Everybody likes quality products, but after years of martial arts training, I have come to value them even more. Not only are quality products more durable or better-looking, but in martial arts and combat sports, the actual safety and health of an individual could depend on the quality of the equipment used.
This is the reason why I have become quite harsh of a critic when it comes to martial arts gear. Since these items are bought for safety, I expect the product to deliver, especially when it comes to kids. Kids are younger, more vulnerable, and have weaker bones as well, which makes them much more susceptible to harm while training. Therefore, I believe in having to always use quality products in children’s training sessions.
I found the Pro-Force Lightning Punches Sparring gloves to be high-quality, affordable, and good-looking equipment, and suitable for kid’s martial arts classes. It is not the very best quality, and it isn’t a premium brand, but seeing as the value for money and the actual product are all great, the logo doesn’t seem to matter too much.
In this review, I will talk about the Pro-Force Lightning Punches gloves for kids. I will discuss some of its major strengths and then some pros and cons of the product. My goal is to enable parents to make a good decision when it comes to choosing gloves for their children.
Read on if you are interested!
Pro-Force Lightning Punches Overview
Pro Force Lightning Punches Karate Sparring Gloves
The Pro Force Lightning Punches Karate Sparring Gloves provide 1/2″ thick vinyl-covered foam protection for the fist, wrist, and part of the forearm. They feature double-layered knuckle padding, a reinforced vinyl strap, and a secure elastic strap with hook and loop closure. Suitable for point sparring and light contact fighting, they offer great value and flexibility for martial artists.
PROS
- Solid construction
- Thick and comfortable foam
- Good price
CONS
- Lack of color options
- Sizing issues
The Pro-Force Lighting Punches gloves are a pair of children’s combat gloves, mostly directed towards training striking-dominant martial arts. It is not a boxing glove, since the hand is not fully enclosed, and the fingers can be moved and extended completely, but it does fill the role of a glove, which is to protect the hands. It does it while also enabling hand movement, which is important for MMA, karate, Muay Thai, and a bunch of other sports that need both the clenched fist and also open hands for grappling, clinching, or wrestling.
It is not made by one of the large brands like Adidas or Nike, but its quality is exceptional, especially for its price point. One of the features of the product that really stands out over its competition is the fact that it has double-layered foam from the knuckles all the way to a part of the forearm, which provides stability and protection for some of the most vulnerable bones on the hand, but also enough flexibility for it not to hold back the child in sparring or fighting.
Vinyl-Dipped, Single-Pieced Foam
Most of the time, I would recommend buying multi-layered gloves, which often have added protection and structure. However, this is mostly true for adults, and not that much for children. Children are a lot weaker than adults, and they don’t deliver punches that are hard enough to substantially deform the gloves. This means that the structural integrity of the gloves will be preserved for quite a long time, especially since these gloves are made out of a single piece of foam.
This helps the gloves jump back to their original shape, meaning that it will last longer than a glove with a worse internal structure. The vinyl coating also helps give the product both a great-looking finish and also extra durability, since it also helps keep the gloves in shape. This means you won’t have to buy gloves for your martial artist children for quite a while, and even then it will probably be due to their growth, not the product’s lack of structure and durability.
Double-Layered Knuckle Protection
As mentioned earlier, these gloves have double-layered protection from the knuckles all the way to the forearm. To clarify, this isn’t a part of the main foam body, that is still a single piece of foam, but it is rather like another, external layer that is placed strategically to reduce damage and the chance of injury.
Aside from helping the main body with keeping its structural integrity, it serves an arguably much more important purpose, and that is the protection of your children’s hands.
The reason gloves were created in the first place is to reduce the chance of hand or head fractures, so this addition or feature is a nod to the function of gloves in general.
This means reduced chance of injury, less-powerful impact on the joints, and also less damage inflicted upon the opponent, which are all really important for all parents with kids in martial arts environments.
Elastic Band and Vinyl Strip
These gloves are fastened onto the wrist by an elastic band, which secured the gloves perfectly in place by providing the optimum amount of pressure. Aside from this, there is also a vinyl strip and finger spaces on the palm of the glove, which all help the children hold the gloves even more securely.
Just like a slippery knife-handle or bad quality tires, any such sloppy equipment can lead to immense amounts of damage and injury. The same happens with gloves. Gloves need to be held securely, otherwise, they will flop around and can even result in broken wrists, which makes these safety additions great for children.
Our Verdict
Pro Force Lightning Punches Karate Sparring Gloves
The Pro Force Lightning Punches Karate Sparring Gloves provide 1/2″ thick vinyl-covered foam protection for the fist, wrist, and part of the forearm. They feature double-layered knuckle padding, a reinforced vinyl strap, and a secure elastic strap with hook and loop closure. Suitable for point sparring and light contact fighting, they offer great value and flexibility for martial artists.
PROS
- Solid construction
- Thick and comfortable foam
- Good price
CONS
- Lack of color options
- Sizing issues
The Pro-Force Lightning Punches gloves are an amazing pair of combat gloves for children, especially beginners in martial arts like karate, MMA, Muay Thai, or kickboxing. It fits securely on the hands of children and gives them enough confidence to try to test their limits and strike powerfully, making them much more involved in the art they are training.
There aren’t really many bad sides or cons of this product, aside from the fact that the logo might not be something children are familiar with, however, if you are looking for function over the brand (which is always better), these gloves will be great for you!