Equipment.

[genin]

What is a good brand of thai boxing equipment? I hear Fairtex is good but a little expensive. Also how many gloves do I need to buy. Like do I need a different pair of gloves for a heavybag work, speed bag work, sparring, etc?

[ryangruhn]

I honestly have yet to find a company that makes everything good. For instance I like:

Ringside Head Gear
Twins Thai Pads
Combat Sports Instep Guard
Ringside's Midsection Protection
Ringside's Focus Mits
Fairtex Bags

Its more of a personal taste thing than anything.

Gruhn

[genin]

Thanks for the input.

[gabbah]

Speaking of bags, are there bags than don't break all the time?
In my gym they seem to break so often it's annoying.. the seams in where the chains are attached get's broken, or even the seam on the body of bag itself (well that probably took a while I guess). I think even the chains themselves have broken!
Is it important to hang the bag on a spring hook kind of mechanism? We did that to reduce the noise it creates in the floor above from vibrations... but perhaps it also is good for making the bags last longer?
Or are they just bad quality? I don't know the brand of the bags... probably not any you heard about. :P

[ryangruhn]

Everything breaks and wears; even steel. There is no bag that I have ever seen that can resist the punishment received at the gym over a number of years. We currently have an Everlast bag that I got for $69 at Sam's Club which has been doing well for a year or so and is on it's second chain. We also have a bag that is older than me which is covered in duck tape probably going on its twentieth change and still can take a punch. Bags are meant to wear in and wear out. All bags regardless of size, style, brand will break; get a new one when it is time.

Gruhn

[Orionkeiji]

has anyone heard anything good or bad about Liberty fight gear? i'm particularly interested in getting their focus mitts, thai pads, mma training gloves, and shin/instep pads.... there's a dealer in my area so i wanted to see if they're decent..

[Khun Kao]

CONSISTENTLY Good Thai brands:
Twins
ThaiSmai
Inter
Windy
"W" brand

Some stuff is good, some isn't:
Fairtex (customer service has been a serious problem in recent years)

Heard good things, but haven't tried:
Boonsport

[Caddock]

I have a half dozen pairs of kofightgear.com pads. I like them quite a bit. I have some of each size and all are nice though I like the xtra thick best. Shipping was fast and the owner was a nice person to deal with.

[WildWest.]

Twins for thai pads definitely. As far as gloves go though they are good but not great. The brand I use you can only buy in NZ and they are pretty good.

Experiment and find what you like.

[blackriceman]

twins, windy, fairtex

[William]

Is it important to hang the bag on a spring hook kind of mechanism? We did that to reduce the noise it creates in the floor above from vibrations... but perhaps it also is good for making the bags last longer?
Or are they just bad quality? I don't know the brand of the bags... probably not any you heard about. :P

This is from something I posted back in 2002 on hanging a heavy bag at home. We also have started hanging many of our bags at the gym in this manner off of a single cable (the bungee method). Chalambok had seen this set up at my place.

William


Now, on hanging a bag. I found this to be very successful.

Parts:
one: 8' long 4x4

Five: lag bolts (long enough to run through the 4x4 with 2" - 3" left to
sink into the rafters) with large washers.

one: Large eye bolt (screw).

Three: Now, I forgot what these are called, they are used for mountain
climbing. Metal clips that are spring loaded so you can clip them onto rope.
You see anodized one on key chains nowadays. I use one on each strap of the
heavy bag. Carrabiners (sp?).

Six: flat heavy duty black rubber bungy (sp?) cords with metal hooks (the 19" Quick Straps with heavy duty hooks by M&K Industries. Get them at Home Depot).


I drilled five pilot holes through an 8' long 4x4 and mounted it
perpendicular to the rafters in my garage using lag bolts. I then screwed
in a large eye bolt to the 4x4 and hung the bag from it. This way the load
was spread out to five separate rafters instead of one or two. Because I was
going out in the garage at 4:00 am to do my solo training, I had to come up
with a way to hang it that wouldn't cause a lot of jarring like a chain will
(I didn't want to wake up the kids, or even worse...THE WIFE). What I ended
up doing was getting six flat heavy duty rubber bungy (sp?) cords with
metal hooks to hang the bag with. Put one metal clip onto each strap of the
heavy bag. Start with two bungies, put one hook of
each cord into the eye bolt, run them through the metal clip and back up to
the eye bolt. Do the same with the other two straps. This way you have two
bungies doubled up and supporting each strap. The bag ends up hanging about
3 - 4 inches off the floor
It works great. It held up great for over two years and I only had to replace two bungy chords. It's quieter and less stressful on the rafters. Also, it's
easier on the joints of your legs.


William

[William]

CONSISTENTLY Good Thai brands:
Twins
ThaiSmai
Inter
Windy
"W" brand

Some stuff is good, some isn't:
Fairtex (customer service has been a serious problem in recent years)

Heard good things, but haven't tried:
Boonsport

Really?? I've been buying from Fairtex for years and the customer service has always been very good. My contacts have changed but each person has always come through for me.


William