Everlast Does Not.
For my birthday back in April, a friend purchased me a starter speed bag platform from Everlast.
It came with the platform, an upgraded metal S-hook swivel (the one shown on Everlast’s site is plastic), and a vinyl speed bag with bladder.
In addition, the aforementioned friend also bought me a pair of speed bag gloves.
I didn’t bother setting the bag up until the 4th of July weekend. Basic math tells you that It’s been less than three weeks of use for the entire product. In that time period, the entire kit has basically fallen apart from top to bottom.
First, the gloves…they come with a metal rod in the palm area, for you to curl your fingers around when you make a fist. The rod on the right glove ripped out after only 2 weeks of use.
It’s easy to see why if you look at the photos below, the metal rod inside the right glove has an end on it that is as sharp as a razor blade. It cut itself out of the glove, and nearly cut me.
Next up was the swivel, which was rife with problems. The swivel is a circular ball with a rod inserted into it, held in place by a hex screw. The screw stripped out almost immediately, causing the rod to slip out while in use. Additionally, the entire swivel would unscrew itself from the platform during use.
When the rod slips during use, it means that the bag, the S-hook, and the support rod all come rocketing off the base at a fairly strong velocity. Considering that the bag is used very close to the face, this could pose an immediate threat to the facial features, particularly the eyes. For me, the bag flew off, hit the wall in front of me, and then ricocheted back at me, striking me in the leg and tearing a small chunk of skin open. It was a very minor injury, but that’s really beside the point here.
The last straw was the bag itself, which fractured and finally ripped in half at the mounting point. You can see how badly frayed it is after only two and a half weeks worth of use.
The pictures speak for themselves:
I am furious right now. Not only could I have been seriously hurt by Everlast’s shoddy equipment, but it makes me feel terrible for my friend who thought she was getting me a really nice present. All told, she spent over $100 on it, and everything but the wooden platform fell apart.