Originally Posted by Mike Brewer

Caz,
I'd go ahead and buy a good, solid, reliable pair of training gloves from Reyes, Grant, or Ringside. People will tell you to get eight different kinds of gloves for every application, but in my experience, if you invest $80-$100 in a good pair of gloves like Ringside's Ultimate Classic Hook and Loop training gloves (NOT bag gloves) then you can use them for literally every hitting application in the gym - with the possible exception of the speed bag. Are they expensive? Look at it like this:

You spend $40 on a pair of cheap-o's at Play it again sports. In a year or less, the velcro closure starts wearing out, or the wrist band falls apart, or the padding turns to mush. Then you spend another $40 a year on more cheap-o's so that in the course of five years, you've paid $200 for five pairs of crappy, worthless gloves. Or, you save up and get a good pair that will last you five or six years like the Ultimate Classics I mentioned earlier. You've spent more up front, but they'll last you for five years!

I am a heavyweight that hits pretty hard, and I've used my Ultimate Classics for every kind of hitting and sparring I do. Over the last year, they show no, and I mean NO, signs of wear and tear that would make them less safe. They're broken in well, but the padding is still very resilient, there are no seams unraveling, and all the velcro grips as it should. I'll never buy any other kind to train in, and I'm more picky about my equipment than anyone I know.