Top 7 Best Cheap Focus Mitts (Budget Boxing Mitts Reviewed 2021)

One of the fastest and most effective ways to improve your precision, technique, distance, and combinations is to start doing mitt work (or pad work).

Because of this, it’s important that you make sure that you do mitt work with a quality set of focus mitts. There are way too many crappy products out there, and that is something that I have had personal experience with. Because of this, I decided to bring you a comprehensive list of the best cheap focus mitts on the market today. These are not only high-quality and well made, but also really affordable so that you can have a quality workout without breaking the bank.

Things You Should Look For In Focus mitts (pads)

Before listing my top recommendations, here are some things you should consider before choosing focus mitts:

• Padding – If the mitts have enough padding and good design, the hands of both the trainer and the boxer shouldn’t hurt no matter how hard the boxer hits.
• Durability – The mitts should be sturdy so they can last intensive workouts and hard punches.
• Grip – The grip on the inside should be good enough so the mitts don’t fly away as the boxer hits them of an angle.
• Size – There are some really small mitts on the market which a person with big hands can’t use. So the size is another thing you should consider.

Without further ado, here’s the list. I hope you find it useful!

The Best Cheap Focus Mitts:

#1 Meister Cowhide Leather Curved Focus Mitts – The Best Value

These mitts stand out among all of other on the market right now. They have most of the things that you look for in a focus mitts, including build quality, correct sizing, quality of materials used, and most importantly, value for the money. In fact, I would consider these not only the best bag for your buck choice on this list but also the best choice in the market. If you are on the lookout for a decent pair of focus mitts but don’t want to break the bank, you probably have found the best option! You can check the price on Amazon.com

These mitts look and feel much more expensive than they are. Meister did a great job with the craftsmanship of these mitts. The product is nicely glued together without any signs of carelessness, and the stitching is very uniform and well done. They also did a great job with the quality of the materials. The cowhide leather is supple and soft, and the padding is super soft with a great ability to resist punches without hurting the receiver’s hand.

But the best thing about these mitts is the fact that they are so affordable considering their quality.  In fact, you can get a pair of these mitts for under 50 bucks, which is crazy given the fact that these are such great pads. So again, you really can’t go wrong with these mitts, they will last you a few years of heavy use, and even more, if you take care of them. Highly recommended!

PROS	CONS
✔ Superior build quality makes these look and feels much more expensive than what they are ✔ Super affordable, great for folks on a budget ✔ Does a great job of absorbing the impact of	✘ A little hard to hold sometimes because of the grip

#2 Sanabul Essential Curved Boxing Mitts – Affordable quality!

If you are on a really tight budget and need something that will get the job done, then you should really take a look at the Sanabul Essential Boxing Mitts. These uber-cheap mitts sound great when you hit them, the styling of them is very cool and edgy, and while they do not have the same build quality as the Meister mitts above, they aren’t too bad either. These are my recommended choice for people that are really short on money but still need a quality piece of equipment for serious training.

Sanabul has been doing quality gear for several years already, focusing on affordable products that feature a very interesting aesthetic. The same thing applies to these mitts. They are not trying to reinvent the wheel here. Rather, they just focused on what has worked time and time again: an adequate amount of padding, and an attractive price tag (check the current price on Amazon.com). The result is perhaps the best focus mitts on their price class.

However, as you probably suspect, these mitts have a few cons. The first one has to do with the fact that the quality of these isn’t as good as the above mitts. Obviously, Sanabul had to take some measures to make these as cheap as possible, and some of these include reducing the amount of mesh used inside the mitts and using synthetic leather instead of the real stuff. Still a great pair of mitts, but they are outclassed by the Meister product above.

PROS	CONS
✔ Just enough padding to make this a great choice for 99% of boxers out there ✔ Very cool, interesting looking focus mitts Mitts sound great when you hit them	✘ Not as well made as the Meister mitts.

#3 RDX Boxing Pads Gel Focus Mitts – Gel padding galore!

Do you love mitts with lots of padding and MMA style design? Then the RDX boxing focus mitts might be the ideal product for you. The calling card of these mitts has been it’s padding. As the name implies, these pads use a special gel that does an excellent job of protecting the holder’s hand, while at the same time providing a soft but firm target for the boxer hitting the mitts. Combine all of this with the superior construction of these mitts and you have a heck of a focus mitt.

While I made this list mostly thinking of the boxers that are going to be hitting the mitts, I also considered the trainers that are going to be holding them. And when it comes to that, these mitts are a great choice for them. Not only do boxers that hit these mitts comment that the gel padding is super soft and cushioning of their punches, but the gel absorbs the blows so well that the trainers holding these say these are as soft as pillows.

Also, another big pro of these mitts is the styling of them. These have a very MMA inspired look that many boxers love, I included. These mitts come off as edgy without looking garish, which is a very common complaint of other MMA inspired brands.

They have a small problem, though: They are a little bit more expensive than other choices on this list – check them on their website (I think there is a 10% discount for your first purchase). This is the reason why it’s in this spot, and I almost decided not to include them on this list. In the end, I decided to include them since these are so good. So if you are willing to spend a little bit more for something with more padding, these might be worth a look!

