Ring to Cage Japanese Headgear

Hi Guys and Gals!

I know for years people have been searching for a Headgear that is very comfortable, light weight, and super protective. The answer everyone's echoed is, "Get the Winning FG-2900." But sometimes the Budget doesn't allow for this, so a lot of you become frustrated on what the closest second is...only to find out there really is none that even remotely comes close. Lately, however, there have been some very viable options and in this next review, I hope to highlight the next great budget headgear that should accommodate MOST budgets.

Ring to Cage has been on the up and up, and I know some of you have shunned it because of its name or because you associate with with MMA. Some Boxers wont even give something a chance unless it says Everlast or some other well known brand. But hopefully you'll give this company another look, and maybe, just maybe it might become one of the brands you trust.

In this next piece of gear which was tried, tested, and put thru numerous prototypes. I believe many of you will be very happy if you so desire to purchase this next piece. Now, I want to clear a few things up before I move onto the review. I am NOT a gear maker, nor am I affiliated with ANY company. For some companies I do extensive testing and do give a thumbs up or down, and present ideas on which padding might be more ideal, etc. etc..

Warning:
For those that are tired of seeing Ring to cage reviews, or simply hate the company stop here, exit the review, and find something else to read. There IS life outside of trolling Sherdog. For all others continue with the review!

Fit/Sizing/1st Impressions:
The headgear will be available in two sizes: Small/Medium and Large/XL. These headgears should fit the vast majority of users. The headgear itself is the classic Ring to Cage leather, its semi-flat colored, with a very soft broken in like texture. It isn't as vibrant as other leathers but it indeed is very high quality. When it comes to leathers, take it from me you do not want a boxy, non broken in feel like my old Cleto Reyes headgear. You end up become uncomfortable and have to re-adjust in between rounds which becomes frustrating, and annoying.

The headgear has a lace closure system for the crown and the back of the head. It may take some fine adjusting here and there. But once you have it custom sized using the laces, it will literally fit perfectly much like the FG-2900. The vision is amazing. It is a MAJOR increase over the old Mexican style v.3.0 Ring to cage gear. This one like the FG-2900 allows you to see MOST of the shots incoming. The cheek protectors are beefy yet light so it doesn't feel like your head is throbbing like some of the cheaper headgears on the market. The all leather construction feels cool to the touch, and it doesn't feel like your wearing a plastic bag over your head like some of the synthetic headgears on the market. Keep in mind this is ALL Leather, NOT synthetic.

The headgear comes equipped with a mini clip closure. It is different than the Winning FG-2900. At first, I thought due to its flatter nature it might become un-clipped, but so far it hasn't. The FG-2900 has a more curved clipped which the images will show. Its a very minor difference and I haven't noticed any degradation.

Moving my head side to side, the headgear is Extremely light yet protective. Like I said, it went thru different versions, and rounds, and even WORN by different people in testing to ensure this was literally done right the 1st time when released for retail/wholesale.

The Feel:
Again, the headgear has a broken in feel to it. The mini clip has the true fit design so the chin strap isnt slightly too long or too short, and you dont need to poke extra holes in it to get the right fight like the traditional buckle design.

The weight comes in at 11.5 ounce. My all leather Winning weighed in at 10.5 ounce. BTW, here is a link to my FG-2900 review in case you want to a do a side by side comparison.

http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f67/fg-2900-review-2588823/

So how well does it do in sparring? It does an amazing job. On the outsiders that did try both headgears, to be honest there was a lot of guessing on which headgear they were wearing. If there are differences, they were so minor that they couldn't tell.

The padding is absorbent, light, and ultra protective. Having a lower profile headgear like the FG-2900 or Ring to cage helps avoid any unnecessary damage to the brain. Some of these other companies create something that looks like a football helmet and call it the most protective headgear out there. But if its so large wouldn't avoiding the shot be far more protective than 10000 layers of padding? Hmm, something to consider.

Personally, I see absolutely no difference in the field of vision between either headgear. I know this is probably the biggest gripe and complaint when selecting the proper headgear, is most dont allow a good field of vision so you are either left guessing or left blind. Neither are good to do in sparring.

Protection:
If you are looking for a headgear that rivals the FG-2900, this is it. Its lightweight, takes the edge off shots, has the best field of view, true-fitting.

Like the FG-2900 the no foul protection (back of head) is very minimal. Its kind of a double edged sword because in order to keep the weight down you have to sacrifice padding somewhere. Its not that there isn't padding back there, its just very minimal. Anyone familiar with the FG-2900 will know, and the photos will show as well.

The raised cheeks will mitigate most nose shots, but not all. If you are seeking the best nose protection you will need to look into a Face-saver.

The headgear looks like a piece of armor fully enveloping your face protecting you from all bruises, cuts and other nasty injuries.

The ear protection imo is a bit better in the ring to cage version as the padding is a little more firm and doesn't collapse as much as my FG-2900.

Liner:
Like my FG-2900 this is a liner-less design, so its a leather interior, makes it easy to wipe down, and doesnt get gross after 100s of rounds logged.

Cost:
This part im not too sure about as the headgear will not be available until the 1st week of September. I believe it will cost $99.99

Other thoughts:
I believe you should protect your face and head just as much as your hands. A Lot of us invest tons of cash into our hands but settle for cheap crap when it comes to headgear. If you want one of the BEST headgears on the market and you've been eyeing the FG-2900 for awhile. Look no further, Ring to cage brings you yet another product thats tried and true.

I believe it will only be released in Black with white as pictured here for the initial release.

