hunter rash guard review

As you might already know, I have dealt with www.mmagear.com on many occasions. I have found them to be one of the best if not THE best mma-related merchandise site on the entire web. They are certainly the cheapest, and especially with their free postage sale, which reduces the price of these shorts by $5 straight away! MMAgear have extended their sale a few times, and this is obviously a good thing for us! The stock comes direct from Brazil and for some reason doesn’t attract any import tax or duty from Customs (I received a very annoying letter from Customs after I tried to claim back money from something I got from America recently). I have bought many items from MMAgear, and have never been charged any extra. What you see is what you pay.

I have never normally worn a rash guard, and was very curious when this one came through my door. Normally, I’m not a fan of ‘Hunter’ as the quality is not all that good, but at first glimpse, the rash guard looked as if it was very durable. I tried it on for size, and it seemed very tight. Once I had moved about in it however, it soon became like a second skin, and immediately I thought good things about this guard. It is a brilliant red, and has the traditional ‘Hunter Fight Wear’ emblem on the back and also on the sleeves. A nice touch is the thick white stripe which leads down each side of the guard from the sleeve to the waist. It is a nice contrast, and there seems no sign of stitching. It is also very light weight. So far so good.

Having passed the aesthetics test, how would this rash guard perform on the mat? The mats at our gym are the thick ‘Neil Adams’ judo mats…you know, the green ones with the odd red one for competitions? Many times have I hurt my knees, back, and feet on these harsh mats. When I put on my rash guard and rolled, I knew I had not made a mistake. The protection I got was superb. I didn’t feel the mat at all on my back, and when we worked the medicine ball, I still couldn’t feel the harshness on my chest. So it passed test 2.

The final test was the comfort test. Now, as I said, the rash guard seemed comfortable when I tried it on, but how would it be when I’d worn it for hours? Well, after an intense 2 hour session, I took off the rash guard (much easier to take off than to put on), and it was drenched! It really makes you realise how much water you lose when rolling! The guard succeeded in keeping in my body heat, and also soaking up a lot of my sweat. When the moisture gathers in the guard, it makes it easier to move on your back (not that I like being on my back particularly), and therefore can improve your performance potentially. That’s my take on it anyway.

Well, I was happy with the guard to this point. It had passed all the tests, but would it last? I decided to wear this guard at my other training sessions to test the emblem on the back. Unfortunately, the emblem started to peel. All the writing is still there, but it is coming off quite a bit in the centre of my back. Saying that, I have never seen a rash guard that hasn’t peeled, and considering I was training a lot, it wasn’t as bad as it perhaps could have been. I suppose putting a design on the back of a rash guard is asking for trouble, but it would have looked strange with only a design on the front and not the back!

All in all, this rash guard is excellent is every respect. I get comments at every gym I train at saying that it is too good to wear for training, and that it is more for going clubbing in!! I guess they have a point! I was thinking about going clubbing in my red wrestling boots and my red Hunter rash guard! See if that gets me in trouble!

So, to summarise then, www.mmagear.com have always given me and my friends absolutely top quality products and service. They are cheap (compare for yourself), and offer excellent customer service. Also, I ordered three t-shirts on a Friday, and received them on the Tuesday. That is two working days and they were from Brazil! I have no connection to these guys, but believe me, I can’t say enough good things about them, so try them and make your own mind up.

As I said, Hunter is not one of my favourite brands, but this rash guard made me think twice about that. They are very popular in Brazil and America, not to mention other countries, and if they produce stuff of this calibre, I may have to reconsider my opinion of them. Very satisfied.

WEIGHT: 9/10

COMFORT: 10/10

(EXPECTED) DURABILITY: 8/10

AESTHETICS: 9/10

VALUE FOR MONEY: 9/10

OVERALL: 9/10