Here’s the much awaited review of the Renegade MMA XTrainer.
Ordering: Renegade MMA’s owner, Mark, is such a great guy. He’s the one who picks up the phone on their hotline and is knowledgable about the products that he sells. He shipped the shin guards across the pond in record time via USPS and sent emails to check if I’ve received them yet or not. Great customer service and fast shipping to the UK.
Construction: When I received the Renegade MMA XTrainer, there were no loose threads whatsoever. The stitching on these things are pretty tight and the quality of the leather is superb. The leather is double stitched to the neoprene and the rest of the shin pad is single stitched. In addition, the leather is very soft and supple. On another note, the zippers used on these shin pads are YKK. For those concerned with the zipper hurting yourself or others, there’s nothing to worry about at all. More on this subject later on in the review.
The neoprene sleeve on the back of the XTrainer is pretty thick so it may tend to get a bit hot at times but it’s a small price to pay for durability so it won’t rip.
I’ve had these things for about 2 and a half months now and they’re still pretty much good as new.
Fit: The bread and butter of these shin pads is the fact that it has a zipper for easy-access to put them on and take them off. These things work like a charm; you slide your foot and shin through, you zip the thing up and once it’s on, it stays on. The only comment that I have is that they may seem hard to zip up the first couple of times but it becomes routine after a while. In my case, the zipper doesn’t fully slide up smoothly once you get up to about 85% of the way up; you’ll have to jerk them up a bit then they’re good to go.
These things are also pretty easy to take off, it’s amazing. I’ve borrowed other neoprene shin guards from training partners before and once you get sweaty, the things are such a pain to get off. The zipper really saves me from all the twisting and grunting after training.
These shin guards are also true to size.
Stand-up: I feel that these shin guards have adequate protection on the giving end. I would have to say that the protection is equal if not better than the Hayabusa Pro Shin/Instep Guards — it won’t hurt your shins if you’ve got sufficient shin conditioning and they will still supplement your shin conditioning. I would have to say that the padding is just at the right level. Theis specific pair feature a dual foam complex; though Mark recently told me that he’s releasing new guards that have a tripple padding core. So when those come out, you probably won’t feel a thing.
We’ve all tasted the pain of catching an elbow in that sweet spot between the foot and the shin, and we all know that’s not the most pleasant feeling in the world. The material on the footpad is a bit softer than the main shell itself but it’s still firm to take those damn elbows.
I’ve use these for about 1.5 hours to 3 hours at a time and there is very very minimal shifting, though I do feel the need to take it off at times due to the thick neoprene sleeve — what do you expect? Sweaty calves are sweaty.
Ground: I’d consider myself more of a grappler, that’s why I chose a pair of shin guards that would be great specifically when it goes to the ground; and with that said, I am very satisfied with these things. Like I said, very minimal shifting (the sweat does kind of help keep the guards in place) and best of all, the zipper does NOT scratch yourself, and more importantly, your partner. I know that’s the question on everyone’s mind, but so far no one has complained about the zip — they don’t even realise that the things have a zip on them until I ask them afterwards. Also, your leg is covered by another one and a half inch strip of leather all the way up and down the vertical range of motion of the zip so there’s no scratching whatsoever. The zipper’s teeth are very flat and rounded around the edges as well, so if it happens that your partner comes in contact with the teeth, they will not be harmed.
Overall: Pretty damn satisfied with this product. For $43, it’s definitely a steal: you get adequate protection, comfort and a zipper. I’d give these pads a 4.5/5 and would recommend them to anyone.
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PURCHASE: Renegade MMA XTrainer Shin Guards
