Hey everybody, I need to buy a new gi and was looking for some feedback from experienced BJJ players regarding the matter. What do people look for in Gi's when they buy one? What do you dislike about Gi's and specifically avoid? What kind of fabric is your favorite for Gi's, what is best for comfort, durabilty etc..? Thanks really appreciate it! ossss
I try and stay away from light weight gi's. I'm in between LW and MW so always fight at MW so the weight of the gi isn't important as I don't really cut. The issue is they stretch and that really pisses me off. I like my gi to be coarse (think Atama or Aesthetic Berimbolo) so it's uncomfortable for my opponent to grip. I love a thick collar so it's more difficult to get collar choked. Finally I prefer ripstop over cotton. I find when I sweat the cotton feels heavier
I look for companies that make tall or long sizes because of my height and weight. A gi that does not fit you properly is really annoying. Depending on your height and weight you may want to look for a company that offers more than just 4 sizes. Another thing I look for is long knee reinforcements or ones that go all the way to the cuff of the pants. I try to avoid gis with ripstop on them. My experience so far has been that the ripstop is the first thing that gets worn out. I like gold and pearl weave gis. Gold is much softer and feels really comfortable. I would be fine sleeping in some of my gold weave gis.
If this is your first gi ever, I would recommend buying a single weave for a number of reasons. First of all, it's the cheapest. If it's your first gi, you might not be sure how long you're going to stick with grappling in the first place so you want to reduce your investment. Single weaves are less durable but lighter and more comfortable. I've had a single weave for a few years now and it has probably seen 10k hours of matt time and all it has is some fraying on the collar. The pants that it came with are pretty beat up though. Also, when it comes to pants, I would recommend pants with rope strings. They're easier to undo and also easier to adjust. Fuji and Tatami fightwear sometimes have single weaves that go for like $60.
I am looking for a premium longer term kimono,,i been doing BJJ for almost a year now and only have 1 cheap Gi that i got at the gym. I want to buy one for the longterm...
Then buy more than one, you'll need a rotation in order to get the longest of the long term out of them. You could buy two really good gis for around 220 shipped and have a solid rotation, and they should last a long time
Different Gi's for different things. My basic rotation is: -Padilla and sons gold weave -tatmi estillo 4.0 I rotate between those two because both are durable, hard wearing gi's. The P&S is indestructable but less refined than the Tatami. I would recommend a P&S to anybody, for the price and quality, it is awesome (but a bit baggy, I got an a4 and I think I could have gone with an a3. The Tatami Estill0 4.0 is great, a bit tighter fitting than my other one and its also a bit lighter plus its nice to switch out of gold weave sometimes and get into the stiffer pear weave gi. I really like the Tatami pants also. Very good Gi that I would also recomment to anybody. My only other gi is a CTRL consigliere which I got in the a3s size and it fits well. I pretty much just use this gi for comps though. Lucky for me though, its NOGI season here...thank god because its over 100 degrees out as I type this...and its only may.
Premium is such a misleading term in the gi industry. They are almost all made in Pakistan with similar textiles. Premium gi often refers to style or batch quantities. You can buy an 80 dollar base fuji and it will have the same durability and usefulness as a 180 dollar Ctrl or Shoyoroll. I chose gi's based on cut and deals.
Ok so, so based on this forum,,,it seems that gold weave is prob the best for comfort, weight, quality, etc..Ripstop seems to be good also to prevent tearing. Thick collars to prevent easy collar chokes,,For pants make sure the pants have long knee reinforcement anything else I am missing that I should look out for?
My suggestion: If you want a "high end" gi, get a Tatami Estillo 4.0. THey arent too expensive and they are a hell of a gi OR a scramble athlete. IMO, these are the 2 best all around Gi's available (remember I said IMO). If you are getting your first gi, get a P&S.
I base my descion on Price, visually pleasing, size, user reviews For low end Fuji is great! Cheap price, awesome quality, looks slick. Great gi for first time BJJ guys. Bought a single weave and i have nothing bad to say about it. For high end gis I personally like Atama, Scramble and Prana.
Hi, I am to the sport of jiu jitsu and the school that i go to has recently decided to start using gi's. I am 5'5'-5'7 and appx 270 pounds, i am fairly small for being so heavy but i am still rather fat. as you could imagine, searching for a gi that will fit my frame is rather difficult. i have looked into the A4-A5 BJJ Sports Pearl Weave Blank Gi, and i was wondering if this would make a good gi to start with, or if anyone had any other reccomendations.
I don't like the lighter gis myself...they feel like they are going to rip and it would be easy for opponents to grab on to. I also prefer a gi with minimal patches on it. As others have posted, tatami, P&S and Fugi are great choices. Go for a gold weave or single. cheers
Fit is probably the most important factor as Gi's really are almost made in the same factories and are generally the same quality. Another thing to note is the patches adn embroidery. Many patches fall off after a while while embroidered logos tend to last a bit longer. I'd stay away from the high end ones as I dont think they justify the price (Lucky Gi, Shoyoroll..etc). As someone mentioned the Tatmai Estilo 4's are awesome Gi's for a reasonable price. If you want to spend more, Koral and Atama are solid as well (and made in Brazil).
here's an article I wrote for JJ Brotherhood on finding the perfect gi for YOU: http://www.jiujitsubrotherhood.com/2014/07/8-steps-to-finding-the-perfect-bjj-gi/
