- Joined
- Jul 6, 2009
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Well, for those who don’t know the big long back story behind this gi, you can dig up the thread I created about my purchase through Budovideos and all the issues that resulted. Basically there were some severe communication issues, I ended up with a gi in the wrong size, and was left high and dry.
But now, for the first part of the actual review. After posting about the whole issue here on Sherdog, Shoyoroll responded directly in the thread. They offered to call me personally to make sure that I ended up a happy customer… and did they! I don’t want to go into specifics, as I don’t want others to expect the exact same level of treatment, but I will say that after we spoke on Friday, I ended up with the right size gi by Monday morning! Despite being in management, my business is kept afloat by customer service, and despite the hiccups along the way, SYR truly went above and beyond, not just with their Customer Service, but with their Product!!!
Ok so I have rolled with this gi all week (yes I have been washing it every night!), and I must say I am in love. Right off the bat, when opening the box, yes there was that infamous “smell” that was a result of the foam they used for the collar. Meh, no biggie I thought, as there are plenty of guys in class that are rocking some mean halitosis, so this aint got nothing on them! Quick little side note, after the second wash, the smell was completely gone.
Details:
The Lapel is the thickest yet lightest I have ever felt. I am really big on gi/lapel chokes, so understanding how much trouble this lapel is going to cause for others, made me excited right off the bat! My only complaint so far (and probably just because the break in time hasn’t gone through), is that when getting stacked, with the lapel being SO stiff, in really opens your gi up, and you end up with a gi mask! I have been “blinded” a few times during that transition, but it’s a small price to pay I say.
The jacket is a super light and soft weave, yet very sturdy. There are some guys that have ultra lights or summer weaves, and you can really tell the difference between those and your standard gold/double etc weaves. Those all feel like heavy tshirts. This bad boy, is really tough on the outside, but soft on the inside, I don’t know how, but it is! People I asked after rolling said it was just as tough to hold as our Vulkan Pro’s. The id pocket is a great idea. Trivial to some, but I am all about functionality, even when it comes to my gi!
The pants are SUPER light and feel comfortable yet again, still sturdy! I really dig the doubled belt loops. The crotch gi material thing going on is a cool idea, just not sure how much more effective its going to be, I mean any fabric is going to create friction, but needless to say, its one of those things that won’t hurt you, but only has the POTENTIAL to help, so why not?
Aesthetics are just awesome and simple on this gi. The yellow contrast is subtle but enough to make people do a double take and touch me and say “wow, that’s pretty cool!” Seriously, every class… its getting old guys lol. After multiple washes, I have not seen any of the bleeding from the belt loops that some have reported, so no worries there. I did get quite a bit of blood on it last night, and it washed right out (Without the use of shout or whatever), so it seems to be that any bleeding (from man or the loops :icon_chee )will come right out. Next test, red wine! JK.
As for the fit, I am 5’8”, compete at feather but walk around at 160. I ended up with the A1, and out of the bag it was near perfect. I have longish arms (well I think so, I had a buddy try the jacket on, and he is 6’0” and the sleeves came right to wrists) and the sleeves came half an inch to an inch past my wrist. The pants were perfect length, a little wide in the hips but obviously the rope cinches it up real nice! Since the fit was so perfect, I didn’t want to chance any shrinkage by drying it, so I washed in cold, hung dry the pants and put the jacket in the dryer for 30 minutes (just to slim it up a bit) and its perfect! The pants did shrink close to an inch, as I hung dry them outside, and it was about 85 degrees outside, but they are perfect!
So overall? I am smitten with SYR products and service. I cannot wait until batch 7 comes out, it feels like I am waiting for Christmas now! Thanks to Bear at Shoyoroll for everything! BTW, Just about everyone in class was asking where they could get one, I told them “You can’t!”
