Best Wrestling Headgear for Adults & Youths

Cliff Keen F5 Tornado

ASICS Unisex Headgear

Up next we’ve got the unisex headgear from ASICS. Available in black, red and blue, this is one of the more affordable options on our list.

This lightweight headgear makes use of Velcro straps, allowing for it to easily be adjusted throughout your training. The only downside to Velcro is that it can wear out quicker than other straps, but headgear tends to need replacing after a year or so anyway, so that’s not a massive deal.

ASICS have implemented GEL cushioning technology into the ear pieces, providing ample amounts of protection whilst not feeling overbearing to the head. There’s also a number of ventilation holes on each ear protector, allowing for the wearer to easily hear what’s being said to them.  

You’ll also notice that this particular headgear uses a chin strap design. Unfortunately, there's no way of adding a chin cup, which is a bit of a shame if that's your prefered style.

With all that said, you really can’t complain about the ASICS unisex ear protector. It’s affordable and get’s the job done, what else could you want?

Cliff Keen E58

Considering Cliff Keen’s reputation amongst the wrestling community, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see their name crop up again on our list.

Also known as the Signature headgear, this design is the staple of old school, straight to the point headgear with no bells and whistles. In fact, the E58 is the top selling headgear of all time, which should give you an idea has to how battle tested this is.

This particular model features a 4-strap design alongside 2 foam ear protectors, with four holes precisely placed to allow you to hear. The E58 also makes use of a chin strap design, however you are able to purchase a chin cup separately if that’s what you prefer.

Due to its 4 strap design, the E58 is more than suitable for youths as well. This is awesome if you’re a youth as you’ll be able to continue using the E58 for a long time, as you can adjust the straps as you continue to grow.

All in all, you really can’t go wrong with the E58. It’s one of, if not the most popular in the world, made even more appealing by it’s exceptionally affordable price tag.

Matman Wrestling Headgear

The first thing I want to mention about the Matman headgear is that it comes in two sizes, allowing the headgear to fit both youths and adults. It also comes in 6 different colors, which should mean you can find one to match the color of your team.

This headgear in particular is designed to be incredibly lightweight and beginner friendly. The idea behind this is that some of the more advanced headgear can be troublesome in terms of getting the right fit and being comfortable when training.

Knowing this, Matman have created this headgear to feel extremely comfortable. They have done this by using lightweight material and soft fabric to line the headgear itself.

Similarly, there is only a couple of straps located around the chin and the head. These make use of Velcro to keep it firmly in place, even once you start to sweat. This simple design means you to get the headgear on easily, allowing you to focus on the task at hand.

Finally, Matman have implemented 3 ventilation holes that allow you to hear what’ going on around you. This is especially handy if you need to talk to the coach, as you don’t have to take the headgear off and put it back on again.

ASICS Conquest Ear Guard

Yet another ASICS model to feature on our list. This time we’ll be taking a look at their more advanced Conquest Ear Guard, which is by far one of the best headgear for wrestling.

The ASICS Conquest comes in black, red, navy, royal blue and white color variations. In terms of size, ASICS offer this as a ‘one size fits all’ headgear, as the straps can be used to adjust the ear guard to fit your specific size.

In terms of quality, the head guard itself is created with anti-microbial treatment, preventing any build up of bacteria. This is particularly useful given the sweaty environment you’ll be training in and the relatively high chance of sustaining some form of cut.

Similarly, skin infections such as staph are common amongst grappling based combat sports, so having equipment with anti-microbial properties is extremely important.

The ear guards themselves are comprised of two parts; the shell and the ear cup. Injection moulded LDPE is used to create the cup, which is both highly durable and lightweight. The ear pads are then made using injection moulded EVA, which again is extremely lightweight and will cushion the impact of any blow to the area.

All in all, this is a top notch option for any experience level wrestler.

Adidas Wrestling Ear Guard

This is definitely a ‘no thrills’ kind of ear guard based on the traditional style that’s been around since the dawn of time.

In terms of design, the Adidas Wrestling Ear Guard comes in 11 different color options and uses adjustable straps to keep it in place. These tend to be a bit more reliable than Velcro, as once you have the fit right, it’ll stay in place for the duration of your training.

This is also one of the few options that comes with a chin cup, as opposed to a chin strap. With that in mind, if you prefer head guards that use a cup, then this is going to be a fantastic option.

