Fortis Renegade 12oz Boxing Gloves Review

Boxing gloves are an important piece of kit for any striking martial artist. Whether you’re a pure boxer or you like to add in elbows, knees and kicks for Kickboxing or Muay Thai, boxing gloves allow you to trade punches without injuring your hands and limit the singular impact on your training partner or opponent.

When you look at the range of boxing gloves and brands available on the market, the choice can be a little overwhelming. In this review, I’ll be taking a look at the growing brand Fortis and their Fortis Renegade Boxing Gloves.

The Design

Boxing brand Fortis emerged on the scene in 2017 after being disappointed with the quality of the gloves available for sale. With a passion for the sport they released the Fortis Renegade Boxing Gloves.

The Fortis Renegade Boxing Gloves are 12oz in weight and made from goatskin leather… a fact which you can smell! (Oh, how I do love the smell of leather goods). Red in design, the gloves feature a white contrast trim around the hem of the glove whilst the back of the glove features the lionhead logo in white print. The brand name FORTIS adorns the 3 inch wide wrist strap that fastens via hook and loop (velcro) fastener. The wrist opening also features a stretch panel which allows the wrist section to be opened up wider. This is ideal for those with heavily wrapped hands or for those with bigger hands who may usually struggle to fit their hand in tighter gloves. The stretch panel also allows the gloves to fit better and be more snug when worn without being too loose around the wrist area; the stretch panel allows for the glove opening to be temporarily expanded if need be, not slack as default.

The thumb and finger section of the gloves are connected by a strip of leather to allow easy fist making whilst accommodating thumb flexibility without the digit being completely detached. This particularly comes in useful when grabbing the head and neck and controlling the opponent during the clinch. The thumb contains a good inch of padding whilst the fingers section is around 1 inch of mutli-layered padding, peaking at 1.5 inches at the arch of the hand which is where you’d feel the biggest impact when using the gloves. The glove also feature a grip bar which the finger section of the glove sits against when a fist is made. This can help keep the shape of your fist and lessen the impact on your hand when striking.

A nifty addition to the gloves is the padded blade of the hand; the outer edge running from the base of the pinky finger to the wrist. This padding is brilliant for when covering up, defending from blows and also comes in useful when blocking or parrying kicks in Muay Thai, Kickboxing or MMA.

Ensuring the temperature remains steady inside the glove, the palm of the Fortis Renegade Boxing Gloves features five breathing holes that allows air to circulate during use. Hands get sweaty easily when punching on the bag, pads or during sparring, so having these breathing holes allows the air to cool your hands down slightly. They’re also useful when drying out the gloves after a training session.

When slipping on a pair of boxing gloves, I like my hands to feel comfortable and that’s often down to the lining which sits against the skin. These Fortis boxing gloves use a combination of linings; a soft, almost brushed material on the palm and a traditional nylon material lining the fingers and the back of hand. Nylon is a good material for tackling moisture as it makes it easier for drying out and is often soft and slinky in texture, as it is in these gloves.

A lot of care appears to have gone into the construction of these gloves with double stitching present at many of the stress points and joins such as the grip bar, thumb area and edge padding. It’s also nice to see the edge of the gloves hemmed properly rather than leaving them unfinished. This not only looks good from an aesthetic point of view, it also prevents any threads coming loose from the edge of the leather.

Finally, the gloves come in a double drawstring nylon bag bearing the lionhead Fortis logo. This is a nice addition to anyone purchasing the gloves and makes them easy to transport and store when not in use. The gloves even come in a specially made Fortis box packaging, featuring the slogan “Unleash The Beast”. These little gestures add to the overall experience of these gloves with the company going out of their way to set their gloves apart from the rest.

Training with the Gloves

The Fortis Renegade Boxing Gloves are easy to slide on and off for a training session with the jumbo hook and loop wrist fastener simple to use. The gloves themselves feel incredibly comfortable when worn and fit really well. Even when wearing without handwraps, the fit feels right; not too big, tight or too loose. Having smaller hands, I found these gloves to be well suited for me.

When training on the punch bag and pads with a partner, you can often pack in the power punches better as you’re not in fear of injuring or knocking out your opponent. I was able to place some accurate, power shots comfortably, even with hooks which are usually my downfall as I have weaker wrists. These gloves absorbed the impact and made my experience pain and hassle-free which allowed me to focus on improving my speed, power and technique.

During sparring, I found the gloves brilliant to use particularly during clinch work. I could maul my opponent, drag their head into the position required or pull in deep as needed. With the gloves being a nice fit, I felt I had more control over my hands compared to gloves that are a bit looser where the hand is swimming about inside. Feeling like the gloves were merely an extension of my own body, I could manoeuvre, block, cover and counter better whilst providing slicker attacks with the jab, cross and body shots.

The inside of the gloves felt comfortable throughout training and as my hands got warmer, they stayed comfortable and not too sweaty or sticky. The gloves themselves also dried out fairly quickly and smelt fresh afterwards without the aid of any fresheners.

Overall Opinion

The Fortis Renegade Boxing Gloves are a fantastic, high quality pair of gloves that may be simple on first glance but pack a mean punch. Right from the very first time I slid the gloves on, they felt exquisite to the touch; the leather flexible without having to break them in and the lining super soft again my skin, wicking away any moisture. They’re an absolute pleasure to wear and provide the right amount of padding to protect my hands during training whilst still allowing me to receive a little feedback as an indicator.

Beautifully made with a premium touch to their construction, Fortis can be proud of what they have achieved with these Renegade Boxing Gloves. If you’re looking for a pair for your own personal training sessions or for class that won’t are of a quality that you can rely on and will stand the punishment you intend to dish out, then the Fortis Renegade Gloves are well worth checking out.

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