The popularity of Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) has grown significantly over the past few years. It's one of the world's most popular martial arts, with such a rich history, Muay Thai's cult like following has propelled a sport once used by the Thai military to defend its country.
Promotions such as ONE Championship have helped the sport make waves throughout the world partnering with the likes of Sky Sports to broadcast Muay Thai in the UK and Ireland.
Punches, kicks, knees and elbows, there's a reason Muay Thai carries the name of "the science of 8-limbs" and is gaining popularity with more Westeners.
We’ve checked out some of the most popular Muay Thai brands that make equipment and compiled our updated list of the best Muay Thai brands for 2024 and beyond.
Your 2024 Muay Thai Gear Guide:
Top 5 Muay Thai Brands 2024
1. Twins Special
Still winning our hearts in 2024 as one of the best Muay Thai brands is Twins Special.
Twins Special are one of the oldest, most reputable Muay Thai gear brands. They have topped our list 3 years in a row and there's a reason for that. Twins Special has been synonymous with Muay Thai for many years, especially throughout Thailand.
With such a strong brand presence and incredible equipment, there's no wonder why Twins are so popular. The Twins brand is seen throughout Thailand but is also very popular here in the UK, which is another reason they have made the top of our list.
If you read our 2023 best muay thai brands guide you'll know the origin story of the Twins brand. Started in 1992 by Narong Wongprasertkan, who wanted to make high quality Muay Thai gear that would be affordable to everyone. Today, Twins Special has grown into one of the most popular brands in Muay Thai.
Twins Special makes gloves, shin guards, shorts, wraps and much more!
If you're on the search for authentic, high quality Muay Thai equipment, you definitely can't go wrong with Twins Special.
2. Primo
Primo is a relatively newcomer to the Muay Thai scene, launching in 2020, they've quickly kicked their way through the Muay Thai world. Working with some of the biggest names in the Muay Thai scene such as Jonathan Haggerty, Liam Nolan, Allycia Rodrigues and as of a few months ago, one of Muay Thai's greatest legends... Saenchai.
Primo Muay Thai gear can be found at Muay Thai events across the UK, with some fight leagues using them as their preferred gear partner to kit fighters out with when competing.
It's nice to see another great Muay Thai brand producing some incredible looking and quality gear. For how quick they've gained popularity, how they're supporting the growth of Muay Thai and are working with some of the most influential figures in Muay Thai, Primo has made it to #2 on GYM NASTY's best Muay Thai brands for 2024.
3. Fairtex
Unless you've been living under a rock whilst you're training Muay Thai, you would've definitely heard of Fairtex. Known for their gyms in Thailand, they also produce some incredible Muay Thai gear. For most of your gear needs, Fairtex is definitely up there with the best of them.
They have made some great designs over the years but they really excel in the quality of gloves and shinguards.
4. Yokkao
Yokkao is one of the most popular brands when you think of Muay Thai. Especially in the UK, if anyone remembers the old Yokkao shows, they were incredible. Yokkao has evolved a lot over the years, now having a lot of colourful, creative designs.
Their gear always stands out, I've been training at gyms around the world, sometimes you can mistake the odd glove for being a different brand but you can definitely tell a Yokkao glove apart.
Known for producing top-quality gloves, shin guards and pads for training purposes, they've made quick success of diversifying their product offering which makes it very popular for fighters in different martial arts. They also produce other accessories including: wrist wraps, headgear and equipment bags which are perfect for storing all your gear when not in use!
Yokkao has worked with some of Muay Thai's biggest legends over the years and have recently renovated their gym in Bangkok to keep up with new branding.
5. Venum
Ahhh Venum, bet you weren't expecting this brand to make it to the list did you? Well, they've made it onto the GYM NASTY list of best muay thai brands for 2024 for a few reasons.
First of all, they produce some great gear, starting off with more of an MMA focus, the French brand quickly grew when they partnered up with the UFC. More recently, you can catch the famous Venum logo on none other than UK Muay Thai legend Joe Ryan. They're also the preferred partner for Rajadamnern World Series.
Honourable mentions
As much as we'd like to say everyone is amazing, there are brands that excel in many different areas and they're constantly improving and changing. As the sport of Muay Thai grows, we also see new businesses join the scene which is incredible for the growth of the sport.
There are also some older more traditional Thai brands that you may or may not of heard of, but they are still deeply ingrained within the Muay Thai scene.
GYM NASTY Muay Thai Gear
We're the new kids on the block! 🙏 in 2020, GYM NASTY was born, a new Muay Thai brand born out of a story to change lives. In 2020 James, the founder decided to go on a journey, to lose weight. On the journey he found that a lot of the gear he was using wouldn't last very long and over time would start to smell. Unhappy with this and the lack of flair to the clothes, James decided to design his own.
Since launch, GYM NASTY has been clinching its way throughout the UK Muay Thai scene and has now shipped around the world, from Ireland to Mexico, Netherlands to Iceland, the GYM NASTY movement grows stronger and supports Muay Thai athletes and enthusiasts.
The brand now has a few collections and has started to diversify its offering, with new 2-in-1 compression shorts to a new heavyweight cotton Muay Thai t-shirt.
The GYM NASTY brand has made several moves in the Muay Thai scene this year, with the founder competing in his first fights, featuring in a podcast and working with Joe Ryan.
