Fairtex ROPE1 Thai Style Skipping Rope Review

Fairtex ROPE1 Thai Style Skipping Rope Review

Brand

Fairtex are a popular manufacturer of fight equipment, dominantly focused on Muay Thai. The company is based in Thailand and is widely popular, both there and internationally. Originally founded in the 1970s, Fairtex have a long history of producing top quality, handmade equipment, endorsed by many gyms across the world.

About the rope

Skipping is a major part of most martial arts training. Whether you’re warming up, doing intervals or doing tricks to work on your footwork, it can be a valuable tool to use in your training. Add to that the portability of a skipping rope it could well be the most versatile training tool that a fighter has – except for shadow boxing.

The Fairtex ROPE1 is a traditional style Thai skipping rope. It’s much heavier than your standard skipping rope or a fast rope like the Aidas weighted skipping rope we previously reviewed, so it instantly makes your training tougher and can be a great way to take your interval sessions to the next level.

Visuals

When it comes to old school design Fairtex have nailed it with this rope. Wooden handles, clear plastic tubing and a couple metal bolts and that’s it. Both handles have the Fairtex logo marked into the wood, giving a nod towards a deeper design, but the whole rope is very spartan; made to do a job and nothing more.

Materials/Craftsmanship

As we just said; wood, plastic and a couple of metal bolts. That’s it for materials. They’re all high quality, tough and built to last. The only thing worth noting about the rope is the plastic tubing – it’s designed to put up with punishment, which means it’s a bit stiff and can hold its shape, so it almost requires breaking in like a new pair of leather gloves. Additionally, like a lot of plastic ropes, it can scuff quite easily if you’re skipping on a rough surface like concrete – not a huge issue, but it’s quite noticeable due to the clear plastic that the tube is made from.

While the design may be simple, the quality of the craftsmanship is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Fairtex. The skipping rope is very well made and there’s no signs of any wear and tear (other than mentioned above on the tube itself) during the time I’ve been using it.

Comfort/use

While we wouldn’t exactly say this rope was comfortable to use, that is kind of the point of it. The handles are comfortable and don’t wear on your hands, while being wide enough to make sure you can maintain your grip on the heavier rope. Just make sure you don’t catch your toes.

Cost

The rope retails for £16.99, which is on the expensive side for a skipping rope. If you’re just starting out training and looking for a rope we’d recommend something cheaper and lighter. If you’re looking for a tool to take your conditioning to the next level then this might just be the thing for you.