Why shared gloves wear out
Club gloves rarely fail because of punching. They fail because they are put away wet. Sweat soaks into the lining and padding, and a glove that never dries breaks down from the inside, smells, and goes stiff or cracks on the outside. A few minutes of care after each class adds a great deal of life to a club's stock.
After every session: air them
- Open up: undo the hook-and-loop or loosen the laces fully, so air reaches the hand compartment.
- Out of the bag: gloves left zipped in a kit bag overnight stay damp until the next class.
- Room temperature: let them dry naturally. Radiators, heaters and direct sun dry the outer faster than the inside, and stiffen leather and crack synthetic coatings.
- Help them along: a fan, or glove deodorisers made for the purpose, speed up drying without heat.
Cleaning
Wipe the outer and the cuff opening with a damp cloth after use, and give shared gloves a fuller clean once a week with a little mild soap or a cleaner suited to the material. Wipe, do not soak: water driven into the padding takes days to dry out.
- Genuine leather: condition it now and then so it stays supple.
- PU and microfibre: avoid solvents and strong alcohol wipes, which dry the surface out.
- Inside: a light antibacterial spray suitable for gloves, then let them dry open before storing.
Storage
Store gloves upright, open and apart, on a rack or hooks rather than in a bin, somewhere with air moving and away from heat. Pairing them by weight, with a printed size label in each cuff, makes it quicker for members to find the right pair and less likely that a pair is split up.
Kids' gloves
Kids' 4 and 6 oz gloves that go home in a school bag rarely dry before the next class. A rule that club gloves stay at the club, on the rack, keeps them drying properly between sessions.
Hand wraps
Hand wraps support the wrist and knuckles, and they also take most of the sweat before it reaches the glove lining. Asking every member to wear their own wraps, or selling the club's own, is the single most effective way to keep shared gloves fresh. Wraps should be washed after use, ideally in a mesh bag so they do not tangle, and dried flat or hung.
When to retire a pair
Retire a glove when the padding has gone flat over the knuckles, the inside has torn, the closure no longer holds, or the outer has split. A worn glove protects neither the hand inside it nor the person being hit. Keeping a note of when each batch was bought makes it easier to plan a replacement order before the rack runs short.
When you reorder, the approved sample and the specification are kept, so replacement gloves match the ones already on the rack.
