I figured I needed to write a review of the BreakpointFC gis since they're becoming popular, but there aren't any comprehensive reviews on them online. If you want more information on me or to read a short blog commenting on the other gis I've owned and gis in general, see my blog at:
Jiu Jitsu Theory and Practice
I bought my first Breakpoint gi in April 2009. It was a White BreakpointFC Deluxe A2. It replaced a worn and aging Vulkan A3 top (that I soon realized had always been way too big for me) that I wore with HCK pants (that were made of heavy denim and were kind of baggy). I'm 5'11 and 185lbs and the Breakpoint A2 fits me really, really well - I soon realized I liked my gis well fitted, kind of tight. No extra fabric to encumber my game.
Some of the basic features of the BreakpointFC Deluxe gi:
-Single weave top.
-Two pairs of pants: one made of canvas, one of single weave gi material.
-Single piece of fabric construction top (no seams in the back or separate pieces of fabric in the front).
-Extra fabric reinforcement in the armpits, skirt splits and the back of the neck.
-Taped seams around the outside of the skirt and inside of the cuffs.
-Embroidered BP on the right breast, between the shoulders on the back and on the bottom of the right pant leg.
-Sewn on patches on the shoulders, left lapel, back of the skirt, and left hip.
It took me a few days to get used to wearing a gi that actually fit well, but now I'm totally convinced that everyone wears gis that are too big for them. The Breakpoint gi was nice and fitted in the chest and shoulders and came in nicely at the neck. The sleeves come exactly to my wrists when I hold my hands out in front of me (so its ibjjf legal) and the skirt is short, but comes down exactly to my hip bone (ibjjf legal). Compared to how most people wear their gis, this one is relatively tight on me but I like it that way. I'm exactly at the top of their A2 and bottom of their A3 on their sizing chart (5'11, 185lbs). I choose tighter over looser for my gis.
There's a pattern screen printed on the inside of the gi. It seems to be inked into the fabric. You can't feel any difference in the fabric, but it looks cool when your gi opens up and you've got a design on the inside.
The Deluxe gi came with two pairs of pants (one made of canvas, one made of gi material) and I've always worn the lightweight canvas ones. I've had a lot of other gi's pants rip and I guess Breakpoint wanted to address that problem by giving you two pairs of pants, but I'm yet to have their regular canvas pants rip. The regular pants are pretty sturdy. They don't have that bagginess in the ass and the crotch that I've had with most other pairs of BJJ pants and they still leave me with excellent mobility with my guard.
I wore the crap out of this gi - it's a single weave and fairly light and even though I wore it to practice 5-6 days a week for 10 months I got no rips in the jacket.
I'm wearing my first BreakpointFC in this picture I took with Ryan Hall:
That was when I'd been wearing the gi daily for about 9 months. I washed it in cold water with Woolite and Oxyclean after every use and tumble dried it on medium heat. It showed normal signs of wear from the extensive use, washing and drying I put it through but the only complaint about the gi I had was that the patch on the front had come undone.
In March 2010, I got a new BreakpointFC White Deluxe A2 for my birthday. I'd become so familiar with my old gi that I immediately recognized the design changes. The newer BreakpointFC Deluxe gis have double stitching around all the patches so they won't come undone like they did on my older version. The newer Breakpoints have a thicker and wider collar than the old version.
My new White BreakpointFC Deluxe is my current primary gi. I really like it and I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a really well-cut, well-constructed BJJ gi.
PS. I also owned a BreakpointFC White Lightweight gi for most of the period that I had the Deluxe gi, but I saved it for competitions. The Lightweight gi is exactly the same material and cut as the Deluxe gi. However, the Lightweight gi doesn't have the inside printing, extra patches or the heavyweight pants.
I really like all the patches and stylized seam tape on the Deluxe gis, but if you don't want to be as flashy but want to have the same quality, go with the Lightweight gi.
