Foam gear can last a long time if you are not using it for heavy bag workouts and take care of it by not leaving it in your car all the time. Extreme cold and heat break it down along with your sweat and so you should occasionally wipe it off, inside and out with a wet, slightly soapy washcloth. Dish soap is the best for this as some chemicals will cause it to dry out and become hard and crack. Also drying off the inside of it afterwords with a paper towel will help extend its life as well. If you are using it for strictly sparring and take care of it then it will last for a long time.

If on the other hand you are using your gear for bag and focus mitt drills and workouts along with sparring then go with the vinyl. That tends to be more durable and won't rip and tear at key stress points so easily like foam dipped gear will if you use it in this way a lot. It will take on a nasty odor though after a while from all your sweat and especially if you close your bag up with it in it while wet. I always leave my bag open after workouts for this reason so that it can more easily and quickly dry. When dry I also put a fabric softener sheet or two in with it to help cover or mask the odor it will take on from all the sweat eventually.

I don't understand the foam and vinyl stuff? Don't your kicks and strikes have any impact?

We use hockey shin guards and still end up with welts and bruises, I would NEVER try using these foam guards. I probably would not be able to walk out of the studio.

If you can get by with minimal, or no, pain with these vinyl or foam guards you should be asking yourself if what you are learning is worth while.

We use well padded head gear and for the most part custom mouth guards.

It is best that your sensei recommend what everyone uses.

My school uses the vinyl gear from Century. It will start to tear at corners that get stressed, but duct tape works well on it. Many students have had their same gear for well over five years. Some people upgrade their helmet or gloves depending on personal preference.

Ask your teacher and senior students what they recommend.

As lower colored belts we used the tiger claw gear. It's cloth with padding and lasts forever. On top of that it's not very expensive. I highly recommend it.

see https://www.tigerclaw.com/cloth-martial-...

The others have good recommendations but don't cheep out, safety gear is important, it protects you and your contemporaries.

Hello! I'm a yellow belt in Isshin-Ryu karate, and my Sensei recently got a letter from the insurance stating all students were required to buy sparring gear. (some of us were sparring without gear, lmao). I wanna buy my own instead of using the old gear at my dojo. I found a Kuma foam dipped set that has everything for 60 dollars, but I heard foam tears easy, should I pay the extra few bucks for vinyl gear, or will foam gear last me a little bit? We spar 1-2 times a week for about 15 minutes. How long would foam last? Thanks!