[Terrier]

Rogue Sparmaster MMA training gloves Review

Been meaning to get this written for ages now, but with one thing and another I’ve been delayed – better late than never though.

I bought the sparmasters because at the time they were the only MMA sparring glove I was aware of (other than shooto gloves which can be harder to grip with), since then a couple of new gloves have popped up. I'm almost a pure BJJ guy but wanted to start rolling with some strikes in to shake things up a bit so was pleased whern my gloves arrived in the post.

As you may have seen they’re somewhat of an odd design with extra padding around the knuckle. This does its job in protecting your sparring partner however really does get in the way when you try to grapple, especially for someone like me that uses a lot more chokes than other subs, and makes getting your arms out of someone going for an armbar on you a total nightmare. With the added bulk the gloves generally make your arms easy enough to control for your sparring partner. On the plus side they don’t hinder your grip much at all and are feel decent on you, so from that side of things they come up trumps.

The wrist wrap system is very good, wrapping around your wrist several times secured by Velcro, this is something a lot of other glove makers could learn from, and despite my concerns about the sparring gloves being too bulky for grappling I would be inclined to give the proper MMA gloves a go simply because they use the same wrist support system.

All in all the rouges are fine if your wanting to spar mostly striking with a little bit grappling thrown in, however if you’re 50/50 or leaning more towards the grappling side of things (like me) then I would maybe look towards the gameness or Konjo gloves. Unfortunately I have not used either personally, but hopefully someone else will be able to review so you can all compare when making your choices.

Overall I give the sparmasters a 6/10, they simply weren’t made with grappling in mind, but are good for mostly standup work.

[Fightgear UK]

You echo my views on the gloves exactly Terrier. I found the padding really does impede your grappling ability. I like the wrist wrap but think the gloves are a dead loss for proper MMA sparring. Not sure if yours get like the ones I've used but after a couple of months of regular use, the stitching seems to be ripping due to the repeated sideways pressure on the padding when grappling.

I think ultimately, the key to making a decent MMA sparring glove is not down to the amount of padding but rather the materials. If you could get a thinner padding material with the same amount of cushioning effect (mabe some kind of gel or foam mix) then you would have a winner.

BTW... I saw a cracking pair of new gloves in Grappling magazine from Combat Sports. Anyone tried them?

[Terrier]

No problems with the stitching on mine, although you may have used yours more than me.

Do you know the name of the gloves you saw?

[Fightgear UK]

yeah they are here
http://www.combatsports.com/DETAIL.ASPX?ID=21847
But these ones are classed as 'MMA Sparring Gloves' - they look nice!
http://www.combatsports.com/DETAIL.ASPX?ID=21853

[Terrier]

Oh those ones - one of my training partners (who's been away for a couple of months) uses those ones I beleive - they seem good but I think he may have said something about them giving a little trouble with his grip.

[thedon_1]

So are the fairtex sparring gloves the best then?

And has anyone tried the ones on grapplergear yet?

[Terrier]

It's hard to say what are the best without using all the gloves frankly.

[meatbulle]

Thanks. Been looking for a review of the Sparmasters for ages... From your experience it looks like I won't buy them - I like to grapple a bit more.

[Foolkiller]

I've tried the Rogue sparmaster and the Fairtex sparring gloves and aside from the leather finger loops on the Fairtex gloves being prone to irrirate your fingers if you put them on wrong (so the loops are around the first bones of your fingers rather than the bone between the second and third knuckles) I think they are much better. I wish they'd change the finger loops and use Neoprene like the No Grip loops on the Hawks gloves since the leather isn't conducive to helping your grip, but that one minor gripe aside they are the best sparring gloves I have used. I do want to try get a hold of some Hawks ones in the future though.

[Terrier]

Originally Posted by meatbulle

Thanks. Been looking for a review of the Sparmasters for ages... From your experience it looks like I won't buy them - I like to grapple a bit more.

No problem