Three custom moutguard brand review: Impact, Gladiator, Shockdoctor

Championstuff

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Hello fellow posters, I am pleased to be doing another review. It's been a while!

Today I will be doing a review on my recent and previous experiences with Impact Mouthguards and two other brands, Gladiator Guards and Shockdoctor Custom.


I have two custom mouthguards made by this company. I have had experiences with two other custom mouthguard companies and their products, and though the other companies have great products, I've decided to stick with Impact.


My first custom mouthguard was the shockdoctor custom. It was a very tight fitting and somewhat ill fitting mouthguard, was difficult to remove and I felt as though it was going to pull out my crowns when taking it out, it was an easy fix by putting some hot water on the grooves for those teeth and the problem was solved. The graphics were cheesy on it and it just didn't seem like it was worth the $150 price tag. It was however easy to mold and the shipping was quick and easy and took about three weeks total from start to finish.



My second custom mouthguard was made by Gladiator. The Gladiator site is very easy to navigate and their customer service is very good. The mouthguard that I received from them was very protective of my teeth, but there were a couple times when I received an errant elbow and ended up with a large cut inside my mouth above the mouthguard, as the mouthguard itself does not extend much higher over the gums than where your teeth end. The guard is excellent for jiu jitsu as it does not impede your breathing or speaking, but the guard that I received did not have any form on the back of the teeth, so it would come off easily sometimes. The turnaround time was about he same for the Shockdoctor. With Gladiator they send you a copy of your mold, so if you decide to get a second mouthguard, you can send back your mold and your guard is 50% off, which is very convenient.


My third custom mouthguard is from Impact Custom Mouthguards

http://www.impactmouthguards.com/jiu-jitsu-mouthguard/

It is less bulky than their mma version and holds on very well. I was able to get a custom logo on it for free, it does not look cheesy and the colors are very good. It holds on very well and is comfortable. I've also used this mouthguard for ice hockey and is great. I wouldn't want to sustain any face impact with it on, as it is not meant for that. I wouldn't recommend this mouthguard for any striking.

So, I decided to get the mma version of this mouthguard.

http://www.impactmouthguards.com/mg-mma/

It is a very good mouthguard. The gum protection is high, and very comfortable. it has a cutaway for the very top so that part of your mouth there is comfortable (I don't know what it is called) I got this guard in plain yellow. I received a call from Impact the following business day from a man named Jeff who asked me if I meant to only get it in a single color with no logo since my last one had two colors and a logo and I told him that I wasn't attending that school anymore and he continued with the order. It was shipped that day and I had it in my hands in three days. They are located in Georgia, and I am located north of Seattle. That is very fast.

Now, Impact does not send you a mold, however, they keep your mold on file for six months I think. You receive a discounted price for doing a reorder. My second mouthguard only cost $35, after shipping it was only $40.

Not too bad if you ask me.

I was very pleased with the transaction, so I called the owner and left very positive feedback.

I also use the mma guard for ice hockey and it is very protecive, easy to speak and breathe.
 
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Here are some pictures:

The one for jiu jitsu is yellow and blue, the one for mma is just yellow. I put them together so you could get an idea of the size difference.


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jiu jitsu one in my mouth

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mma one in my mouth

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front of the gladiator and top view and in my mouth. You can see in the picture from the top view that the mouthguard doesn't have any molding for behind the teeth. I didn't think it was that bad at first, but would have liked it to have been more secure.
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front of the shockdoctor, top view, and in my mouth. The shockdoctor had very cheesy logos, and where the logo in the front was applied, the person doing it left a giant finger print, as seen in the picture. You can kind of see the side of shockdoctor in one of the pictures of the Gladiator where it says Goonies. The shockdoctor guard says Goonies Forever on it. The website will not let you continue with the purchase unless you put a word on both sides, so I put Goonies Forever on it. My wife and I celebrated our honeymoon at Cannon Beach, where part of the Goonies was filmed, and some of my family lives in Astoria, where the rest of it was filmed.
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The Shockdoctor retails for $150 from most trusted retailers

The Gladiator Pro was $55 before shipping
http://www.gladiatorguards.com/guards/gladiator-pro

The Impact Jiu Jitsu guard was $49 before shipping
http://www.impactmouthguards.com/jiu-jitsu-mouthguard/

The Impact MMA was $35 after the 50% off reorder discount before shipping.
http://www.impactmouthguards.com/mg-mma-resale/

But if you chose to buy it for the first time it would be $69 before shipping.
http://www.impactmouthguards.com/mg-mma/


The molding process is essentially the same for all of the brands. They send you enough to make at least two molds.
 
Damn good review my friend!!!! Very informative and great pics!!!!
 
