Hard sparring without full boxing headgear can be dangerous. Like forgoing most pieces of protective gear, you put yourself into unnecessary harm that can be bypassed completely just by wearing the adequate headgear.
The biggest danger to not wearing headgear is bruising and cuts. Headgear prevents glancing shots from slicing open your brows and cheekbones. A lot of the time the strike that cuts doesn’t even hurt, sometimes you don’t even feel it at all until you feel the blood begins trickling out.
A cut can prevent you from training and if you have a fight coming up and you get a gash, it can even stop you from being medically cleared to compete.
The other big point about wearing headgear is that the headgear absorbs the impact of your punches rather than your head. A lot like how your gloves are designed to protect your hands with padding rather than your opponents face, the headgear protects your head, not your opponents hands.
The strategic padding around the headgear also prevents parts of your face/head like your jaw from taking the full impact of strikes.
A lot of gyms make their trainees put on headgear before hard sparring and if you have any notions about competing in amateur boxing contests, then you’ll have to wear the headgear.
Now, you might train at a gym that doesn’t make headgear mandatory but you’re gonna have to get used to wearing it if you are going to compete in the amateur divisions. You definitely do not want your first time wearing headgear being your first proper match.
Best Boxing Headgear
- Speed bag made of rugged and resilient Everhide
- Cheek protectors provide optimal safety and excellent visibility
- Adustable chin strap for secure fit
- Adjustable closures fits most adult head sizes
- Comes in brilliant black
The adjusted closures allow this headgear to fit almost any head snugly and comfortably whilst providing the same adequate protection. Those with smaller heads can also use the adjustable chin straps to further attain a secure fit.
Cheek protectors keep all of your vulnerable flesh safe from strikes without impeding vision or being uncomfortable. One of the issues that a lot of headgear suffers from, is that the safer they make them, the harder they make it to see and just generally make the wearer feel claustrophobic. Everlast toe the line between safety and comfort perfectly here and their ever-fresh technology keeps the headgear cleaner and stink-free for longer.
Hayabusa T3 MMA Headgear
- COMPACT DESIGN: T3 MMA Headgear features a compact design that provides maximum protection without the added bulk. Its streamlined fit feels smaller, without sacrificing your ultra wide field of view.
- THE ULTIMATE NON-SHIFT FIT: Our patented T-Cross closure provides a customizable secure fit that minimizes shifting, while the mesh ears coverings and open-top to vent heat and keep you cool while you...
- DEFEND YOUR MOST IMPORTANT ASSET: T3 MMA Headgear keeps you safe with full coverage protection. Its added cheek protection reduces the risk of direct impacts and scratches while sparring.
- DURABILITY AND COMFORT: The exterior is constructed with our exclusive Vylar engineered leather, the strongest, most resistant material available for high performance training. While the interior uses...
- BEST FOR: Our T3 MMA Headgear was designed to deliver the best performance while training and sparring. Best for kickboxing, combat sports, taekwondo, MMA, muay thai and martial arts. One size fits...
The first thing that stands out with this Hayabusa headgear is how safe and sturdy it looks. Just by looking at it, you can tell that the user will be able to take heavy shot after heavy shot without succumbing to cuts or being rocked.
Despite the padding looking thick and unyielding, it stills remains stylish and the material is soft yet secure at the same time.
The ear is covered by a layer of mesh to both keep you cool and allow you to hear clear instructions from your coaches.
The headgear is lightweight and features an open top, which allow it to release the heat whilst preventing you from taking any further damage.
Hayabusa have used their new Vylar-2 engineered leather which has been shown to prevent the leather from cracking and coming apart.
Venum Elite Headgear
The worst thing about wearing headgear is the heat, and the discomfort that comes with sweating from that heat.
If you use a cheap headgear set, it can make your sparring rounds a nightmare. You can’t concentrate because it’s just so hot and you can’t see properly so whilst you opponent is moving forward all you can think about is your damn headgear.
That is why Venum have removed every unnecessary piece of padding to keep it as sleek and cool as possible.
This headgear has open earholes loosely covered with a strap of leather to prevent any strikes from getting through, but still allowing your ears to breathe. The top of the headgear is clasped with thin yet secure straps so your sweat doesn’t drip down onto your face.
There are also four colour styles to choose from; black and orange, black and green, black and white and pure black.
RDX Maya Hide Leather Headgear for Boxing and MMA
- EXCEPTIONAL DURABILITY RDX Boxing Headgear is exclusively made of Maya Hide Leather material that refuses to split, fray, or tear. It further adds resilience and durability to the boxing headgear....
- Tri slabs of attenuating foam supporting layer. It is helpful for absorption.
- Quick EZ hook and loop strap offers a secure and adjustable fit reducing chances of slipping off. Unique Quick EZ Strap provides steady closure.
- The PVC grill provides a minimal buffer against strikes. It further confirms your vision is not disturbed.
- EVA Lution sheet delivers resistance. The Foam layer support uniformly dissipates the across surface area.
If you care about safety more than anything else, then this headgear is the right choice for you.
Now, all the headgear listed in this post are safe and will prevent you from taking any unnecessary damage, but this set goes a bit further.
It features a removable full face mask which prevents strikes from being able to hit you flush in the face at all, without impeding your vision.
This is a good purchase for beginners; those who aren’t yet accustom to getting hit in the face and end up backing off as soon as they get hit. Now, whilst it’s still a good idea to get used to getting hit, it is gonna happen sooner or later, for absolute beginners getting hit hard in the face can put them off altogether.
As I said, the mask is also removable.
When that beginner is ready to spar with more on the line, a more realistic scenario that’s more like a fight, then they can take off the mask and use the headgear just like the would with any other brand of protective headgear.
Ringside Full Face Headgear
- Item Package Dimensions: 26.416 L X 27.94 W X 12.7 H (Cm)
- Product Type: Sport Helmet
- Item Package Weight: 0.9 Pounds
- Country Of Origin: Pakistan
You need to be as comfortable as possible when wearing your headgear if you hope to have any kind of effectiveness. Companies realise this but still you’d be surprised at how many companies only release either one size fits all headgears or offer a limited selection of sizes.
Luckily, this is not the case with this Ringside Headgear.
It can be purchased in four different sizes, from small to extra-large, so there’s no doubt you can have headgear that actually fits properly.
This headgear provides protection for every part of your head and face that needs it, including padding underneath the chin to keep it stable and secure. The most common cause of a knockout is someones head being rocked after being hit in the chin. So this chin padding can help stave off these effects and prevent you from developing any brain issues further down the line.
But it’s not just the chin, every part of your head is protected so you can move forward and strike without worrying about your own vulnerability.
Overall
This is another piece of equipment that is essential to have if you take boxing/MMA seriously. MMA and boxing are great sports, but sports that can be very dangerous and destructive if you don’t take the proper precautions.
Unfortunately, some gyms and tournaments don’t care about the individuals safety, so it’s all on you.
Get quality headgear and keep yourself safe.
Nice write up. You seem to care a lot about the health of fighters and practitioners. A good headgear is a must for everybody who goes a bit harder in sparring. Feel free to contact me if you wish to review one of our headguards.