Review of Shock Doctor Ultra Carbon Flex Cup and Power Gel Ultra Mouthguard
The Shock Doctor Ultra Carbon Flex Cup and Power Gel Ultra Mouthguard have become so pervasive in the last year that they are practically the industry standard for low-to-mid price range protective gear in combat sports.
For the last four weeks of my training camp and my amateur MMA debut in early September, I used these models of cup and mouthpiece exclusively for a long-term review under more or less the full range of intensity that people would use them.
Even though the these products are from the same company and often purchased together, they are wildly different in overall quality. The mouthpiece is only okay for the price whereas the cup could not have possibly gotten higher marks.
The following is a breakdown of how the products stack up in the categories of comfort, protection, and durability.
Comfort: The Power Gel Ultra mouthpiece has a “boil and bite” style fitting process and, as such, is not foolproof. Even when done correctly, a boil and bite mouthpiece will never fit as well as a professionally molded one. But, since professionally molded mouthpieces cost between five and eight times what a $22.99 Power Gel Ultra runs, that’s not a fair point of comparison.
If the mouthpiece is molded correctly, it will stay in no better or worse than any other boil and bite. The gel top and the hard plastic bottom do have a slightly strange feel to them. That won’t be a problem for anyone who is accustomed to wearing a mouthpiece. But a new student is virtually guaranteed to chew on these things.
The cup can be worn either with a jock strap or Shock Doctor’s compression shorts. There are comfort advantages and disadvantages to each.
In compression shorts, you can go for an entire sparring intensive training session, even an entire fight, and scarcely realize that the cup is on. High kicks, takedown defense, even guard passing all feels like its being done in street clothes. The only thing that feels like it disrupts the cup’s placement is a squat lift. Level changes for offensive and defensive wrestling are fine, but a normal squat with even feet, shoulder-width apart, seems to deform the cup in the shorts.
The jock strap does make you feel that it’s on. While not digging or particularly uncomfortable, you’re certainly aware that you’re wearing it at all times. This awareness might seem like a point against the jock strap in the comfort department, but always feeling the cup makes it seem more secure.
Through four weeks of daily training sessions and one whole fight the cup never once got displaced in the compression shorts. So, the feeling that the cup is more secure in a jock strap is purely illusory based on what information could be gathered in the scope of this review. Still, there is some psychological comfort to be taken in always knowing there is something between the boys and the violence outside.
Protection: Even though the Power Gel Ultra Mouthguard doesn’t get glowing scores in the other metrics, it’s important to note that this thing did its job. Through the entire process I did not suffer a single chipped tooth or even a bloody gum. To give you an idea of the intensity of striking that this mouthpiece went through with my sparring partners at the Evolution Combat Club, see the picture below:
My once beautiful face
The cup performed equally well, if not better. Solid steel cups, which are double the price of the $14.99 Ultra Carbon Flex, have become chic in MMA circles in the last few months. But the carbon cup withstood any amount of punishment perfectly with minimal feeling of impact transferring to the body.
Professional fighters have been swearing by the steel cups lately and I’m not going to argue. But, it’s safe to say that the Ultra Carbon Flex will play just as well for anyone not competing as a regional level professional or higher.
Durability: This is the category where the Power Gel Ultra Mouthguard loses the most points. No matter what positives this mouthpiece has going for it, it is simply not a long term investment. The gel began to show signs of ware three weeks in to a one month official test. Looking at the state of it now that the mouthpiece has seen three months of use, it’s unlikely that it would last half a year before even the stingiest student would feel the need to replace it.
In staunch contrast, the cup still looks and feels like its fresh out of the box. For all I’ve been able to gather the Ultra Carbon Flex is paced to outlast any other piece of protective equipment I could use practicing MMA.
Both the compression shorts and jock strap seem to hold up well with multiple washings. The only point against the product’s durability is that the shorts need to be washed on a gentle cycle, which can be very inconvenient for those who use a laundromat rather than their own washing machine. Also, buying multiple pairs of compression shorts to avoid the constant laundry will run significantly more than the cup, itself. So, jock straps that can just be thrown in the wash en masse might be a better buy.
Overall: The only major point against the Power Gel Ultra Mouthguard is that it is not built to last by any stretch of the imagination. Serious students who know that they will be training often for a year or more would want to invest in something professionally molded. Meanwhile, students just dabbling in MMA will probably want to just get the three to five dollar throw away mouthpieces found in any store. The mid-range mouthpiece price just doesn’t seem sound for what you get out of it.
The Ultra Carbon Flex Cup honestly could not have done better. It is very reasonably priced and will work for students at almost every level of the game for a very long time. In fact, with the rate of injury in training MMA at the higher levels, this cup may very well outlast the buyer. For the price, it could not get a higher recommendation.
You can buy the Shock Doctor Men’s Ultra Supporter with Ultra Carbon Flex Cup 
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[...] yourself with the Shock Doctor Ultra Carbon Flex Cup and Power Gel Ultra Mouthguard, thank us later. Another good training tool to help you after your practice was Namman Muay Thai [...]