Full Sanabul 7oz MMA Hybrid Gloves Review
Protection & Padding
These Sanabul gloves are great for MMA sparring, or doing BJJ self defense drills. The main padding over the knuckle area is pretty dense and at least an inch thick over. It’s easily as thick as some of my Muay Thai gloves over the knuckles. The striking surface of the gloves also has a nice curve to it, which gives you plenty of cushion when throwing punches but does curve the fingers forward a bit. If you get careless, eye pokes are a high possibility due to the forced curvature of the glove.
Slight padding bar over the wrist, and a 1/4 inch padding sequence over the thumb slot. The wrist wrap has three stages of velcro, and fully circles the wrist twice giving significant support on top of your own wrist wraps. We practiced ground and pound defense and free sparring for an hour the first day I got them, and my training partner said they were great. My hands and wrists felt great, and I felt comfortable letting my hands go and following through without being concerned about damaging my partner.
Comfort
These gloves do run small, and the finger slots are a bit tight. I’m 5’8 and 170 lbs and I ordered the Large/XL based on online reviews, and good thing. I’m a size medium in most gear, and these are pretty darn snug when my hands are wrapped. The size options are Large/XL or Small/Med; I would even take a bigger size up for a little more wiggle room with the wrist wraps. The open palm make things feel less restrictive and keep you from getting the soggy glove hand.
Other than the size restrictions, the position of the thumb slot relative to the glove is great, and the hand feels pretty relaxed when at rest.
Quality & Durability
These are leather gloves with excellent stitching. The foam padding over the knuckles and the inside of the glove is covered with a synthetic material common in other MMA gloves and shin guards. The finger and thumb loops are also well made and unlikely to become detached at any point. These gloves seem to be engineered to last, I expect 3 years out of them with proper care.
Design
Great design overall for sparring, less so for competition. It’s more like having a miniature pillows to your hands than putting on gloves, which I like. The 7oz glove still gives the relative mechanics of fighting bareknuckle, but with protection for both you and your training partner.
The curvature of the glove is both good and bad, as it keeps your hand slightly closed for striking, but does force the fingers forward a bit, which seems almost unavoidable. The design of the thumb padding is great also, it melds perfectly with the main padding to create good protection for your thumb, while still giving it the freedom to engage when grappling.
Sanabul MMA Gloves Cost
The cost is really what got me on these gloves. I found them for $20, and they are worth every penny. Compare to similar models by Hayabusa, RDX, Combat Sports, and others that range from $40-60 and you can appreciate the difference. Absolutely no complaints in this department.
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Pros & Cons
I purchased this pair of Sanabul 7oz MMA Hybrid gloves at full price. This did not influence the outcome of this review, written after training 3 weeks with them.
