Hayabusa boxing gloves are becoming more and more popular, and for good reason. Yes, there are more expensive than your entry level Everlast gloves, but the price does indeed reflect the quality. Not that looks should be a deal-breaker when looking for good quality sports equipment, but the selection of colors and styles is a bonus. At first I thought the variety of styles/colors was a little gimmicky, but after trying out a pair of Hayabusa Ikusa boxing gloves, I definitely didn’t think the same way. Yes, it possible to make a pair of boxing gloves that perform very well, are at mid-range price, and look good at the same time, which is something I had to realize.
In this article we provide an overview of some of the most popular Hayabusa boxing gloves. Hopefully this will help answer any questions or address any concerns about the gloves prior to purchase.
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Hayabusa Ikusa Boxing Training Gloves
These are the same gloves that we reviewed in our main best boxing gloves page. In our opinion, these are the best Hayabusa boxing gloves in terms of value. This is mainly because they are the cheapest at 16oz and are still great boxing gloves.
You can consider this either a strength or a weakness, but I personally like how Hayabusa is well known in both MMA and boxing settings, and not exclusively to one discipline. This bods well for future development of their gloves, as they are already ahead of the curve by taking the best of both worlds, while still acknowledging requirements of each discipline.
For these gloves specifically, The patented Dual-X closure system offers better fit and makes it one of the best boxing gloves for wrist support. Plus, they are known to stand up to the test of time. The even distribution of high-quality padding provides a light-weight feel, which can make hitting the heavy bag a lot more fun.
The only downfall worth noting is that they can be a little tricky to put on by yourself. The wrist strap is quite secure, and since the gloves fit snug the velcro may snag on your handwraps. However, we do not see this as a problem, and can be chalked up to “growing pains” of learning a new piece of equipment and breaking them in. Additionally, most customers who point out this flaw also state that it wasn’t an issue after a few workouts.
If they fit the budget, we definitely recommend these gloves. With great protection, wrist support, and definitely comfortable, you can’t really go wrong here. If you find them too expensive, keep these in mind but you can probably find an adequate pair that are cheaper (e.g. Everlast).
Hayabusa Tokushu Boxing Gloves
These are the second-most expensive boxing gloves that Hayabusa makes, with the exception of limited edition stuff they release now and then. Usually we don’t promote expensive products on this website, as they can often be a let-down. That being said, if you have the cash, these boxing gloves can be a real treat.
With a state-of-the-art Deltra EG inner core, these display an exceptional level of glove impact characteristics that facilitate maximum performance and protection. Additionally, with a Dual-X Wrist Close and Fusion Zone Wrist Splinting System, injury prevention is clearly an important aspect to Hayabusa when it comes to boxing glove construction. The engineered leather Vylar provides awesome performance and durability as well.
Unique to Hayabusa is the Ecta activated carbonized bamboo inner lining that really helps address comfort, temperature control, and odor protection. Similar to their other models, these boxing gloves are available in many different color schemes. The main difference being the colors are more subtle (some find them more classy), whereas the Ikusa boxing gloves typically use brighter color schemes.
At the end of the day, these are sick boxing gloves. Fancy scientific terms and long words aside, you can simply see and feel the quality of the construction and materials used. Again, they might be a little difficult to do up on your own at first, but you will experience that with lots of gloves. In our opinion, these are the best Hayabusa boxing gloves, and compared with other brands, they still stack up as top rated boxing gloves. No noticeable weaknesses and tons of strengths lead us to highly recommend these boxing gloves, but just remember, it’ll cost ya.
Hayabusa Kanpeki Elite 2.0 Boxing Gloves
Now these are the most expensive Hayabusa boxing gloves. With a few improvements to the Tokushu gloves, Hayabusa has done extremely well in making good boxing gloves for sparring and training.
Made of artisan-crafted 100% premium full grain leather, it’s hard to match the performance, protection, and durability offered by these gloves. They boast all the same features of the Hayabusa Tokushu Boxing Gloves, but with an upgrade to the leather and slightly different engineering (a little more padding up front).
