Hand wraps are an essential piece of equipment in your gear bag. Just like a mouthguard, you really can’t get away with not using them.
Whether you’re sparring, hitting the bag or striking some pads, you must make sure that you’ve got your hand wraps on underneath.
Some people forgo the wraps and just use the gloves without them, but these people are putting the hands, knuckles, and wrists under undue pressure that can lead to damage and injury. You try striking or grappling with injured thumbs or hands. Training becomes almost impossible.
Hand wraps become even more important if you have any kind of inherent weakness in your hands.
A lot of people have small, delicate wrists. If these people tried hitting a heavy bag, they could quite easily injure themselves immediately. But even if they don’t hurt themselves straight away, it will be because they’d be pulling their punches to avoid pain.
What’s the point of using a heavy bag if you can’t wail on it and practice your hard, power shots?
Most traditional hand wraps that you can buy from sports stores or boxing gyms may work fine, but they will not be optimised for MMA and for the MMA glove itself.
That’s why we’ve scoured the internet searching for the best hand wraps you can buy to keep your precious hands safe when training MMA.
Best MMA Hand Wraps
h3Meister MMA Adult 180” Semi-elastic Hand-Wraps for MMA and Boxing/h3
- Full-length Meister Adult 180" Hand Wraps are ideal for MMA, Boxing, Muay Thai and other combat sports
- High quality cotton and spandex blend provides ideal support & comfort for your ideal wrap tightness
- Designed for maximum wrist support, hand support & knuckle protection without adding excessive bulk under gloves
- Feature an oversized hook & loop strap and strong thumb loop to keep wraps snug and secure all workout long
- Sold as Pair (2 wraps). 180" x 2" (457cm x 5cm) each. Follow care instructions included. Pattern wraps gain elasticity after first wash
These wraps are 180” long which makes them the perfect length for the average trainee. This length will allow you to properly protect every part of your hands but without adding too much bulk. MMA gloves are not like boxing gloves.
MMA gloves do not leave a lot of room for bulky hand-wraps so we’ve kept this in mind when selecting these products.
The slightly elastic material gives you that added comfort which can really help when you’re deep into a heavy bag session. You don’t want to have to stop your workout to adjust your uncomfortable hand-wraps.
You also have quite a few aesthetic options with these wraps; various colours and designs to suit anyone’s needs.
h3Sanabul Elastic Professional Hand-Wraps 180” for Muay Thai and MMA/h3
- Just What You Need: When you’re getting into the stand-up game, any experienced player will tell you that gloves are not enough. Sanabul handwraps complete the package by supporting your wrists and...
- Tested by Pros, Created For You: From pro boxers like NABO Champion Mike Lee, to MMA Legends like Champion Michael Bisping, we’ve put our wraps on some of the heaviest hands in the business
- Hitting The Sweet Spot: Your hand wrapping style is personal, so we measured our wraps at 180 inches to allow for Boxing, Muay Thai, Heavy Bag, or whatever crazy wrapping technique you can come up...
- Breathable and Fast Drying: Moisture can, and will, ruin hand wraps. Our polyester material keeps your hands cooler during training and your wraps will dry faster until you can get them washed
- Designed to Endure: Our 180" wraps are semi elastic and highly durable, so they won’t come lose just from putting on your gloves. They’ll also retain their shape better over time
These wraps feature a polyester composition which leads to a more comfortable and secure hand-wrap. Added comfort and fit compared to other cheaper wraps.
We’ve all bought a cheap pair from a boxing gym and had those wraps completely ruin our training session. You can’t spar for more than 30 seconds before you look down and find that wraps almost completely unraveled and rolling down your arm. Or you tighten them too much to compensate for this and find your hands turning into painful claws when hitting the heavy bag.
They feature a thumb loop and a durable velcro enclosure to further ensure that everything stays tight and functional.
h3Venum Boxing Hand Wraps/h3
- Elasticated hand wraps
- Stretch Cotton for an unmatched comfort
- Velcro fasteners for a perfect fit
- Ultimate hand protection and support
If you have smaller hands or are otherwise concerned that a 180” will be too much for you, then you should go for the Venum wraps.
They offer two sizes: 2.5m/100” and 4m/160”.
Like I said above, you have to be extra conscious of space when using hand-wraps under MMA gloves. You don’t have all that extra space inside like you do with traditional boxing gloves.
Unless your hands and gloves are really small, we recommend going with the 4m/160” wraps. This will give you more than adequate padding for your hands without making the gloves too tight.
2.5m/100” wraps are generally better suited to female trainees and/or teenagers.
As well as the size options, you also get to choose from seven different colours/designs, including a fluorescent pink pair and a green camouflage pair.
h3RDX Training Inner Glove Hand Wraps for MMA/h3
- POLYESTER ELASTICATED FABRIC is sturdy enough to resist tear cracks and splits. These Inner Gloves are easy on the skin. Go for Boxing training, MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing and more.
- SHELL SHOCK GEL PADDING ensures that you remain shielded from the shock generated from high impact strikes, perfectly endures shock over the hand joints
- HALF FINGER DESIGN provides a nifty look to these hand wraps. Experience quality with comfort. These inner boxing gloves doesn’t compromise on grip.
- 75 CM LONG QUCIK-EZ HOOK AND LOOP strap with a blend of nylon and cotton fabric, providing you a customized fit and overall wrist coverage.
- THERMAL REGULATION TECHNOLOGY ensures that sweat and unwanted odor is not an issue during rigorous sparring sessions and bag-to-mitt work.
Putting on hand wraps is a bit of a skill in and of itself.
It’s time-consuming. You might get to the end of the wrap and find out that you haven’t got adequate protection for wrists or your knuckles, etc. Leading you to have to start all over again.
These gel integrated foam wraps are perfect for the trainee who just wants to chuck them on quickly and be ready to go.
You put the wrap/mitt on like you would an MMA glove and then use the wrist strap to wrap and fasten them over wrists. Done. Easy.
You don’t have to worry about certain parts of your hand being inadequately protected as the wrap is already formed and in-shape.
The only downside to these gel wraps are that if you have a particular part of your hand that is delicate, in can be difficult/impossible to add extra protection to these vital areas.
h3Everlast Professional Hand Wraps 180”/h3
- 180" of machine washable cotton/spandex blend material provides breathable comfort and safety while training
- 180" of machine washable cotton/spandex blend material provides breathable comfort and safety while training|Thumb strap ensures ease of use with a hook and loop closure for a secure fit|NULL|NULL|
Everlast have been making top quality boxing gear forever and as MMA has become more popular, they’ve extended their fine craftsmanship into MMA products too.
These wraps are 180” long, which we feel is the best general length for the average sized person. Hand-wraps can stink quite easily. It’s pretty much unavoidable, but the next best thing you can do is to buy a pair of everlast wraps with their ever-fresh technology.
Whilst they won’t prevent your wraps from stinking forever, their anti-microbial treatment fights off odors and bacterial growth so that they will stay fresher for far longer than other generic brands.
They are available in three colours; black, yellow and red. They have an old-school look and feel to them, which is to be expected to come from such an established boxing brand.
Overall
You have to wear hand wraps. You can’t get around it and you can’t get away with not wearing them. But don’t just buy any old pair and expect them to work properly.
Poor quality hand-wraps will unravel and fall off as you use them. They’ll collect odor. The velcro will fall off in the wash and you’ll end up hating having to wear them
Due to these bad experiences, you might even stop using them altogether, putting your hands in unnecessary danger.
Trust our expertise and buy a quality pair of hand wraps from the list above and you won’t regret it.