ok, during my upgrade in phones, I lost the preshrnk photos, but here are the post, 3 washes, A1 SYR pics vs my perfectly shrunk A2 Vulkan prolight 2009 (blue)
as you can see, the kimono has a bit of way to go, but I love the fit so far (its more geared towards a slimmer "V" shape like I have, vs the vulkans) and that was after drying on high for 30 minutes. The pants on the other hand, were only hung dry, and as you can see shortened considerably further than my intentionally shurnken vulkans. Scroll to the bottom to see an A2 vs A2
But now, for the first part of the actual review. After posting about the whole issue here on Sherdog, Shoyoroll responded directly in the thread. They offered to call me personally to make sure that I ended up a happy customer… and did they! I don’t want to go into specifics, as I don’t want others to expect the exact same level of treatment, but I will say that after we spoke on Friday, I ended up with the right size gi by Monday morning! Despite being in management, my business is kept afloat by customer service, and despite the hiccups along the way, SYR truly went above and beyond, not just with their Customer Service, but with their Product!!!
Ok so I have rolled with this gi all week (yes I have been washing it every night!), and I must say I am in love. Right off the bat, when opening the box, yes there was that infamous “smell” that was a result of the foam they used for the collar. Meh, no biggie I thought, as there are plenty of guys in class that are rocking some mean halitosis, so this aint got nothing on them! Quick little side note, after the second wash, the smell was completely gone.
Details:
The Lapel is the thickest yet lightest I have ever felt. I am really big on gi/lapel chokes, so understanding how much trouble this lapel is going to cause for others, made me excited right off the bat! My only complaint so far (and probably just because the break in time hasn’t gone through), is that when getting stacked, with the lapel being SO stiff, in really opens your gi up, and you end up with a gi mask! I have been “blinded” a few times during that transition, but it’s a small price to pay I say.
The jacket is a super light and soft weave, yet very sturdy. There are some guys that have ultra lights or summer weaves, and you can really tell the difference between those and your standard gold/double etc weaves. Those all feel like heavy tshirts. This bad boy, is really tough on the outside, but soft on the inside, I don’t know how, but it is! People I asked after rolling said it was just as tough to hold as our Vulkan Pro’s. The id pocket is a great idea. Trivial to some, but I am all about functionality, even when it comes to my gi!
The pants are SUPER light and feel comfortable yet again, still sturdy! I really dig the doubled belt loops. The crotch gi material thing going on is a cool idea, just not sure how much more effective its going to be, I mean any fabric is going to create friction, but needless to say, its one of those things that won’t hurt you, but only has the POTENTIAL to help, so why not?
Aesthetics are just awesome and simple on this gi. The yellow contrast is subtle but enough to make people do a double take and touch me and say “wow, that’s pretty cool!” Seriously, every class… its getting old guys lol. After multiple washes, I have not seen any of the bleeding from the belt loops that some have reported, so no worries there. I did get quite a bit of blood on it last night, and it washed right out (Without the use of shout or whatever), so it seems to be that any bleeding (from man or the loops :icon_chee )will come right out. Next test, red wine! JK.
As for the fit, I am 5’8”, compete at feather but walk around at 160. I ended up with the A1, and out of the bag it was near perfect. I have longish arms (well I think so, I had a buddy try the jacket on, and he is 6’0” and the sleeves came right to wrists) and the sleeves came half an inch to an inch past my wrist. The pants were perfect length, a little wide in the hips but obviously the rope cinches it up real nice! Since the fit was so perfect, I didn’t want to chance any shrinkage by drying it, so I washed in cold, hung dry the pants and put the jacket in the dryer for 30 minutes (just to slim it up a bit) and its perfect! The pants did shrink close to an inch, as I hung dry them outside, and it was about 85 degrees outside, but they are perfect!
So overall? I am smitten with SYR products and service. I cannot wait until batch 7 comes out, it feels like I am waiting for Christmas now! Thanks to Bear at Shoyoroll for everything! BTW, Just about everyone in class was asking where they could get one, I told them “You can’t!”
ok, during my upgrade in phones, I lost the preshrnk photos, but here are the post, 3 washes, A1 SYR pics vs my perfectly shrunk A2 Vulkan prolight 2009 (blue)
as you can see, the kimono has a bit of way to go, but I love the fit so far (its more geared towards a slimmer "V" shape like I have, vs the vulkans) and that was after drying on high for 30 minutes. The pants on the other hand, were only hung dry, and as you can see shortened considerably further than my intentionally shurnken vulkans. Scroll to the bottom to see an A2 vs A2
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