Protection
Head guards
Open-face head guards give the best vision and are what most boxing gyms use for sparring. Full-face guards with a bar protect the nose and cheekbones and are common in muay thai and MMA gyms. Amateur boxing competition rules vary by sanctioning body — some require headgear, some have removed it for elite men.
Open face or full face
Open face gives peripheral vision, which matters when you are learning to see punches. Full face and cheek protection trade vision for protection against cuts and a broken nose. Sparring partners and gym rules usually decide this for you.
Fit
A head guard that moves is worse than none — it will rotate over an eye at exactly the wrong moment. It should be snug enough that the skin on your forehead moves with it, and the chin strap should be doing very little work.
Stock landing soon
We are not listing head guards yet. When we do, every one will carry the same thing our gis already carry — a verdict on whether it passes, checked against the body that governs your sport and dated.