Danger Equipment Evolution DT Semi Leather Headguard Review

Danger Equipment Evolution DT Semi Leather Headguard Review

Brand

Started in 2004, Danger Equipment is a brand who produce high quality gear, made in Thailand and deliver to countries across the world, with a strong focus on Western martial arts communities. Their goal is to provide customers with the broadest selection of Martial Arts gear and apparel, the highest level of service and the most competitive prices. In the UK you can find their gear over at Danger Boxing Shop.

About the Headguard

The Evolution Headguard is part of the Evolution range of gear – we have previously reviewed the shinguards and gloves that go with these. This is the largest line of headgear that Danger offer, with nine different colour options; green, orange, pink, black, red, yellow, purple, blue and the colour we tested – white. They’re available in sizes small to extra large.

The headgear offers broad cheek protection, a thick forehead bar and a padded chin strap. It features a padded velcro fastening on the back of the head and a lace up adjustable fastening on the top of the head.

Visuals

I really like the look of this headgear, I tried out the white variant, so the forehead bar, ear sections and velcro strapping at the back of the head are all white, along with the padding under the chin, and the loops for the adjustable drawstring on the top of the head. The remainder of the headguard is matte black. Across the center of the headguard ‘Danger’ is printed in a stylised script, which is black and white regardless of the colour choice. Overall I think that Danger have done well with the look of this headgear, there’s a lot of bold, crisp lines and it works very well.

Below you can find our Fight Gear Focus video giving you a close-up, visual look at this headgear. Make sure you check out the rest of the video series and Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss any of our future videos.

Materials

Danger Equipment make their gear with a Semi-Leather, as a brand they support PETA and believe in using alternatives to animal products where the option is available, and this headgear is no different. Danger have selected the highest possible quality artificial leather, and it’s shown no signs of wear and tear while I’ve been testing it. The padding is made from a multi layered foam system and is quite firm, which is great for the protection, but has some drawbacks which I’ll get to later.

Craftsmanship

Like the other Danger products we’ve reviewed the craftsmanship on their headgear is top level, the stitching is all very neat, and doubled up on higher stress areas such as the velcro strapping on the back of the head. The semi leather has been cut very neatly, and is evenly spread across the whole of the headguard, and there’s no areas where its began to bunch up, which adds to the clean aesthetic of the product. I haven’t found anything about the craftsmanship which lets this product down.

Comfort/use

I found this headgear was a bit of a mixed bag when it came to comfort and use. On one hand the protection it offers is brilliant, the padding takes the sting out of all but the hardest of shots, and there is good protection all around the head. The padding is a bit stiff, meaning the first few times you wear it it can be difficult to get it really comfortable but I found this got better as it broke in a bit.

My main concern with this headgear though is the lack of a lining inside, which makes it incredibly warm, and when you get sweaty it slips around quite a lot, even when tightly fastened. Something like the Everlast Evercool mesh system would be a brilliant addition, though it could sacrifice some of the protection of the headgear.

Headguards are also a constant compromise between protection and visibility, and Danger have reached a good middle ground, maybe edging slightly towards more protection. I’ve only had the odd uppercut that I’ve missed, and there’s protection from the padded chin strap to help with this.

Cost

Available on the danger website for $37.50 (just under £30) for a small, they add $2.50 for each size up you go, they are very good value for money. The quality of the craftsmanship is fantastic, and the slight drawback on the breathability is not a terrible issue. I’d recommend this headgear to anyone from beginner upwards.