Score:
A+

 

Heres my comparison review. Let me know what you think guys. http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/showthread.php?p=109217943#post109217943

 

Looks like its finally in stock and its limited in quantity! So medium and large sizes available.

 

So when is this going to be up for sale ?It was supposed to be out the first week of september but still nothing.I have sent an email to Moshin weeks ago about the release date but he hasnt replied.....

 

Damn i want it but.....the wait kind of made the want go away

 

The cheek protectors were my main concern but this cleared it all up. Looks awesome, im excited to get my own. Thanks for the review! Looking forward to the UMA reviews now

 

Call him. He responds much better. If you call and leave a message, he usually gets back to you super fast.

 

I feel ya. Got very excited for September and then..........nothing.

 

Wish they go for winning's stock colours like they did with the c17 2.0,I would prefer a full black version without white piping and ears.Looks like the best deal for those with low budget who cant afford winnings and dont care about customization.

P.S : Gongrats to Strato for all the work/test he did the past months.

 

I live in EU and I dont know the charges for international calls . He could just respond to his emails...

 

Ill probably still get it but im not exactly in a rush hahaha

 

Yeah Kondoras, I think thats the intention to release the MORE popular colors that match the C17 but I believe the initial release will be the black only.

I think Mohsin is doing this to see how many headgears sell as everyone will buy gloves but not everyone will buy headgear.

Also you can always pay $30 more to custom it still being alot cheaper than a stock synthetic winning.

 

You have to remember hes a one man deep shop. He has to fulfill orders and ship them out as well as responding to phone calls and emails. The emails are often the least looked at because you have to remember you arent the only one that he responds to.

In a single day he gets as much as 200 emails, he answers all of them. And some of these emails are: like what color does it come in, what size, how much does it cost, do you ship to the United states, when does it come out, can you sponsor me, how can i get free gear, does it come in lace or velcro, can do you custom, do you give discounts?

So yes he is a little slow. There are some members in this board, not mentioning names that can send him up to 20 emails in one day. So he is trying and not just ignoring you.

And I sympathize with you as well. I know you live in the EU, and there arent many viable choices here so youre always going to be kind of stuck.

 

Yeah i dont know im assuming there were delays of some sort

 

Nice review. How does it compare to the UMA? I dig the black/white color combo!!!! Might have to look into this one since I returned the mexican headgear.

 

If he receives like 200 emails everyday it makes sense not responding to all of them.Anyway,I will have to wait as everyone else.

 

Quite possibly. It happens.

 

I want some now.

 

He will get back to you....I can pretty much guarantee it. Mohsin is a great guy to deal with. One of the few out there that actually cares about his customers.

 

How big are the cheeks compared to R-9 and FG2900? From certain angles they look big which idk about other people but big cheek protectors are amazing in my opinion.

 

He gap is closing on the fg 2900 so really you cant go wrong with the ring to cage. The mexican version was horrid imo bad vision which is why i worked so clsely with mohsin on this project.

Like i said this one should be out in sept

 

what's the deal with this headgear? is it going to get released?

 

Yup...exactly why I returned the mexican....lol. September is only a hop away....This will be the headgear I get to end all headgears in my collection. Thanks for this.

 

Ive put $100 away to pay for this thing but the wait got annoying so i spent those $100 already.

 

If only I was in the market, I've been clearing the clutter from my life and all I have left in the way of headgear is my fg2900. These new ones from r2c and Uma sort of make me want to get back into the gear game but unfortunately my gear junkie days may be over (ateast in regards to fighting). I'm down to 1 headgear, 1 pair of shins and 4 sets of gloves....only 1 pair of boxing shoes too.

 

Same here. I put enough away for myself and a buddy of mine....his birthday is in November. Spent my end already this past weekend. If it gets any longer I'll spend his end on a different headgear for him. Possibly the GG one.

 

Strat is always posting gear that can cause a gear junkie relapse.....lol.

 

You are to kind Task, but my bday is in September

 

Yeah he is, i was done buying gear. I had my Tokushus, Winning FG2900, and my C17s. Then i check sherdog after a couple months of being inactice and now im back to emptying my wallet. I have a couple orders lined up already.

 

Damn!!!!! Theres always next year.....maybe the headgear will be available by then....lol

 

Yeah to be honest adam I think if you were stateside it would be worth getting but the shipment to china can get crazy!

 

Lol I hope so.

 

what?! you NEVER stopped collecting gear!

Sides, you always knew you were getting THIS particular headgear

 

Ill be reviewing new headgear and gloves maybe next week so you might get yet another option man.

 

Haha well i had my necessary gloves. I was satisfied for tha time i was gone then i came back and well yeah empty wallet now. But yeah i knew i was going to get this headgear hahaha thats true. I need it to match my black C17s!

 

Which one ?

 

Which do you like more, the UMA or R2C?

 

Check out his new thread about the Sabas gloves and headgear. The headgear looks to be exact for the same price with free shipping and is actually available now to buy. No guessing and waiting.

http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f16/sabas-headgear-gloves-first-impression-3083361/


Sorry to kinda hijack this thread but a question was asked and I answered. Not trying to take anything away from R2C.

 

The headgear should be released anytime soon now, keep your eyes open!

 

Strat, very curious to see which one you prefer as well

 

There are some minor differences. I think the ring to cage is slightly more protective and looks more close the the 2900 as well as being lower priced. But the uma imo has better leather and offers far more customization. I think both are really well made; very good fg 2900 alternatives. Basically its going to come down to price and looks. Both are equally as comfortable imo as my fg 2900. So its really hard to pick a favorite. That being said i think manypeople that just train and just want a super protective headgear will opt put for the ring to cage because of price is more available to most.

 

Thanks Strat