Thanks for the review !! in the market for a mouthguard, kind of thinking going the Impact or Opro route
 
Great job on the reviews. Thank you very much. I'm still using my beat up Walmart mouthguard from hockey for jiu jitsu haha. Have been looking at getting a legit one for striking that I plan on starting up soon
 
Nice review! I've been loving my gladiator, and so far it stays locked in my mouth, we'll see how it holds up over time. The higher protection on the Impact does look intriguing though. May have to go that route for my next guard.
 
Curious what sport did you put on your order because the mouthguard you show in the picture was designed for team sports or grappling not MMA. The lack of material behind the front teeth (freeway space ) is to improve speech and make the guard more comfortable.
 
Curious what sport did you put on your order because the mouthguard you show in the picture was designed for team sports or grappling not MMA. The lack of material behind the front teeth (freeway space ) is to improve speech and make the guard more comfortable.

So you recommend the elite for mma?
 
I have an Elite Gladiator (green with polka dots) and it's an excellent mouthguard. Fits very snugly, almost to the point of discomfort until you get used to it. That sounds bad, but it makes your mouth feel very secure when getting hit. Love it.
 
its not the model of guard the pro or elite each has several ways we design them a full back, a cut back, and extreme cut. Each is appropriate for different sports. the one pictured on this thread is an extreme cut, to be used in team sports were communication is needed. For MMA we would make a full back. The guard would have the same amount of material both in front and in back of the teeth.
 
The Shockdoctor retails for $150 from most trusted retailers

The Gladiator Pro was $55 before shipping
http://www.gladiatorguards.com/guards/gladiator-pro

The Impact Jiu Jitsu guard was $49 before shipping
http://www.impactmouthguards.com/jiu-jitsu-mouthguard/

The Impact MMA was $35 after the 50% off reorder discount before shipping.
http://www.impactmouthguards.com/mg-mma-resale/

But if you chose to buy it for the first time it would be $69 before shipping.
http://www.impactmouthguards.com/mg-mma/


The molding process is essentially the same for all of the brands. They send you enough to make at least two molds.

Overall, you did an excellent job summarizing what you have purchased. The only problem is that you did not compare apples to apples. You have chosen 4 different products from 3 different manufacturers.

Impact MMA is in between Gladiator Pro and Elite. Impact Jujitsu is equal to Gladiator Junior in terms of thickness, but depending on nuances with logo or no logo, not going high enough or jujitsu low profile design (just my nickname instead of xcut), the stated use of this is not a fair assessment of Gladiator Pro.

This may sound like I am defending Gladiator for the comment of getting cut because the product does not go high enough, but I am not. I am just stating the manufacturing differences based on pricing and the difference between manufacturers.

I also did not comment on Shockdoctor, because I do not put them in the same category as a true custom mouth guard. Nothing against them, but they address a different sector.

I also am not intending to give you are hard time because there needs to me more people out there willing to shell out the money to do reviews like this and I commend you for that. I am just supplementing the effort that you have put to give it some clarification.

Problem is that for the normal customer, for example one cannot tell an MMA guard that is $69, $80, $90, or $100.

Below is a break down:

$69 - 2 layers - 4mm color and 3mm clear (you will see teeth contours, not much trimming time spent to smooth out)
$80 - 3 layers - 3mm inside color layer, 3mm outside color layer, 2mm clear layer to seal any graphics (more time trimming to smooth out the layers, you will not see much teeth contours - company logo to offset true retail cost)
$90 - 3 layers - same as $80 guard manufacturing but company logo does not have prime real estate but still exists on the guard to offset true retail cost
$100 - 3 layer guard minimum pricing with no company logo present anywhere on the guard, this is true retail cost of an MMA guard

The above pricing tier is what the market will bear on the internet.

I hope this cuts to the chase and helps many decide what type of guard is best for them and how pricing relates to time, advertising, etc...
 
How long does it take for them to send you the mouthguard?
My dentist says it doesn't take too long. I forgot if it was 2 or 3 weeks.

If your dental office does it in-house, it will be 2 weeks. If they outsource to a lab, and they have pickups, clock starts day after and should be 2 weeks turnaround time.

But if shipping is involved, that is the x-factor. Plus you have have to account for graphics. So to be conservative, it should be 3 weeks.
 
I got my custom guard from Pythonguards.com ......I havent used any other custom guard but i can definitely say it is way above any boil and bite(even the 30 dollar ones). Breathing and talking is easier. but the protection is where it shines.....Its just way better....If you box or do mma I would strongly reccomend using one....Since i have only used Python I can say the Customer service is good and the process of sending in the mold was really easy....The finaL PRODUCT is......Well the only way I can explain it is like its the Winning of mouthguards. Cant really see sparring without it now...Safety first.
 
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