trianglejitsu
Blue Belt
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2006
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I got this about 6 months ago, shortly before getting a neck injury that put me out, so I didn't have a good chance to test it until now.
I saw someone else at a wrestling seminar wearing it, and could immediately tell that design wise it was better than the previous headgear I'd seen. He had bought some in bulk when he was in the US and had brought them back to Canada and was selling them at $30/pair. Very good deal from what I'm able to find online.
Here's what they look like not on the head
This is almost what it looks like on.
It actually has a chin piece, so you don't get the strap going across your neck, but the model in that picture has evidently taken it out.
The fit is very good. It's got multiple ways of readjusting, and I spent several hours over a few days fiddling with it until I got the fit just right. That's probably the only complaint I've got - to get it fitting properly it takes a lot of work, but once you've got it figured out, there's nothing more to be done and you just put it on, tighten, and take it off.
It barely slips. Under normal rolling it always stayed in place without any difficulty. I had a bizarre situation where the guy I was rolling with intentionally grabbed onto the headgear and pulled - it ended up a little out of place, but still worked and it took me a second to put it back in place.
The big advantage I find compared to other headgear that I've used is that it's not something which pulls across my throat, and the straps don't come down over my eyes either. It's also fairly unobtrusive. I know I'm wearing it, but it's not something I'm continually aware of because I'm worrying about it shifting out of place.
A nice feature on it is the concussion pad over the forehead. I didn't go out of my way to test it, but after doing a bit more rolling after taking it off (I thought we were done), I did end up with a minor concussion. Unscientific, but I've felt fine in all ways while wearing it, no brain stinging feeling.
Also, while it's not intended for striking, it actually does provide a bit of protection against strikes. If it's light contact and either on the ears or forehead you won't notice the hit at all. This is surprisingly better than some headgear I've used that was intended for striking, and I'd rather use this for striking sparring than some cheap headgear. I haven't used any Top Ten or Winning headgear that's supposed to be really good, so I don't have that level of comparison, and really all it is is that it provides better than shitty headgear strike protection, which is another way of saying better than nothing. It also has the advantage of not shifting out of place and obscuring your vision. I've found hits directly to the guards on my other wrestling headgear also didn't hurt so much, so this isn't a unique feature, aside from having the extra forehead protection.
Morgan headgear, plus a good mouthguard, and some vaseline on the face with light contact MMA sparring should work well. Of course, vaseline and no headgear with light MMA sparring works well too, so don't expect any miracles, but wearing it is better than not wearing it, and unlike other headgear - both boxing and wrestling - it doesn't get in the way, right down to hearing. There are ear holes so you can hear everything that's being said. I've watched some training rolls go bad with headgear that completely covered the ears as the guy couldn't hear calls to stop.
I can't imagine using any other wrestling headgear after this. Other gear I often didn't use unless my cauli ear was acting up, since it was as much a curse as it was a benefit. The Morgan gear I wear all the time, because it's all benefit with no drawback.
It is plastic, on the outside, so I'm not sure what the ruling would be for a competition - either wrestling or BJJ (or Judo even!), but I haven't had any complaints about it being too hard from training partners, and you're probably not going to develop cauli ear from competition.
Recap: Fit and comfort is great - once you've taken the time to adjust it. Protection is great - everything you'd expect from wrestling headgear, and a bit more. No drawbacks - unless you consider spending 2-3 hours up front fiddling with the straps to find the perfect fit a drawback. The price I paid for it is well worth it, and I wouldn't feel ripped off for $40-$50 either, and I don't think it gets that expensive.
I saw someone else at a wrestling seminar wearing it, and could immediately tell that design wise it was better than the previous headgear I'd seen. He had bought some in bulk when he was in the US and had brought them back to Canada and was selling them at $30/pair. Very good deal from what I'm able to find online.
Here's what they look like not on the head
This is almost what it looks like on.
It actually has a chin piece, so you don't get the strap going across your neck, but the model in that picture has evidently taken it out.
The fit is very good. It's got multiple ways of readjusting, and I spent several hours over a few days fiddling with it until I got the fit just right. That's probably the only complaint I've got - to get it fitting properly it takes a lot of work, but once you've got it figured out, there's nothing more to be done and you just put it on, tighten, and take it off.
It barely slips. Under normal rolling it always stayed in place without any difficulty. I had a bizarre situation where the guy I was rolling with intentionally grabbed onto the headgear and pulled - it ended up a little out of place, but still worked and it took me a second to put it back in place.
The big advantage I find compared to other headgear that I've used is that it's not something which pulls across my throat, and the straps don't come down over my eyes either. It's also fairly unobtrusive. I know I'm wearing it, but it's not something I'm continually aware of because I'm worrying about it shifting out of place.
A nice feature on it is the concussion pad over the forehead. I didn't go out of my way to test it, but after doing a bit more rolling after taking it off (I thought we were done), I did end up with a minor concussion. Unscientific, but I've felt fine in all ways while wearing it, no brain stinging feeling.
Also, while it's not intended for striking, it actually does provide a bit of protection against strikes. If it's light contact and either on the ears or forehead you won't notice the hit at all. This is surprisingly better than some headgear I've used that was intended for striking, and I'd rather use this for striking sparring than some cheap headgear. I haven't used any Top Ten or Winning headgear that's supposed to be really good, so I don't have that level of comparison, and really all it is is that it provides better than shitty headgear strike protection, which is another way of saying better than nothing. It also has the advantage of not shifting out of place and obscuring your vision. I've found hits directly to the guards on my other wrestling headgear also didn't hurt so much, so this isn't a unique feature, aside from having the extra forehead protection.
Morgan headgear, plus a good mouthguard, and some vaseline on the face with light contact MMA sparring should work well. Of course, vaseline and no headgear with light MMA sparring works well too, so don't expect any miracles, but wearing it is better than not wearing it, and unlike other headgear - both boxing and wrestling - it doesn't get in the way, right down to hearing. There are ear holes so you can hear everything that's being said. I've watched some training rolls go bad with headgear that completely covered the ears as the guy couldn't hear calls to stop.
I can't imagine using any other wrestling headgear after this. Other gear I often didn't use unless my cauli ear was acting up, since it was as much a curse as it was a benefit. The Morgan gear I wear all the time, because it's all benefit with no drawback.
It is plastic, on the outside, so I'm not sure what the ruling would be for a competition - either wrestling or BJJ (or Judo even!), but I haven't had any complaints about it being too hard from training partners, and you're probably not going to develop cauli ear from competition.
Recap: Fit and comfort is great - once you've taken the time to adjust it. Protection is great - everything you'd expect from wrestling headgear, and a bit more. No drawbacks - unless you consider spending 2-3 hours up front fiddling with the straps to find the perfect fit a drawback. The price I paid for it is well worth it, and I wouldn't feel ripped off for $40-$50 either, and I don't think it gets that expensive.
