I am a Fairtex fan. I’ll admit it. Why? Well they just don’t make bad quality gear in fact across the 2011 catalogue you will be hard pressed to find something that’s not at least a cut above average but are they cutting it in the rammed MMA Shorts Market place? I’ve been wearing these Fairtex MMA Shorts for the last 6 months, even washing them occasionally so have they stood up to the Brutalization of the gym?
It should be noted here that the Fairtex AB5’s other than their colour scheme are identical in every way to the other current Fairtex MMA shorts range and therefore this review can be considered for the whole Fairtex MMA Shorts range.
On first impressions when I saw these shorts out the pack I actually though they were going to be a little delicate for grappling and thought although they might be good for kickboxing that the material used which is a very soft 100% polyester wouldn’t withstand constant rubbing off mats and being grabbed, pulled etc. I was wrong. 6 months down the line and these shorts still look new after many washes. The soft material is surprisingly tough and also very comfortable compared to say Hayabusa who make probably the most popular mma shorts on the market at the moment out of a much tougher feeling fabric or Jaco (review coming soon) who make very comfortable shorts which don’t stand up too much abuse. Fairtex have got the balance here spot on. Inside the shorts is a mesh lining which again aids comfort especially when sweating profusely during a tough session, there are splits in the legs which is sometimes a weak point if not done right however again Fairtex have had 50 years of experience in making clothing and therefore know what they are doing with stitching garments correctly.
The Waistband design is a hybrid board shorts design which has a little elastication around the hips but the more traditional flat waist of a pair of genuine boardies with the front Velcro fastened and reinforced with some fairly redundant ties. I personally prefer four way ties like proper board shorts but this is really a personal preference and anyone who sits a little between sizes will be glad of the system.
All in all these are faultless aside from the price, at £47.99 RRP this is a bit steep, we only found them in two UK stores at all with the range for a little less at £44.97 at www.fightstoremma.com and a couple on ebay cheaper (however beware Ebay for Fairtex or Thai gear generally as there are a lot of fakes!) but the RRP is high and is what prevented them getting above the 4/5 rating we have given them, however we will say they are quality and they will be worth the extra couple of quid!
