Product Review: Top King Extreme Thai Pads

The latest innovation: Top King Extreme Thai Pads

Thailand is a very traditional society, with a far more socially cohesive culture than most Western nations. This traditionalism and collectivist unity is part of what makes Thailand so amazing! 

In perfect balance to their strong traditional roots, Thai boxing manufacturers lead the way in creative business culture – as some of the most inventive and cutting edge innovators in the world. 

Top King Boxing – The Innovators

Top King doesn’t mess around with too many different designs. Their shin guards, for example, all follow the same mould varying with a wide range of design & colors.

So when this brand creates something new, pay attention. Chances are they’ve not only made something excellent, they’ve made something good enough for the competition to follow suit on.  For example many copy-cats try to duplicate Top King’s shin guards just swapping out the logo. And Top King’s most influential invention is their hybrid focus mitt/kick pad, the “Extreme” Focus Mitt, which continues to spawn many copy-cats. 

This brings us onto Top King’s current innovation: The Extreme Kick Pad!

 

Top King Extreme Thai Pads – What Is Different?

Thai kicking pads are a pretty simple tool. A thick slab of padding, complete with leather or microfiber covering, a handle and a strap or two. Not rocket science. But there is one problem some people have with a lot of Thai pads:  that the handle can feel a little too close to the pad, restricting the holder’s grip. As old as Thai kick pads are, no one has ever thought to devise a solution for this problem. Until now!

Top King’s Extreme Thai Kicking Pads have the addition of a concave indentation. This cove is directly behind the handle. The perfect little well for the Coach’s knuckles to nestle in. So simple, one wonders why no one else thought of it.

Durable Construction:

These pads use thick but pliable high grade leather, with multiple layers of top notch, shock absorbing microfiber padding. Complete with a cute curve which creates a nice home for a shin thrown in anger. Heavy duty stitching and hardy Velcro straps thread through a buckle for an extra strong grip. 

Due to the concave indentation for the trainer’s hand, they feel slightly lighter than Top King’s ordinary Muay Thai pads. The handle is thick and wide and secured with rivets. There is a wedge of padding where the holder’s forearm lies. The straps and forearm wedge portion of the pads are made from a single piece of leather. The strap and wedge portion of leather is put into the body of the pad, then rounded off with neat trim. The straps have the very same, neat trimming. These pads are deftly put together and built to last.

We currently stock these pads in 2 sizes – medium and large. Both of these use a double strap design. The medium pads measure 35 x 18 x 9 cm. The large pads are a bit longer measuring 38 x 19 x 9 cm.

Top King Boxing Aesthetics:

Coming in a variety of colors from yellow to apple green, red and black. They are two-tone, with straps and edges coming in the chosen color and the strike zone and back of pads coming in black leather. With a Top King logo on the upper portion of the front of the strike zone. There is a patch logo on the bottom strap and “TOP KING BOXING” across the top of the pad’s edge. These are certainly some of the nicer looking pads on the market.

 

How do these pads feel?

Top King Extreme Thai pads feel relatively lightweight for such a heavy-duty piece of kit. The hand well certainly plays a role in this.

Some may find the hand well means the pads don’t lock onto the hand, as well as other Thai pads. Whether this design suits you will most likely be based on the size of your hand. The bigger your hand, the better they should feel.

Many Thai pads feel tough on the shins until broken in. But these feel inviting and ready to take shots without too much discomfort, from the get go. 

Final thoughts on Top King Extreme Kick Pads:

Thai pads are not a complex piece of equipment. A solid oblong slab of layered padding with straps and a handle. Usually the only variation is the choice between one or two straps? Velcro or buckle? With a curve or flat? 

But, Top King’s innovative well behind the handle on this model adds something special! This is excellent for those who find the usual design restrictive, either due to taste or the size of the holder’s hands. 

Made out of high grade leather with an aesthetically pleasing two-tone finish. Potentially some of the nicest Thai pads on the market. 

If you’re in the market for a new pair of pads and considering these as your next investment, use this code to save: TKKPE10
Happy shopping warriors.