Pork Chop

I know i've been posting a lot today; but this is an important topic I'd like to discuss, namely:

How do you feel about buying equipment directly from a manufacturer (Reyes, Fairtex, Twins, Windy) or from a large distributor (Ringside, Title, Combat Sports International)?

My two cents:

I was told in 2006, after a bad experience with 2 pairs of Reyes gloves bought through ringside.com that Reyes purchased in Mexico had a different log, different leather, and a different fit. I was told I'd be much happier if i went to mexico and got the real deal.

In early 2007 I purchased some Windy gloves; again from Ringside, they were total, bulky, high density garbage. They felt like the cheapest generic glove from Title with a hard fill. They started falling apart after the 2nd or 3rd use. I do muay thai and had always heard good things about Windy equipment, but these gloves really turned me off to the company.

In fall 2007 I ordered some Twins gloves from Title.com. Twins had always been my favorite Thai equipment maker in the past. I used to own a pair of 14oz gloves & wanted a more protective pair of 16s. The Twins gloves available through title had only an elastic wrist strap, not velcro like my old ones, and thus worse support for my wrist. The leather & fill both felt different as well. The fill is a higher density than the foam in my 14s (felt like a whole different type of foam). The leather felt cheap and not as smoothe as my 14s, it also didn't have the glossy finish.

On the other hand, it appears Grant is using Ringside as their main distributor now. Ordering from the actual Grant site will generate an email from Ringside.com. I think it's pretty safe to assume the Grant products from Ringside are legit.

I can honestly say that for certain equipment companies, i will buy directly from them (or a small distributor for them) instead of a large distributor if I want the real deal, especially companies outside the US.

I'm curious (excuse me while I coin a phrase) exactly "how deep does the rabbit hole go?"

Captainobvious

I guess it boils down to what the manufacturer is supplying its distributors. I've found Ringside to be terrific for quality and customer service, but if a manufacturer is representing a piece of equipment as one thing and its something else, what can they do? I guess we as consumers really have to make sure that its clear what we're getting when we order.
Something along the same lines you'll find with instruments as well. You can buy a Fender Stratocaster but you need to make sure where it is manufactured. Quality, assembly and value can be drastically different between model manufactured in Japan, Mexico, and the USA.

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Member of BoxingForum Member H.O.F. (Nov 2007)

TysonJones

Title has never got me wrong. The reyes gloves that I got from ringside don't seem like the reyes I used to own. They seem......cheaper. still great though. The grants I ordered straight from grantboxing.com but got the ringside email thing. Great gloves. Personally, I'd go with the manufacturer if you can. Although if you like everlast, title always has a sell on them.

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Pork Chop

Pretty soon I'm going to get a pair of real Twins 16oz gloves and do a side by side comparison with the elastic enclosure Twins that Title sells (with pictures). If I get any pairs of the other brands i mentioned I'll review them as well.