PROS	CONS
✔ Great focus mitt with lots of padding, excellent for heavy hitters ✔ MMA-inspired styling will appeal to a lot of boxers	✘ A bit more expensive than other mitts on the list

#4 Ringside Panther Boxing Punch Mitt – no-nonsense focus mitts!

Another high-quality product from Ringside, These mitts are among my favorite focus mitts after the Meister, RDX, and Sanabul mitts above. This has everything that you would want in a good set of pads, including build quality, ergonomics, and more, and while it doesn’t have as much padding as the RDX product, they also made a more satisfying sound when you hit them, which I think has to do with the leather that they use. Anyways, I highly recommend that you check these pads out!

I would consider these a good alternative to the RDX product above. They have very similar build quality, and the main differences have to do with the amount and type of padding and styling. When it comes to the former, these mitts use more traditional padding that doesn’t absorb as much force as the gel being used on newer, more innovative mitts, but this padding tends to last longer and it also doesn’t make the hands of the holder as hot.

Also, the styling is colorful but much more subdued than the RDX pads. While there are a lot of boxers who love the styling of the MMA styling of brands like Venum and RDX, many also prefer the more classic looks of these. The styling preference is something very personal, so choose the looks that you like the most. You can check their availability on Amazon.com.

PROS	CONS
✔ Very high-quality product, with excellent materials throughout ✔ Colorful, but traditional styling that 99% of boxers will love. ✔ Will probably last a very long time	✘ Slightly expensive

#5 Valleycomfy Boxing Curved Focus Mitts – For the lighter weight classes!

Another dirt cheap focus mitt, these Valleycomfy mitts are a great choice for boxers from lower weight classes or with smaller hands. They do not have as much padding as I would like, and they feel much more flimsy when hit than what I initially thought they would be. Still a solid choice, but only for lighter boxers or female boxers.

Don’t let the name fool you, these are anything but comfy, both for the user hitting and the user receiving the punches. Again as I said above, these are ideal for smaller boxers, and that it because these mitts are a little bit flimsier than most other mitts on this list. If you are a boxer with considerable punching power, then you are going to feel like you are punching cardboard.

But if you are a boxer from the lower weight classes, these pads may be very fitting for your size. Valleycomfy saved money by reducing the padding of these pads, but they also made the product only usable for lighter boxers.

Still a decent pad, especially considering how cheap it is, but you really shouldn’t buy this if you weight more than 140 lbs. If so, I would recommend one of the choices above. See them on Amazon.com.

PROS	CONS
✔ Very affordable ✔ Light padding makes this a good choice for smaller or female fighters	✘ Mitts feel very flimsy and light ✘ Not a good mitt for anybody that punches very hard

#6 Xnature Essential Curved Boxing – Smaller but well-padded

Another great set of affordable mitts. There is a lot of good things to mention about these pads. The first one is the fact that they are very well padded while at the same time being relatively compact. If you are the kind of boxer who prefers a smaller target to focus on accuracy but you still want something that isn’t too hard when you hit them, this can be a great choice.

I’m not sure what they used on these mitts for the padding, but the truth is that it does a good job of cushioning the punches of the average boxer. This is really weird because of the fact that they are quite small pads. They look smaller than what they look in pictures, but that may be good because it can help you become a more accurate puncher.

Many people won’t like the smaller size of these mitts, though. Some people use smaller, more compact gloves, so this isn’t an issue for them, but there are companies that still use a bigger, bulkier glove, and if you have one of those, these mitts might not be the best choice for you! Also, the build quality is okay, but it could be better, especially when compared to other cheap mitts above. You can check those mitts on Amazon.com

PROS	CONS
✔ Relatively compact mitts that are great for boxers looking to be as precise as possible with their punches ✔ Very affordable while being pretty well made at the same time	✘ Smaller size of these mitts can be a con for some

#7 SUNMALL boxing focus mitts – Dirt-cheap alternative!

Many of the focus mitts that I have posted on this list are a little bit smaller than normal, but this one is completely different. These Sunmall focus mitts are significantly oversized, making this a great choice for newbies and trainers with big hands. However, these mitts aren’t very well made, with many users reporting quality control issues. They are quite cheap though, so I wasn’t expecting top-notch quality either.

As I implied in the upper paragraph, everything about these mitts is bigger. The netting where you insert your fingers is quite bulky, and some trainers might even find that this actually hinders the handling of the mitts. However, people using bigger gloves will love this. The sound that the PU leather makes when the hit is decent, and the styling isn’t too flashy but it isn’t super muted either.

The problem of these mitts is the fact that they are pretty badly constructed. Some pairs have torn materials in the part where you grab the mitts. The build quality isn’t great, and there are definitely better choices out there when it comes to that department. If you struggle with the small mitts and want something bigger, those mitts may be for you (check their price on Amazon).

PROS	CONS
✔ Oversized mitts that are perfect for newbies ✔ Very affordable	✘ Crappy build quality ✘ Mitts feel a little awkward to use, both for the boxer and the trainer using them