Boxing Bag Gloves & Bag Mitts

Boxing bag gloves, sometimes called punch bag gloves, are built to withstand the repetitive impact of heavy bag training and pad work. Unlike sparring gloves, which use soft foam to protect your partner, bag gloves use denser, more compact padding designed to protect your knuckles while providing genuine tactile feedback on every strike. They are a specialist category within the broader boxing gloves range.

Tuf Wear Cruise Training Gloves

Tuf Wear Cruise Training Gloves

£29.99

Why Dedicated Bag Gloves Matter

Using sparring gloves on the heavy bag is one of the most common — and costly — mistakes in boxing training. Sparring gloves are built with soft, low-density foam designed to protect your training partner. Hit a dense heavy bag with that foam and it compresses to its limit, bottoming out against your knuckles. Over time, the padding collapses permanently, turning a safe sparring glove into a hardened hazard for your partners.

Dedicated bag gloves use high-density, impact-resistant foam built to absorb thousands of hard strikes without breaking down. They protect your hands, preserve your sparring gloves, and give you genuine tactile feedback that tells you exactly where each punch lands. For a full breakdown of the best options available, see our 2026 bag gloves buyer's guide.

Not sure where bag gloves fit into your overall kit? Read our Boxing Gloves Explained guide for a complete overview of every boxing glove type, weight, and use case.

Bag Gloves vs Bag Mitts

Our collection includes both traditional bag gloves and minimalist bag mitts. Bag gloves — such as the Rival RFX-Guerrero-V HDE-F — offer the full profile and wrist support of a standard training glove but feature denser foam engineered specifically for bag work. They are ideal for boxers who want maximum hand protection and wrist stability during heavy power-punching sessions.

Bag mitts, like the Rival RB5 or the Noble Art Night Train, take a different approach. They strip away excess padding to provide a close, almost bare-knuckle feel, forcing the fighter to focus on strict punching mechanics and accuracy. They are excellent tools for speed work and conditioning, but require solid existing technique to avoid hand injuries. If you are unsure which is right for your training, our boxing gloves size guide covers the full progression from beginner to specialist.

Weight and Fit for Bag Work

For general heavy bag and pad work, 12oz or 14oz gloves suit most adults. 12oz gloves prioritise hand speed for combination work; 14oz gloves add resistance for building shoulder endurance during longer rounds. Lighter 8oz or 10oz options are used by experienced fighters for speed and conditioning drills.

Regardless of weight, a good pair of bag gloves should fit snugly over your hand wraps with a secure closure that stabilises the wrist during impact. Always measure your hand circumference with wraps on — your hands are 1–2cm bigger wrapped and sizing without them is the most common fitting mistake. When you are ready to add a dedicated pair of sparring gloves to your kit, keep them completely separate from your bag work to preserve the padding.

Best Bag Gloves by Training Type

Not sure which bag glove is right for your training? Use this as a quick guide:

Training Type Recommended
Beginners Velcro bag gloves with wrist support (12–14oz)
Heavy hitters / power punching Dense padded bag gloves (14oz)
Pad work and combination speed Lighter bag gloves or bag mitts (8–12oz)
Conditioning and shoulder endurance Heavier bag gloves (14–16oz)
Technical accuracy and feedback Bag mitts (minimal padding)

What Size Bag Gloves Should You Use?

Match your body weight to the recommended glove weight for bag and pad work:

Your Weight Bags & Pads Sparring
Under 7st (45kg) 8–10oz 12–14oz
Gym and coach dependent
7st–10st (45–64kg) 10–12oz 16oz
14oz permitted at some gyms — gym and coach dependent
10st–12st (64–76kg) 12–14oz 16oz
12st–14st (76–89kg) 14oz 16oz
Over 14st (89kg+) 14–16oz 16–18oz

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Bag gloves use dense foam built for repeated impact against a solid surface. That same density makes them unsafe for partner work — the hard padding will cause unnecessary pain and potential injury to your training partner. Keep your bag gloves and sparring gloves completely separate.
12oz gloves are slightly lighter, allowing for faster hand speed and sharper combinations. 14oz gloves offer slightly more padding and resistance, making them a great choice for heavier punchers or those looking to build shoulder endurance during bag rounds. Most adults train comfortably in either weight.
A bag glove looks and feels like a standard boxing glove, offering full wrist support and dense padding for heavy impact. A bag mitt is much smaller and lighter, with minimal padding. Bag mitts improve punching accuracy and technique by providing maximum feedback on every strike, but offer less protection for heavy power punching.
No. Bag gloves use dense, compact foam designed to protect your hands against a solid heavy bag. This padding is too hard and unforgiving to be used against a human opponent. Using bag gloves for sparring will cause unnecessary pain and potential injury to your training partner.