Tuf-wear

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  • Little Adam
    Speed Bag Trainee
    • Jun 2018
    • 12

    Tuf-wear

    I'm sitting on a Tuf-wear speed bag (9" x 6") and a Tuf-wear double end bag. Both were made about 25-30 years ago, and the double end bag says "Sidney, NE" on it. The double end bag was a gift to me, but I never mounted it because I had no place to mount it at the time. It's brand new and has never even been inflated. The leather on both these bags is very nice: very thick, very soft.

    I'm curious at to when it was that the quality of Tuf-wear went downhill. I read somewhere that the quality these days is nowhere near what it was back in the day. Are Tuf-wear products now made overseas? If so, when did this happen?

    Any information about Tuf-wear would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
    Last edited by Little Adam; 07-03-2018, 09:40 AM. Reason: Correct spelling of Sidney
  • BagBoy
    Speed Bag Guru
    • Jan 2018
    • 861

    #2
    Although I cannot answer your question as it pertains to tuf-wear. All I can say is that the old saying "they don't make things the way they used to" comes to mind, and that's unfortunate. From washing machines to speed bags, they don't makes things the way..
    Last edited by BagBoy; 07-03-2018, 02:06 PM. Reason: for fun
    Certifiable SBX Attendee 2019

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    • Bag Man
      Senior Member
      • Jan 2011
      • 182

      #3
      Originally posted by Little Adam View Post
      I'm sitting on a Tuf-wear speed bag (9" x 6") and a Tuf-wear double end bag. Both were made about 25-30 years ago, and the double end bag says "Sidney, NE" on it. The double end bag was a gift to me, but I never mounted it because I had no place to mount it at the time. It's brand new and has never even been inflated. The leather on both these bags is very nice: very thick, very soft.

      I'm curious at to when it was that the quality of Tuf-wear went downhill. I read somewhere that the quality these days is nowhere near what it was back in the day. Are Tuf-wear products now made overseas? If so, when did this happen?

      Any information about Tuf-wear would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
      Gil Spillet started the original Tuf-Wear in the 1930s on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Apparently, his equipment was made there. He was in the same neighborhood and competed with G&S. He sold the company in the late 1960s to a company called Safe-Play which also made playground equipment. Safe-Play was located in Sidney, Nebraska. I believe there factory was destroyed by a fire in the 1990s. After that, I assume the brand name was sold.

      Bag Man
      "He [Marciano] was far and away the strongest man I've encountered."

      Archie Moore

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      • Little Adam
        Speed Bag Trainee
        • Jun 2018
        • 12

        #4
        Thank you for the replies. I appreciate them.

        Back in 1980 when I was 14, I took boxing lessons from Sonny Ray at the Seaside Gym in downtown Long Beach, CA. Sonny was using Tuf-wear bags at the time, and they seemed to be better made than the Everlasts I was used to using. So when I got a little older, I scored these two bags that I reference in this post. I'm glad I did.

        You're right BagBoy. I lament the days when Made in USA was commonplace - and it usually meant something made pretty darned good. Nowadays, if I find something nice made in America I'll grab it just because it's such a rarity (Sigh).

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        • Dutchman
          Speed Bag Historian
          • Jun 2006
          • 1903

          #5
          Tuf-Wear probably hit it's peak when it was chosen to supply equipment for at least the first "Rocky" movie. I had a double end bag from them during that time period, really nice piece. I have found that their speed and striking bags from that era while well made, they tend to be very "heavy" and require you to really work to keep them moving. They had latex bladders in them when new, the leather is much heavier than the equivalent Everlast bag.

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          • Little Adam
            Speed Bag Trainee
            • Jun 2018
            • 12

            #6
            Originally posted by Dutchman View Post
            Tuf-Wear probably hit it's peak when it was chosen to supply equipment for at least the first "Rocky" movie. I had a double end bag from them during that time period, really nice piece. I have found that their speed and striking bags from that era while well made, they tend to be very "heavy" and require you to really work to keep them moving. They had latex bladders in them when new, the leather is much heavier than the equivalent Everlast bag.
            You're right about the heavy feel of their speed bags. I grew up hitting an Everlast 4200, and it was lighter. I always got the feeling that the Tuf-wears could hold up to a lot more punishment, though, and the leather seemed to be better quality (but maybe this was just my imagination. Perhaps the Everlast was made from kangaroo? Not sure).

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            • Speedbag
              Author of the Speed Bag Bible, founder of speedbagcentral.com

              • Feb 2006
              • 7109

              #7
              Originally posted by Dutchman View Post
              Tuf-Wear probably hit it's peak when it was chosen to supply equipment for at least the first "Rocky" movie. I had a double end bag from them during that time period, really nice piece. I have found that their speed and striking bags from that era while well made, they tend to be very "heavy" and require you to really work to keep them moving. They had latex bladders in them when new, the leather is much heavier than the equivalent Everlast bag.
              Sounds like the Balazs Lazer. Takes a iicking and keeps on ticking. Heavier than same sized bags of other brands but a lifetime guarantee.
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              • Dutchman
                Speed Bag Historian
                • Jun 2006
                • 1903

                #8
                Originally posted by Little Adam View Post
                You're right about the heavy feel of their speed bags. I grew up hitting an Everlast 4200, and it was lighter. I always got the feeling that the Tuf-wears could hold up to a lot more punishment, though, and the leather seemed to be better quality (but maybe this was just my imagination. Perhaps the Everlast was made from kangaroo? Not sure).
                The early Everlast "pro" line was indeed made with kangaroo leather, however by the mid 1960's they had switched to a high grade cowhide leather, which resulted in the bags that we are most familiar with (i.e the 4200, 4201, 4202).

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