Adidas have made use of both soft and hard material to create the ear cups. The exterior is made using injection moulded plastic, whilst the interior section uses soft foam padding. This provides a comfortable fit that is able to protect your ears and soften the blow of any impact.

Considering Adidas is a big name in the sporting world, it’s definitely surprising that you can get your hands on their wrestling headgear for such extremely affordable price.

Adapt Athletics Headgear

The Adapt Athletics Headgear is more of a general grappling piece of gear, as opposed to being designed solely for wrestling. Still though, it ticks all the right boxes when it comes to protecting your ears.

Using the Velcro straps, you’re able to adjust the Adapt Athletics headgear both under the chin and around the forehead. This allows the headgear to fit nicely around the head and can be easily adjusted throughout training.  

Much like a lot of the other brands on our list, Adapt Athletics have used EVA material to create the ear guards. This will help to dissipate the force of any blow to the ear, which in turn will help to prevent any form of cauliflower ear like injury.

While this may not look like the most traditional piece of headgear, it’s designed to both feel comfortable, and to withstand thousands of hours of training. Adapt Athletics have reinforced every seem, lined the headgear itself with anti-microbial treatment and implemented additional foam padding around the entirety of the headgear.

They also offer their headgear with the Adapt Athletics guarantee. This essentially means that they have a no questions asked return policy. So if for whatever reason you’re unhappy with your headgear, you can always send it back.

ASICS Agressor

Up next we’ve got another ear guard from ASICS, this time with their Agressor series, which is by far one of their most popular.

One reason that this is such a well like headgear is due to the fact that ASICS have implemented a quick adjustable strap system. This allows you to easily get the heard gear on and fitting correctly in no time at all.

The ear guards themselves utilise high impact resistant foam padding, created in a low profile design. This means that they’re not too bulky or heavy, which can get uncomfortable and distracting after a while. The padding also helps to cushion the headgear against your skin, should you take an accidental blow to the head.

ASICS use injection moulded polypropylene to create the shell of the ear guard. This material is extremely lightweight and durable enough to withstand and protect your ears from high impact blows.

ASICS Unrestrained

The ASICS unrestrained headgear is a pretty unique one in terms of it’s strap design. What I mean by this is that ASICS have used elasticated straps alongside a Velcro closure system. This makes the ear guards pretty versatile in that they can fit pretty much anyone.

There’s also plenty of ventilation holes around each ear, allowing you to easily hear what’s going on around you. Each ear guard is constructed using dual-density foam padding, with a durable inner plastic shell. This allows for each ear guard to be comfortably pressed against your skin, without any irrigation.

You’ll notice that this particular pair is designed to show aspects of the American flag on each side, with the graphics being sublimated onto the fabric. This means that the designs won’t fade or peel off over time.

In terms of price, the ASICS Unrestrained falls somewhere in the middle of the pricing spectrum. It’s not the cheapest on our list, nor is it the most expensive.

Asics Youth Gel Ear Guard

ASICS also offer a number of different ear guards in youth sizes, with one of their most popular being their Gel Youth Ear Guard. This comes in red, black and blue and is available in youth sizes only.

Unlike a lot of the other options on our list, that use multi-layered foam, this piece of headgear utilises gel padding. This in turn allows the headgear to be incredibly lightweight, without effecting its ability to protect your ears and head.

In terms of design, ASICS have used an adjustable strap system, which although can be a bit tricky to get right, tends to fit more securely than Velcro. ASICS have also used plenty of ventilation holes on each ear guard as to not obstruct the wearers hearing.

As you would expect from youth head gear, this is significantly cheaper than some of the adult options we discussed, coming in at less than half the price. With all this in mind, this is definitely one of the best wrestling ear guards for youths currently available.

Adidas Wizard Youth Headgear

Last up we’ve got the Wizard Youth Headgear from Adidas. This Wizard headgear is modelled after the traditional style of headgear, using an adjustable 3-strap system to fasten the ear guards to the wearers head.

In order to not get in the way of the wearers training, each ear cup is deigned to be as low profile as possible. This will help to prevent the headgear from getting knocked around and causing any discomfort.

Adidas have gone for a chin strap design, however have added a small amount of padding alongside soft material. This makes the strap itself a lot more comfortable than traditional straps, which is particularly ideal if you’re new to wrestling and just starting out wearing headgear.

All in all, a great option for any youth looking to get a new wrestling headgear.