Cleto Reyes Boxing Gloves Review (Pros and Cons)

Cleto Reyes is a very reputable boxing company that was founded in Mexico. Even though it was registered as a trademark in 1975 Reyes family has been producing gloves since the 1930s.

Even back then people were praising the brand but it is safe to say that the company came a long way, became quite popular in the boxing community.

Most of the latest Cleto Reyes gloves have truly superior qualities. So I thoroughly reviewed all the Cleto Reyes Boxing Gloves on the market, explained which one you should prefer for bag workouts, mitt drills, sparring, and all-around use. I also wrote down the cons of each one.

Also, if you are an amateur or professional boxer and looking for a fight glove that can be used for training you should definitely read the review of the last gloves on this list.

Cleto Reyes Training Gloves Review

Exlusive Features

• All-around training gloves
• Puncher’s gloves
• Very quality leather
• Superb padding
• Water-repellent lining

The Leather

This glove is made of goatskin leather and keep in mind that all parts of the glove are made of real leather. This is important because there are many glove brands out there that promote their gloves as genuine leather gloves. However, only some parts of these gloves are made of genuine leather and the other parts tend to include low-quality materials for reducing the cost.

This all-leather glove can go strong even after long years of usage as the cushion is dense. So these can last long even if you use them only for bag workouts. But still, it is not so dense thus it can protect your sparring partner by reducing the impact.

Protection and Padding

This training glove has long cuffs which offer good wrist protection and do not let your wrist move too much. This is great for stabilizing wrists while punching dense objects and the padding is not too stiff, does not hurt your hands.

The shock absorption of foam is superb and likely to protect knuckles, bones from many injuries. This is why this glove is called puncher’s glove and one of the best choices to keep your knuckles and fingers safe.

About the Design

This glove’s construction and design allow you to make a fist easily by offering an anatomical design as Cleto Reyes has been around a while and knows what exactly boxers need. The gloves are compact yet they are not too tight on the hand.

Also, the glove’s compact design makes it easier for the glove to reach its target. So this pair can be really useful for sparring sessions.

Also, it has an attached thumb and is curved so it can prevent eye injuries during sparring and keep your thumb from being sprained while punching.

The cuffs are long enough and solid, do not let your wrist move at all and this is exactly what “puncher’s glove” needs to do. And hard punchers should choose lace-up which is even more supportive,

So it provides comfort, improves punching performance, and minimizes the likelihood of injuries. Honestly, you really can’t expect anything more from it.

Comfort

The lining is not too rough and does not let sweat reach padding. So, the glove’s durability will not be affected badly because of this. I also hate that the sweat changes the weight distribution by making padding heavier throughout a drill and the glove feels like a new gove at the end of a session however it is water repellent so you won’t have this issue at all al with Reyes.

These genuine cow leather gloves help your hands breathe during the workouts and comparing to other training gloves, your hands will get less sweaty with Cleto Reyes.

Which One Should you Get? (Lace-up, Velcro)

Now you know this pair of training gloves has amazing qualities. Also, both lace-up and velcro are suitable for all-around training and both offer a snug, comfortable fit but there are some differences between these closure types.

Lace-up offers more wrist protection and this is ideal for bag workouts where the impact of the punches is bigger and your wrists need this extra protection so it can prevent wrist injuries while throwing hard punches.

Shortly, lace-up is for people who are looking for mainly a bag glove and spar as well.

Cleto Reyes Lace-up

On the other hand, if you plan on sparring more, then go with the velcro which does not offer a very tight fit. Because if you don’t intend to hurt your partner, you won’t be punching too hard while sparring anyway and you really don’t need a tight fit to protect your wrists. Also, your hands will feel more comfortable during a sparring session with velcro. However, velcro offers a fit that is tight enough and really good for all-around training as well.

Cleto Reyes Velcro

Cleto Reyes Extra Padding Review

Exclusive Features

• Perfect for sparring
• Very high-quality genuine leather
• Additional 0.5” padding
• Breathable leather outer

Cons

• Shouldn’t be used for bag, mitt drills

Cleto Reyes Extra Padding and Cleto Reyes Training Glove, which is the glove above, have the same perfect design, tear-resistant genuine leather… But these two have 2 slight differences and these actually make the glove ideal for sparring.

The first difference is that it has extra padding around the knuckle area. What does this change? It improves the overall shock absorbing qualities of this glove, reduces the delivered impact to targets, improves knuckle protection and this is a must for boxers who have sensitive hands.

So when your punches land on your sparring partner’s head or chest area, he or she will feel impact less and this reduces the likelihood of injuries, bruises, and even cuts.

However, it offers a looser fit than the other gloves which is the second difference. This is not a problem for sparring as if you are a good sparring partner and don’t go full force to minimize the likelihood of injuries the loose fit offers just enough protection to prevent wrist injuries. So this pair is a decent choice for sparring.