The reported cons of these gloves are the following: 1) Snug, which is what you want, but those fighters with big hands should try a pair on with hand wraps first; 2) After a full workout they can get quite hot, likely due to the premium leather, but the trade-off being they offer more protection and are more durable; 3) The thumb may feel a little small to some; 4) Like all the other Hayabusa gloves, the velcro straps can take a little getting used to.
One aspect to keep in mind, which depending on your preferences could be interpreted as either a pro or con, is that you will need to take care of them. Some may already assume this given they are more expensive and want to get the absolute most out of them, but if your preference is convenience and you just want something you can wear and throw out eventually, you may want to reconsider. Especially since the inside of the boxing gloves can become quite moist after a workout, you may need to clean them more often. All this being said, the quality exemplified in these boxing gloves can be well worth it.
As for the looks, this is probably hit and miss with some people. I usually tend to enjoy the vintage and classic looks, but I can’t make my mind up about these. I think it would look awesome to have matching headgear or some other matching apparel, but I can’t make up my mind about the vintage gloves alone. Not that my opinion on looks really matters, and this should be the last thing you care about when purchasing a really good pair of boxing gloves, but that’s my two cents.
Overall, if you’re planning on doing lots of sparring, these are highly recommended boxing gloves. If you are focusing more on bag work and focus mitts, we would encourage you to consider the cheaper Hayabusa boxing gloves, as they’re still great and are a bit cheaper.
Hayabusa GSP Limited Edition MMA Sparring Gloves
Although these boxing gloves are labelled as sparring gloves, they can be used for pad and bag work as well, the main downfall being the more your beat them up, the quicker they will break down. Conversely, if you’re going to buy them you will likely be wanting to get some use out of them, so it’s up to you to decide.
Unless you are a huge fan of George St. Pierre, we don’t really think it’s worth spending the extra money on these gloves. We have not tried them ourselves, but they don’t list any features that would be extra to what you already get in the Ikusa or Tokushu boxing gloves.
Given they are similar to the other Hayabusa brand boxing gloves, they can definitely be considered great, maybe just not worth the additional cost unless it’s as a memento. One common complaint for these gloves is that they force your thumb into a position that may be uncomfortable depending on your normal positioning and what other boxing gloves you are used to. Therefore it is recommended to try these gloves before buying since they cost so much, and that may be nearly impossible to do.
Our overall recommendation is to take a pass on these boxing gloves, especially if you’re not a big GSP fan, as there are definitely boxing gloves that are way better value than these.
Hayabusa Ikusa Hybrid Gloves
We’re going a little off the board here, but since we like Hayabusa as a brand and value their expertise in multiple domains, why not show what else they have. These hybrid gloves generally aren’t acceptable for pure boxing training, but they can be quite useful in MMA and other combat settings.
The product basically describes itself, as these gloves are a hybrid between conventional boxing gloves and the smaller MMA gloves. These gloves are built to retain their shape and distribute impact forces when striking, while simultaneously offering a unique tapered fit and state-of-the-art lining for excellent grappling flexibility.
These are very well reviewed MMA gloves that are known to be durable and comfortable. However, we would like to provide a couple warnings or tips: These gloves will mark up your punching bag (or opponent), and as expected, this also makes them look a little worn fairly quickly. However, this doesn’t mean they are breaking down, it’s purely a looks thing, so shouldn’t really be a factor when comparing gloves. Also, the finger loops can be painful on your fingers without wearing hand wraps. Therefore, we recommend resisting the temptation of not putting on the hand wraps with these gloves, as it’s always a safe idea to wear the wraps and your fingers will thank you for it later.
At the end of the day, these are great MMA gloves that will perform well and last just as long, if not longer, than any other MMA glove. Keeping in mind our minor recommendations, these can be considered highly recommended MMA gloves.