Consolidated Headgear thread (post headgear questions here)

**Efro** · Posted On: 9/04/2009 4:53am

Originally Posted by futbol9

Hello, I am looking for a headgear that protects my eyes 100% for muay thai sparring. I wear hard contact lensses and if I get punch in the eye they can break inside or I can just lose them, and they are very expensive. I hear that the ones with the nose bar restrict your vision for the low kicks. Well let me know thanks for all your help.

If you keep your hands up that won't happen, but if it does...

**futbol9** · Posted On: 9/05/2009 2:10am

Yes dwkfym I did not want to use a face shield, but it looks like thats the only option:( but thanks for the advice.

**futbol9** · Posted On: 9/05/2009 2:16am

THanks Efro I will look into that headgear. I gotta know how thick the padding is on the forhead and the cheeks to see if this headgear will protect the glove from reaching my eyes at all..

**pauli** · Posted On: 12/04/2009 1:03pm

hey look, a thread for my question.

i'm currently in the market for headgear (followed by the rest of the dojo). i'm open to anything recommended by enough bullies, but my first stop (due to a wholesale account, so about half list price) is century. i've had very good experiences with their gold line (ie, it's not the usual century trash). i should probably post a review at some point. anyway, i'm looking at:

http://www.centurymartialarts.com/sp..._Headgear.aspx

http://www.centurymartialarts.com/sp..._Headgear.aspx

anyone have any experience with either, or is there something else out there so compelling that i shouldn't have matching gear? looks matter, you know.

from reading the rest of the thread, it seems that the tradeoff between full face and open face is generally stability and protection vs visibility. anything i'm missing there?

**agogargus** · Posted On: 12/12/2009 6:26pm

Yo Horatio,

You brow beat me because i posted something for Kory with a K to check out a few months ago and you shut it down. Should this new picture thread be in off topic? Just a Question?

KC

**TEA** · Posted On: 5/25/2010 11:21am

I just started up at a new gym and I'm going to need to buy my own head gear. This school does grappling, stand up and MMA on alternating weeks, so I will need head gear that will work for both stand up and MMA sparring. For stand up, I'm leaning towards one of the full face headgear with the bar down by the chin (i.e. not the big boffo face saver bar) ala KO Fightgear's , Twins , Titan. or Everlast MMA headgear.

However, I am worried that the chin bar would get in the way of grappling in MMA sparring (e.g. hard to tuck the chin to protect against chokes). The Fightgear Grappling headgear looks great for grappling, but it doesn't look like it offers any cheek or chin protection.

Is the low drag v.s. protection really that much of an issue? Would headgear with cheek pads but not chin protection be any better for grappling, or would any headgear get in the way regardless of degree of protection?

Also, what's up with the Mexican style headgear? Are the massive cheek pads meant to protect the nose or just the cheeks and eyes? They look like they would seriously impair one's vision.

TIA

***WhiteShark*** · Posted On: 5/25/2010 4:02pm

Honestly grappling with headgear sucks no matter what. Ideally I would get 2 headgears a nice thick training one for stand up days and something thinner for grappling.

**TEA** · Posted On: 5/25/2010 10:44pm

Thanks. I went ahead and ordered KO Fightgear's headgear. I really like the Thai bag that I bought from them and their headgear looks like a good balance between vision and protection. I spoke with one of the instructors at the school tonight and he said not to worry to much about the headgear getting in the way of grappling while sparring.

**Conde Koma** · Posted On: 4/07/2011 11:41pm

hey everyone, i got my own headgear related questions.

so i'm looking to invest in some long term head gear, preferably something that can double both for striking and stick sparring.

here's what i'm looking at right now:
http://www.alsgym.co.uk/super-safe-h...ard-p-262.html
The Super Safe - about $100 USD, clear plastic face shield. a daido juku helmet finally available outside japan, i'm leaning towards this one based on how indestructible these things seem to be. i do wish the shield was removable, though.

http://www.canbox.ca/c267847p16907366.2.html
The Cage Mask - $140 USD, definitely more expensive than the space helmet. it seems like it has more padding, and i do like that the face shield is removable. also, no fogging problems with a cage instead of a plastic shield.

does anyone have experience with either/both of these products? what would you recommend? is there something better i'm unaware of?

**Tonuzaba** · Posted On: 4/12/2011 2:39am

Originally Posted by Conde Koma

...does anyone have experience with either/both of these products? what would you recommend? is there something better i'm unaware of?

I have something very similar to your second option (from another maker) and though I haven't used it for a while (I don't do standup and the last time I did knife fighting was ages ago) I am very satisfied with it.

Unless you poke the eyes with thin sticks, you'll be safe and it is velcro-attached so you can unmount it and have a great boxing helmet without the cage anytime.

The all face cover plastic thing worries me regarding fogging. They write it "shouldn't happen" if you use anti-fog sprays, but somebody with personal experience should be able to tell you if it does or not. I suspect it does.