Yokkao Vintage Carbon Muay Thai Shorts (Customised) Review
Brand
Beginning in 2011, Yokkao has become recognized as the World’s premier Muay Thai brand. Working behind the scenes of the brand is a professional team of former fighters and specialists developing high exposure international events while producing the highest quality gear and innovative aesthetic designs. Yokkao is the most requested brand creating what has since the beginning been called by the Muay Thai Masters and Nak Muays: “The best fight equipment in the market”. Handcrafted from two factories in Thailand, a Fight Team composed of the best fighters from across the planet and a specialized team in R&D, Yokkao is the leading manufacturer of Muay Thai and MMA Gear in the World.
About the item
The Yokkao Vintage Carbon shorts are a variation of the standard Yokkao Carbon Muay Thai Shorts which we’ve already reviewed. While the shorts are fairly similar, they aren’t identical and there are a few differences in the design.
As well as selling the products, Yokkao also have a service which allows you to get your shorts (and most other equipment) customised directly through them with your choice of text on each leg for a small additional cost. I was given a pair of Vintage Carbon shorts as a gift, and having them customised for me added a nice personal touch.
The Yokkao carbon range are shorter than usual Muay Thai shorts, with a deep cut on both sides of the leg and stylistic ‘carbon’ panels on the sides.
Visuals
The Vintage Shorts come in two colours; Blue/Silver and Red/Gold – each one designed to match with the rest of the vintage range. Personally I like that Yokkao design full ranges of matching equipment and shorts, and the blue pair of vintage shorts go perfectly with the Vintage Boxing Gloves and Yokkao Vintage Curved Thai Pads which we’ve also reviewed.
The silver/gold carbon panels give the shorts a premium look, and are brilliant to see up close. The carbon is bordered by a black outlining with the word ‘Yokkao’ on, which also runs around the bottom of the shorts. If you decide to get them customised, your text will run along the bottom of each leg. You can choose from a range of text colours. The colour of the shorts is surprisingly close to the leather colour used in the rest of the range, and the shorts seem to have slightly more of a ‘shine’ than the regular carbon shorts.
The Yokkao patch seems a little larger on these shorts than the regular Carbon shorts (which could have just been an update, rather than a difference), and on the side of each carbon panel is a star, which help to give that ‘classic’ feel.
Materials and Craftsmanship
The shorts are hand made from of Satin. The satin is incredibly smooth and feels great on the skin. In fact, all of the materials look and feel really high in quality. Because of this, these shorts feel absolutely brilliant to wear right from the first time. The stitching on the shorts is really well done and secure in all places. I complained about the standard Carbon Shorts that the stitching on the customised text seemed to have a load of loose threads, however on these shorts the stitching seems much better, so clearly Yokkao have increased their quality control since then. The letters still appear to overlay the carbon panels sometimes, depending on the amount of text and the size of the shorts.
Comfort/use
The Yokkao Carbon shorts remain one of my favourite Muay Thai shorts, and these are no exception. The fit is brilliant, they have plenty of room for movement, but aren’t overly loose. They also have a draw string in the waistband, so you could easily get a larger size and adjust if you prefer a roomier fit. The legs are slightly shorter than most Muay Thai shorts too, which allows them to be slimmer than traditional Thai shorts, which makes them look great.
The shorts aren’t ideal to wear when running, as the seams between the legs sometimes rub together, so you might not want to wear them if you’re heading out for a warm-up run, but that’s obviously not a problem when actually training or fighting. The satin used for the shorts feels great on the skin, and become almost unnoticeable as any good clothing should. The flexibility is great, and these don’t get in the way of kicks at all.
What really sets these shorts apart are the visuals. The modern vintage style works well, complimenting the rest of the range if you own it, and still providing a unique colour of shorts if you don’t. Factoring in the optional customisation makes these shorts even better, allowing fighters to add names, nicknames or their gym on to their shorts, which look flashy as hell when you step into the ring.
Cost
These are great shorts, and as you can expect, this is reflected in the price. At £54.99, these are above the price of most shorts, and when you count in shipping costs and the optional £9 for each leg you customise, this quickly adds up to almost £80. These shorts may not be the in the sort of price range beginners would be looking at, however they are definitely worth it for dedicated fighters wanting to look great with their own pair of personalised shorts, or perhaps even as a gift.
Looking to buy these?
Pros/Cons
+ Great fit and shape
+ Matches with the rest of the Vintage range
+ Premium feel
– Not ideal for running
– High price
