Fairtex KPLC2 Curved Thai Kick Pads Review

Fairtex KPLC2 Curved Thai Kick Pads Review

Brand

Fairtex are a popular manufacturer of fight equipment, predominantly 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 Pads

Curved Thai pads are a staple of any Muay Thai or MMA gym, they’re a massively versatile piece of kit that that be used to stimulate any sort of kick or punch you care to name. If you haven’t checked out YouTube videos of Thai trainers free style pad holding then you haven’t seen them being used properly. You’ll find them in gyms worldwide and for good reason. Fairtex have a great history in producing top notch Muay Thai equipment including Thai pads. Their KPLC2’s are their standard pads, advertised on the website as being great all round pads suitable for everyone including women and juniors.

Visuals

These pads are only sold in black and white at the moment, but I can’t help but feel Fairtex made a solid choice in picking these simple colours, the overall result is a set of pads that look crisp when they’re knew, and look both vintage and badass when they’ve been well broken in.

Materials

Fairtex have chosen to use cow hide leather for the KPLC2’s instead of buffalo leather (the preferred choice of their competitors according to the Fairtex website) making their pads more durable that other brands equivalents. From what I’ve seen these claims of durability are well founded, the pairs we have at my gym have held up well to some hefty punishment.

Craftsmanship

We’ve pointed out Fairtex’s great craftsmanship in our previous reviews, like in our review of their BGV1 Boxing Gloves, and they’ve displayed it again with these pads. Extra thick stitching holding the panels of the pads together, the handle is riveted on and everything else is stitched up tight. Nothing I’ve seen on these pads has shown any sign of bad craftsmanship, and they’re not showing signs of coming apart with regular use.

Use – When Holding

In my opinion this is the weak point on the KPLC’s, when I’m holding a pair of pads I like them to be really tight round the wrist so I’m not worried about them slipping round when I hold for a heavy punch and I find that these pads can be difficult to get right, I believe due to the extra padding on the wrist straps. That being said, Fairtex have done a great job making sure your forearm fits comfortably against the back of the pad, and they’re beautifully light meaning they’re great to hold. Honestly the only element that I feel lets them down is how tight you can get the straps.

Use – When Striking

These pads feel a pleasure to hit, as Fairtex advertise on their website they’re soft and flexible from the very first punch, there’s not real breaking in period where you bruise the hell out of your shins kicking rock hard pads. Even with this softness and flexibility you still get great feedback from your strikes, and that great snap off a solid jab is an added bonus.

Cost

Selling online at $149.95 (£102.50) these are not cheap pads, however they’re top quality, well made pads that are going to see you through some serious training and so give you great value for money. If you’re a gym owner or are serious about your training and looking to buy some pads you can’t go far wrong picking up a pair of KPLC2’s.

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