Review on Ultimate Protection and Performance: Venum Elite Boxing Gloves by Aravind Joshi

Venum has several lines of boxing gloves from Contender to Giant. They all look good, but vary greatly in comfort, padding, and cooling. Disclaimer: I train Muay Thai 2-3 times a week, mostly pad work/sparring. I use other (much lighter) pocket gloves. I would generally advise staying away from Contender Venum Contender Boxing Gloves Gray 16 oz. Her padding was painfully (pun intended) inadequate. The heat had nowhere to go either, so I couldn't afford to live with them in my already injured hands at an attractive price (in fact, exactly half the price of the Elite). After trying the Challenger Venum Challenger 2.0 Boxing Gloves, White, 16oz at our gym, I found them to be better, but not by much. I chose the Elite based on three factors: better padding, ventilated mesh, and a soft palm. By the way, pay special attention to the choice of options – most Elite models do not come with a ventilated mesh panel at this time, but only in black/red/grey, neo-orange or yellow and white/black/red. The soft palm is a very useful feature when working with gloves and both you and your partner use gloves instead of pads. With the exception of some Twins and (possibly) higher priced Hayabusa models, this is the only option. These gloves also have very good wrist stabilization. They fit my hands pretty well and look like they'll last a long time until the admittedly faux leather starts to crumble. The Sharp and Giant lines use Nappa leather, but I don't think it matters that much. They are handmade in Thailand and the workmanship seems very solid - no protruding threads or rough surfaces, both gloves fit equally well. Highly recommended.