But this extra wrist flexibility can be an issue while throwing repetitive punches to a heavy bag as it faces a bigger impact and when your wrist is not stabilized in a straight position, wrist injuries may happen.

So even though it is advertised as all-around training gloves, I would highly suggest you use Cleto Reyes Extra Padding only for sparring.

Cleto Reyes Hybrid Training Gloves Review

Exclusive Features

• All-around training gloves
• 100% genuine leather
• Latex foam
• Has both laces and velcro

Cons

• Offers less protection
• Don’t have many sizes

I have mixed feelings about this glove. Even though it has both lace-up and velcro closures, I am not sure that boxers can benefit from this. It sounds like it can be more supportive thanks to two different closures. But sometimes these can force your hand and wrist to stay in awkward positions and your wrists may not be in a straight position all the time. This can cause all types of hand injuries.

Also, it has less padding and this may not be enough for absorbing the impact of hard punches. In addition to this, even though you don’t punch with full force during a light sparring session the padding should be more to reduce the impact of delivered punches.

It also does not include various sizes including 16 and 12 ounces so many boxers actually can’t even use this pair.

Lastly, Hybrid has not been used by many people yet and there are not many reviews.

Even though I consider Reyes is one of the most trustworthy boxing brands and this glove is made of the same high-quality materials just like the other Cleto Reyes Gloves on this list the qualities above can cause protection issues. So I would highly suggest you stay away from this pair.

Cleto Reyes Official Safetec Gloves Review

Exclusive Features

• Fİght gloves for training
• Excellent design
• Premium leather
• Well-padded
• Comfortable
• Incredible value

This is a unique glove. It is actually a fight glove that has a different padding type and thanks to it, you can use this “fight glove” for typical boxing training to get used to the weight, design of the glove so you can perform and punch better when you are actually in the ring, competing.

It is made for the anatomical structure of a natural fist and making a fist with this glove is easier. These help you punch more comfortably with the right technique. This glove’s leather is made of cowhide and quite dense for protecting hands against a heavy bag.

It is quite a luxury to use this kind of glove for mitt drills, and bag workouts and get used to punching, blocking with an actual fight glove which you will use in the ring. And this will definitely make your job easier once you face a real opponent.

The only difference between Safetex and Cleto Reyes Professional Gloves is that Safetec is filled with foam instead of horsehair. Padding consists of two layers of different foam types which have different densities to improve shock absorption for safety.

Note: After all, this glove mimics a fight glove in training and you should not use this glove for sparring as it maximizes the power transfer and this can really hurt your partner!

Thanks to the two-layer foam, you can use this glove for many years as it can last 200 times longer than the official fight gloves. So it definitely offers great value.

Safetec has only 10 oz. and 8 oz. and many different colors including red, white, and yellow.

Cleto Reyes Bag Gloves Review

Exclusive Features

• Old school bag gloves
• Sturdy leather
• Very protective
• Soft foam
• Comes pre-curved

This traditional bag glove is made of real long-lasting leather so you can get to experience both old-school design and high-tech construction.

It comes as pre-curved and the soft padding provides you to get solid feedback while punching so you can understand whether you are punching with the right technique or not. Also, the foam is light so you can punch with more speed.

However, this latex foam is quite protective because even though it has a lightweight and you can punch faster, the foam transfers less power.

The elastic closure is convenient and you can easily adjust it during a session instantly if you don’t like the fit.

Other than sparring you can use this glove for any long boxing drills as this breathable glove has an all-leather exterior. It ventilates inside well so your hands will not be so hot during long sessions.

If you don’t have any experience with traditional gloves and want to try a new design, which is liked by many boxing fans, definitely consider this pair.

The Aesthetics and Cost of Reyes Gloves

The training gloves above have a compact, authentic look. The palm compartment is not too wide. In my opinion, the old-school logo and design of Cleto Reyes make the boxing gloves very aesthetically pleasing. The cow leather does not shine a lot however the colors look vibrant.

Even extra padding of Extra Padding Boxing Gloves does not make the glove’s knuckle compartment too bulky and it still looks compact just like the others.

The prices of Cleto Reyes Boxing Gloves on this list are quite close to each other. So the following is valid for all the gloves above except Cleto Reyes Hybrid. Considering the perfect design, impeccable impact absorption of padding, all-leather construction, good stitching, and beautiful aesthetics, the price is honestly really good and as a  boxing enthusiast, I can say you will be very glad if you invest in any Reyes Gloves other than Hybrid and your hands will thank you after intense boxing drills.

Do you have any questions regarding the reviews of Cleto Reyes Boxing Gloves? Maybe you have worn out Reyes Gloves and have something to add to this review. If that is you,  I would really like to read about your experiences below.