Sanabul Battle Forged Deals
I have order the Sanabul Battle Forged Thai Pads few weeks ago from Amazon. I know Sanabul to be an emerging brand mainly for MMA but I could not find much reviews on their products. As I was looking for some affordable pads to use with my students and they were only $59, I took a chance. They arrived the afternoon before my class and I have been using them for almost a month and I think I can give a reliable review on the products.
Look and Design
First of all the Sanabul Thai Pads come packaged in a very stylish bag with traditional Thai tattoos design (Sak Yant) that goes all around. Pretty cool package I have to say, even though it does not look like it will last long. The pads are made of synthetic leather with a nice grainy texture and smooth feel, the Sanabul logo and writing on the top keeps the surface completely black and gives a very classy and modern look to the pad. The kicking area stretches all the way to the side of the pad and it feels like a dense cushioning pad all over the surface. On the back we have two velcro straps with metal loop system, which are slightly padded, and the handle at the top.
Construction
The pad is only 1.5lbs each! Exactly…A pretty light pad, which is one of the features that caught my interest the most. Nonetheless, the padding feels very firm all around, and the front surface slightly more foamy thanks to what Sanabul calls “San-Air Ultra Light Foam”, almost like if it has a little bounce added to the front padding. The thicker thread on the back seem pretty well done with no loose ends and very neat all around. The loop is attached directly on the surface of the pad so it does not flap around and it also makes the straps feel more stable when receiving a kick.
The straps, as mentioned, are slightly padded, which is a nice touch, and they are about 1” ½ long and they feel very comfortable on the arm. The handle on the top is one part I am not really keen on: personally I think it is a bit too small, with not enough space, like if the bar is a bit too short. Maybe it will need some extra beak-in time, but after a month, I was expecting it to get a bit loose so you can juggle a bit with the pad, but nothing happening for the moment.
Performance
I have used these pads for a month now and I can comfortably say I would recommend these pads. I have mostly used Twins and Fairtex pads throughout the gyms I trained at. Of course the leather material on some of those and the construction is impeccable, solid built for heavy duty and they last forever. However, these are easily $120 a pair or even more and not the type of money you can spend every day (I know from my previous review it seems like price is a big thing for me, but…yes it is! As it is for many ppl! Not easy to try to build your team and try to train yourself and buy equipment!).
First of all the Sanabul are super light weight! I mean, comparing to other pads you almost forget you holding something. They are however very solid and they can definitely take a kick. The San-Air Foam Technology on the front makes the pad feel quite soft and bouncy for the kicker, which is optimal specially for a beginner kicker, but on the receiving end you feel the density of the construction inside and you are confident to take heavier hits.
The straps hold very strong and no matter what is your preference of “tightness”, it will stay for the whole session. However, the bar on the top makes it quite hard to get a firm grip. I do not have giant hands, but still struggle to grip it firmly and comfortably. You can bend it a bit left or right to adjust to your grip, but I haven’t found yet a way to hold the pads without needing to re-grip or readjust my hands every now and then. Also, the synthetic leather can make you sweat a lot if you go through long pad sessions.
Cost & Price Compare
Sanabul Battle Forged Thai Pads Gallery
Final Thoughts
If you allow yourself to add $15-$25 you can reach to RDX, but that would make it around $90 price range and at that point you might as well stretch to a Fairtex. At least I would. Few minus point are of course there. The Syntetic leather makes your arm sweat quite a bit on a long pad session. The handle bar is not really comfortable and I feel it could have been a bit longer so the grip can be adjusted much easier.
Lastly, I have not tried the pads on a super heavy kicker (we all know who they are!), and as solid as it feels for now, I don’t know if the padding would last one or two yrs down the line if a Yodsanklay kinda kicker joins your gym! Overall I am very happy with the purchase.
Alessio purchased these Sanabul Battle Forged Thai Pads himself for the full price. This did not influence the outcome of this review.
