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TWINS Probably the best-known amongst the manufacturers of muay thai boxing equipment, TWINS (established since 1992) is known (and sold) worldwide. Its main selling point is a huge product range displaying the most innovative designs and colors, backed up by a great quality of leather used and workmanship. TWINS is 100% export-oriented and even though everything is manufactured near Bangkok, wholesale prices are expensive. The gear is just perfect for young fighters: fresh designs, colorful, cool. For some it may be a bit on the tacky side, but who cares anyway? TWINS sells it from shops at Lumpini and Rajadamnern Boxing Stadiums open only on weekly fights. Recently, TWINS has started to use PU for its low-budget product line. A worrying sign of vanishing quality? You’ll find all TWINS products here, excluding the items in PU. manufacturers Personal ratings: MUAYTHAI MUAYTHAI (established about 30 years ago) is virtually unknown abroad but its quality is, amazingly, as good as TWINS. This unregistered, obscure brand is known in muay thai camps throughout Thailand but has never been seriously marketed abroad. This is due to the fact that the owner is not interested in branding MUAYTHAI to foreign distributors, preferring instead to concentrate on the Thai domestic market and on custom-made orders. MUAYTHAI is the only one in the manufacturers displayed here which can produce muay thai gear for other brands and has prices fit for local fighters. The product range is quite large and surprisingly modern, due to the fact that they can replicate any given item from whichever brand they fancy, minus the copyrighted designs. MUAYTHAI’s weak point is the gear overall appearance: there are no fancy designs, no colorful screenings, no innovative concepts, only the classic red/blue/black/yellow combinations of colors. But the quality of each and every MUAYTHAI product is amazingly good. Everything is hand-made by local artisans and the leather is top quality cowhide grade “A”, exactly the same one used by TWINS, FAIRTEX, RAJABOXING and KING. And there are rumors that such big names sometimes outsource to MUAYTHAI’s factory when submerged with orders. All items from MUAYTHAI are available on this site and also on our Italian affiliate site. 28 February update: MUAYTHAI’s first fancy gloves are introduced and they’re cool! FAIRTEX Fairtex (established in 1975) is synonymous with muaythai in USA, Canada and Japan. For decades, FAIRTEX has been promoting Thai boxing in the West, setting up camps where famous retired fighters taught, and still teach, thousands of young athletes. FAIRTEX has a sister company incorporated in USA and an enormous network of distributors. It’s actively marketing muaythai all over the world by manufacturing super-good gear, by sponsoring boxing tournaments and franchising training camps everywhere. The product range is huge and the quality is impeccable. The style is moderately trendy but not as flashy as TWINS. manufacturers RAJABOXING Born in 2002 after a dispute in the TWINS family, RAJABOXING has been struggling to find its own identity on the market. The product range is, unsurprisingly, pretty similar to TWINS. The majority of RAJABOXING’s boxing equipment looks similar to MUAYTHAI’s, but unfortunately prices are as high as TWINS. As TWINS sponsors Lumpini’s fighters and has its main shops there, RAJABOXING shows its power at Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium from its only shop. Very recently, RAJABOXING has revamped its gear introducing a “fancy” line similar to TWINS’ style. The result is quite “glitzy” and perhaps not suitable for all. KING Another sub-brand from the TWINS’ family, KING was created in 2000 but appeared in a shop near the Lumpini Stadium only in 2005. Unlike RAJABOXING, KING has its own colorful, american-looking flashy style, even though the product range is at the moment, essential: gloves, protectors, kick pads and mitts. All is made with cowhide grade “A” and the top quality is evident, so similar to TWINS’s best items. The sportswear section is surprisingly rich in fancy, colorful T-shirts, shorts, vests and bags. KING is still little known both in Thailand and abroad, even though the quality is sound and it’s quite cheaper than TWINS. You’ll find all KING’s items on this site. manufacturers My personal recommendation if you are an end-user i.e. a muay thai practitioner: buy MUAYTHAI or KING. MUAYTHAI products are the ones local nak muay use in training camps upcountry. KING has very good prices and appealing style. If you don’t need a fancy look in the ring or while training, buy MUAYTHAI. It costs less than all the other manufacturers but the gear is basically the same. The manufacturers listed below share common traits, such as: lower quality of materials used, poor QC, unrealistic pricing, etc. Therefore they are not classified amongst the top five above, even though they are well known brands in Thailand and abroad, too. THAISMAI Established in 1988 and for many years synonymous with muay thai in Bangkok, WINDY is a very respected brand in Thailand. Few people may know that TWINS was created as a spin-off of WINDY some 17 years ago. WINDY has nicely updated and refreshed its product range in the past 3 years, capitalizing on TWINS’s success on the international markets. Nowadays WINDY has enough fancy colors and designs to challenge TWINS, but the leather is of a much lower quality. And there is plenty of PU and PVC low-quality gear with WINDY logo sold in Bangkok’s tourist areas, too. WINDY has its flag store at Lumpini Boxing Stadium and their approach to retail sales is pretty unique: they refuse to provide a price list (meaning you have to bargain the price for every item, every time) and the official catalog, only available in CD-ROM format, costs 500 THB last time I checked. They do welcome orders from abroad, they can manufacture custom-made orders but browsers are not always welcome in the shop. Windy used to have a website at www.windysport.co.th but it doesn’t work anymore. If you want to do business with them, I wish you good luck! The following companies manufacture various kinds of sport equipment and also some boxing and muay thai gear. SIAMBALL also known as SBS, produces balls for basket, soccer, athletics, golf, etc. The factory where muay thai gear is made is large and modern. The gear is solid, well built, well stitched; every item is available in leather grade “B”, PU and PVC. Whilst all items made with leather are of a disappointing quality, SIAMBALL’s strong point is definitely PU. The product range is good and the PU gear is definitely worth its price. You can browse SIAMBALL’s products here |
