Thanks, helpful info/review.
Could you go more into how the Diamond cup is the best compared to the others. And why bother wearing another setup if it's the best of the rest?
Personally I don't care for the shock doc flex anymore, except for just standup; though I haven't tried their alloy cup. I usually just take my chances most of the time with spyder cup unless we are doing some serious standup striking. I'm definitely considering getting the diamondmma cup at some point, maybe they'll offer a sale soon.
Damn. I wrote all that and didn't even talk about the cup itself! My apologies.
FYI, I'm 6'1.5", 175 pounds, and I have a buy 32 inch waist in jean sizes. The DiamondMMA Medium fits great, and although feels tight, does not feel constricting.
The Diamond MMA cup itself is very sturdy. It doesn't look like it'll cave in or otherwise shatter. It's thick, and the edges are lined with a thick rubber/gel type material which is great at absorbing shock. One thing I really liked about the cup was that it wasn't too narrow. That was a little bit of an issue with the Jaco Guardian. As great a cup as the Guardian is, I feel like my own anatomy (no joke intended) was too wide for it. Other guys at the gym use the Jaco exclusively, and I agree it's a great all-purpose cup. The velcro strap system is a great concept, although I think they need to update their sizing on it. It seems that some of the straps are just too long.
My favorite part of the DiamondMMA setup is the compression/jock that cup goes into. The system is made such that it moves with your body. Unlike the Shock Doctor Compression/cup combo, this one doesn't move out of place. A lot of people share my view on the Shock Doc setup, and there are equally as many people saying that the setup works perfectly on them. I'll chalk it up to differences in body shape and variable things of that sort.
The materials used in the DiamondMMA cup are great. I've used it for roughly a year now and it's got no wear/tear, no loose threads, no loss of elasticity, nothing. Reliability is simply not an issue with this product.
The reason I rotate through the different cups is basically because I don't always get to do laundry in a timely manner. I usually do a final rinse with a half cup of white vinegar, and I hang-dry everything. I heard white vinegar kills germs and is great for washing clothes in, although I don't have any scientific evidence myself reference this. In any case, it takes a while for things to dry, and I want to make sure that everything is bone dry before I put it back on again. So, having 4-5 setups ensures that everything is dry. It's got nothing to do with the quality of the setups themselves.
Now, could I go on without the DiamondMMA cup? Certainly. I could have easily used the Shock Doc Jock/cup and just use that exclusively. But I already have the DiamondMMA, and I just rotate it. Is it better than the others? I certainly think it is. That doesn't mean the others suck. DiamondMMA just happens to be better overall.
By the way, I use the Titanium Shock Doctor cup with the Ultra supporter. I don't use the Carbon or Bioflex cups.
Spider cup is great! I love using it for BJJ. I never imagined it could be used for MMA though. Do you mind commenting on how that's working out for you?
I recall the DiamondMMA cup going up on BJJHQ a while back for 85 + 5 for shipping. That's not a terrible deal. Maybe it'll come up again. I'd recommend keeping an eye out for that sale to pop up again.
I hope that answers your questions. Let me know if I've left anything out.
Maybe I should put up a formal review with pics and all? What do you think?