Sandee
Sandee will probably always find its way onto the list. It's the first bit of gear our founder trained in and still to this day is always in the kit bag.
It doesn't just hold a place on the list because we bought it, but it's one of the best first brands to produce Muay Thai gear, starting production in 1977. Sandee never really took off as much as other brands did in Thailand, it's probably more common to see Sandee in UK and western gyms.
With new changes in combat sports over the years and many people seeing huge benefits from cross training different martial arts, Sandee stays true to its roots and sticks to just producing Muay Thai equipment.
Whilst not as popular as some of the other brands on the list, Sandee definitely makes up for it in quality. If you're considering some new gloves or shin pads, try out a pair of Sandee gloves, you won't be disappointed.
Top King
Top King hasn't been around very long but has still grown quite a lot of popularity. Founded in 2002, it has punched its way to the top to be one of the most popular brands in the Muay Thai world.
One of the biggest selling points of Top King is that they make high-quality Muay Thai gear at affordable prices. Top King are at a reasonable price point for Muay Thai gear offering great protection and comfort.
What are the best Muay Thai gloves 2024
In 2023 we voted the Fairtex Muay Thai Boxing Gloves BGV-1 as the best Muay Thai gloves. This year we're voting the BGVL3 Twins Black Velcro boxing gloves as the best boxing gloves for 2024.
They're a timeless design that have been around for years and are really high quality. Another reason is because of the rise in popularity recently for Twins Equipment.
Best Muay Thai Brand for Equipment
We've been using a lot of equipment in gyms and putting in some work whilst training, preparing for fights and such. Some of our favourite gear that we're using at the moment has to be Twins, their Thai pads are some of the best and are incredible for holding and hitting pads.
Best Muay Thai Shorts 2024
Our favourite brand for shorts at the moment in terms of looks are Pryde. We've been seeing a lot of the Pryde brand throughout the Thailand Muay Thai scene, it's not really seen as much here in the UK.
The Pryde shorts above can be seen regularly on the Petchyindee Muay Thai promotion. We haven't had a chance to get our hands on a pair but we're definitely on the hunt!
Muay Thai vs Boxing Gloves
There are many differences between Muay Thai and boxing gloves. One of the most distinct differences is that padding. As Boxing just focussed on punches, padding is more concentrated around the knuckles.
Muay Thai uses a whole range of techniques such as kicks, knees and elbows. This means the gloves have to have more evenly distributed padding, more so towards the knuckles and back of the hand.
Once you start to look at the different styles of gloves in more detail, you'll find that the shape differs quite significantly between the two. Boxing gloves have a boxier, more rectangular shape, whilst Muay Thai gloves tend to be more round.
This makes a huge difference to the way that your hand will fit inside your gloves. Boxing gloves are made so that the hand is always formed as a fist, whilst Muay Thai gloves have a more relaxed fit for when you're not throwing punches.
There are many other differences between the two styles of boxing gloves, but the points above are the easiest to spot.
Other Muay Thai Brands to look out for:
Our Muay Thai list above gives you some of the most popular brands. That’s not to say there aren’t alternative brands that you may be more familiar with or prefer to use.
We’ve listed some more popular muay thai brands below that we’ve used and love.
Mongkol
During my first time training in Thailand, I needed to grab some new gloves. I headed into Bangkok with all the intentions of coming out with Twins or Sandee's.
Until I came across what I believe is a relatively new brand... Mongkol. I tried them on in the shop and immediately felt the high quality and snug fit to my hand.
I also tried a pair of their shin guards which were probably the best fitting shin guards that I've ever tried on. They're quite low profile and have softer padding to the Sandee's that I'm used to, but they offer more than enough protection.
If you haven't heard about Mongkol yet, you have now and I'm pretty sure you'll hear more about them as they grow and gain more popularity.
Windy
Windy is one of the pioneers of the Muay Thai equipment industry. The business has followed the evolution of Muay Thai gear through its various stages since it was founded in 1951.
Since Windy has remained true to Thai design, there hasn't been much alteration over the years. Although Windy is fairly uncommon in western gyms, they are unquestionably the greatest for Muay Thai supplies and equipment.
Boon Sport
Boon is a Muay Thai company with Australian and Thai roots that was established in 2002.
Several people find Boon's straightforward yet conventional designs appealing. Recently, Boon's popularity has increased even more as a result of his sponsorship of local gyms all around Thailand.
If you're seriously interested in Muay Thai, you should definitely check out Boon Sport or even purchase some amazing Boon shorts.
Raja Boxing
Raja Boxing has a long history; since its founding in 1998, it has mainly concentrated on the B2B side of the market. Raja is particularly well-liked by anyone seeking personalised Muay Thai gear.
Raja is less well known in the B2C space, but you may still get via their international-shipping online site.
Few people are aware of how excellent Raja is in terms of quality, durability, and comfort because they haven't focused much on the consumer side of their business.
Rounding things up
Muay Thai is an incredible sport that is gaining even more popularity. The brands mentioned above are just some of the ones that have helped bring Muay Thai into the spotlight over the years.
Whether you’re just starting out or an experience fighter there will definitely be a brand that will work for you.
Before you go! Don't forget to check out our Muay Thai gear.
