional pair of gloves worth considering if you're need something in a hurry and want to support local. It's definitely not the best in its class, but it's pretty accessible to us in the SEA region.

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.