Headgear is an intensely personal thing. While some folks are content to use the community gear at the gym, really you should be buying your own, unless you like being exposed to the sweat and, yes, blood of strangers. But more than that, good fit and appropriate padding is crucial for the main purpose of the headgear...which is to protect your brain. So appropriate gear is very important. While the best way to protect yourself is to avoid the pouch to begin with, for those times where it's unavoidable you need to have the right protection for the environment. So, for instance, practice gear tends to be more heavily padded than competition gear, as well as featuring heavy cheek protection. On the other hand, visibility can be a problem with practice gear because while the padding helps, you really need to see the punch coming so you can roll with it and minimize impact. I also look at size and weight. Overly heavy gear messes up your head movement and just feels awkward, not to mention making your head into a giant target. It's also harder to cover when blocking. So that's just a skim of the things I think about when looking at headgear. I have to say, while ultimately I view this as practice headgear, for all practical purposes this wouldn't be unreasonable for use in competition. The main thing driving this opinion is the weight...it's not outrageously padded, and it's firm enough where it absorbs impact well, but at the end of the day it's really light on the head. I found it easier to slip punches with this than other "practice" gear. Also, visibility is really great...cheek protection is there but not too aggressive. I'm also happy that there is no chin padding, so it's easy for me to lower my head when necessary, It fits my head well. I like the adjustment points because they are in places that make sense and hold the gear well. Now then, this isn't leather, but it's enough quality that I'm inclined to overlook it. I typically have a bias against any non leather that's supposed to deliver or receive a punch, but this particular vinyl is making me rethink that. Certainly the material helps with weight reduction. Moreover, I really think this gear is durable enough to last for the long haul. The chin strap in particular is well made, and this is important as this is the first point where headgear tends to fail (it's usually the thinnest part of the gear). So at the end of the day, while this is still technically practice gear, it is the most versatile headgear I've ever seen. I'd have no issue using this over a wide variety of boxing matches. A very good product.
