Muay Thai Shorts - Buyers Guide
Whether you are a competing Muay Thai Fighter or just training Thai Boxing for fitness and need shorts to go with your Muay Thai gloves, our Muay Thai shorts Buyers Guide. should help you make the most informed choice you can, read on!
When buying Muay Thai shorts, unlike many of our buyer guides which have a lot of possibilities, there's a fairly straightforward procedure with Thai boxing shorts as they have little bearing on performance in the sport, nor is overall quality of the shorts likely to cause injury or any issue training or competing.
It used to be the case that Thai shorts were always best when originating from Thailand and the materials used were largely the same. This has definitely changed in the last ten years as other countries of manufacture such as Pakistan and China are now matching, in some cases even surpassing their Thai rivals.
Style wise there are now far more options than when we started Fightstorepro.com in 2009. Here is a brief summary of the style options.
Traditional - with a waistband similar to boxing trunks albeit a little slimmer and wide flared legs. Often adorned with fancy designs and bright colours. A good example would be this pair of Fairtex Thai shorts.
Low Waist Thai Shorts- This has become a very popular style in the last few years, check out this example from REVGEAR
Sublimated Thai Shorts - The main difference in these shorts is the material which allows a style of printing called Sublimation which allows a massive variety of designs. They feel very different to the satin style but maybe design wise the same as either traditional or low waist. Check out this example from TUFF
The main trick is to choose the right style for you and understand things like sizing, materials and how they fit on western legs when they're typically made for a smaller Thai frame.
Sizing This is the thing that confuses most Westerners; Thai sizing is totally different to Western sizing! Here are the basic rules to follow when it comes to size:
WESTERN SIZING - Small: 28-30" Medium: 30" – 32" Large: 32" – 34" XL: 34" - 36" XXL: 36" – 38" XXXL: 38" - 40"
Applicable to REVGEAR, THAI FIGHTER, VENUM etc
THAI Waist Size Small: 24"- 26" Medium: 27" – 29" Large: 29" – 31" XL: 32" - 33" XXL: 34" – 35" XXXL: 36" - 38"
Applicable to Danger, Twins, Boon, Raja
It's worth remembering that there is also some variation in leg length between the brands, and for some people they might fit the next category up or down from what they are used to in western sizing.
Let's take a look over some of the brand options
Buying Thai which is generally still a good policy for buying Thai shorts but like I mentioned earlier other countries which manufacture apparel such as China, India, Pakistan and of course many South East Asian countries have now caught up with what makes a good pair of Thai Shorts so the Thai's now no longer have exclusively the best but if you want authentic then Thai made shorts will still give you that feel; the Thai’s, however, definitely do on the whole have a bank of knowledge and manufacturing experience that is second to none.
FAIRTEX High quality and with a distinct range of designs, in the main Fairtex sport their own logo to the front and use both satin and nylon for their Thai shorts. Styles tend to be in both garment design and in the decoration. Fairtex shorts are hugely popular and when the brand bring out new designs the Thai boxing world takes notice.
Fairtex do not use standard Thai sizing and are approximately in line with Western sizes on the small size. If you are a Medium (32) in a western size you will be either a Medium or Large in Fairtex Shorts!
THAI FIGHTER Shorts are a standard fit for Muay Thai shorts and typically have roomy legs and a deep waistband. They use the Western waist sizing which is helpful and Their designs are looking sharp. Made in Pakistan but of a very high quality and half the price of many brands. Thai Fighter offer a growing range of eye catching and authentic designs that compete with the multitude of offerings out there.
TUFF Another brand that has significantly upped their game in recent years, offering both simple two-tone shorts and a range of glittery, stand-out designs more akin to Fairtex. Classic Thai sizing applies here too!
REVGEAR Brand-wise, if you want a really authentic Thai style, Revgear are a good choice, whilst being American in Origin they manufacture in Thailand as well as other places. REVGEAR only use satin and very high quality materials in their shorts.
Finally, if you're not a fan of Thai style shorts, but still require some robust leg wear, check out our full range of fight and training shorts here.
