Lemarr Headguard Review
Published October 24, 2008 by Boxing Capital
The first equipment review conducted at Boxing Capital was a Lemarr Product (Lemarr Ultimate Pro Edition MKII Training Gloves – see review here) and all four of our testing team were extremely impressed.
Therefore when the opportunity arose to try out another product from this exciting company, we jumped at the chance. This time, we have tested the Lemarr Headguard with Cheek Protection.
Headguards are obviously a hugely important piece of equipment. Not only do they have to do their primary job of providing protection, it’s also vitally important that they don’t slip or move – spending too long to adjust your headguard can result in you taking unnecessary, painful punches. This is the first Headguard review of many to come.
First Impressions.....
Similarly to the Lemarr Pro Edition MKII Training Gloves recently reviewed, the Headguard comes complete with a carry case to keep your headguard separate from all of the sweaty gear in your training bag, a simple yet nice idea. This bag isn’t quite as nice to look at as the carry case that came with the aforementioned gloves, as it has a plastic type feel, but it certainly does the job it’s meant to – and remember, this is not a standard provision, most manufacturers do not provide any sort of carry case.
The Heaguard certainly looked the part too, we were testing the medium size as per the logo on the Headguard, it looked exactly like ‘Professional Boxing Gear’.
The Fit.....
This is a good fitting Headguard that is easy to adjust. The Velcro strap under the chin seemed a little short initially (one of our testers likes his headguard extremely tight) but a quick adjustment of the straps at the rear and lace fitting at the top soon rectified this.
Once on, there is very much a nice feel about the headguard; a solid, yet comfortably compact feel. One area which was a definite positive is that the fit caters for the ears - many headguards can be a pain to squeeze on when left at the 'right size for you' and ears can be bent down etc, but this Headguard slipped on without even needing to give that a thought. The result of this good fit is hardly an movement at all whilst training, exactly what is needed in a good headguard.
Vision.....
Vision is obviously hugely important with Headguard, particularly those that offer cheek protection. Despite the high cheek protection offered by this Headguard, there is no obtruction to your peripheral vision whatsoever.
Protection.....
The Protection offered by the Headguard is excellent. The cheek protection actually sits quite high up (right on the cheekbones) and this is a great plus - it reduces the area of skin that can actually be hit by the gloves and therefore, prevents some of the nasty scuffs/grazes that can be caused in sparring by laces/heel of gloves etc.
But there isn't just good protection in that area alone - this is a well made Headguard that provides a lot of protection all round including some significant protection even at the back of the head - an area some headguard fall short on; whilst your opponents won't be aiming for the back of the head, punches stray so it's important to be protected when they do.
Durability.....
Definitely a Headguard that will last through many rough sparring sessions - the foam padding is good quality and does not look like it will give way very easily. We've only had the benefit of a 14 day test but it's certainly showing no ill effects so far. I'd anticipate it could withstand at least 12 months of regular sparring.
Value.....
This Headguard is priced very well, at just GBP 39.99. A quick look around various websites saw that the only headguards priced at a similar level certainly didn't look as good as this Lemarr Headguard (although we will be testing these for quality in future for a more accurate comparison). Comparable Headguards appear to be at least 25% more expensive.
As mentioned in our review of the Pro Edition MKII Gloves, you should check out their customer feedback page on their blog here - its shows lots of satisfied customers and prompt responses from The Lemarr Team where required, so you have the assurance of good after sales service, in the unlikely event that it is required.
Negatives.....
As above, this is an excellent Headguard, but as always, there are a couple of little niggles:
Headguards with Cheek Protection are simply not to everybody's taste - I know many boxers who just dont feel comfortable with them on. If so, this is obviously not for you.
If you're an amateur, whilst the Headguard is superb value at GBP 39.99, as this will only be used for sparring sessions and not contests, you may consider it too much to pay to use for sparring only, as you will have to fork out again for a contest Headguard.
With so much protection in the Headguard, it's important not too wear this as tight as you may wear other Headguards - having your headguard too tight for several rounds can leave you feeling a little unpleasant. You'll soon get used to not tightening this so much though, but should be wary of it when first using the Headguard.
Judges Scorecard
Value - 10
Durability - 8
Protection - 9
Vision - 9
The Fit - 8.5
Overall - 9
*** Your should note that Durability has only scored an 8, despite our positive comments. This is due to the fact that we only have the experience of a two week test and therefore have to rely on assumptions from what we've seen during that period. As assumption is involved, we are not comfortable in rating any equipment higher than 8 in this catergory. We will revisit the topic on all products in future months with continued use.
Summary
Lemarr have provided another quality product with this Headguard. This is a perfect Headguard for Professionals to use, as its good value and offers fantastic value at just GBP 39.99. Lemarr's reputation continues to grow and whilst this Headguard may not be for some Amateur boxers, Lemarr do also have an 'open face' Headguard.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS EXCELLENT LEMARR HEADGUARD
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