Disclaimer: A representative from Elite Sports sent me a gi for free to try it out in exchange for the post.
I’ve been training BJJ for just over 6 years. In August of 2012 I bought a white gi and that was my only gi for about 4 months. I’d wear it to class on Monday, wash it on Tuesday and wear it on Wednesday. Eventually, I bought a new gi so that I could train more than 2 times a week. I liked those gis, they were nothing special, just what my gym sold. About 2 months ago, the pants of the first gi and the jacket of the second both got ripped. Then a few weeks ago, the first gi jacket finally developed a hole that made it unsafe for my training partners. So I was in the market for a new gi. (By the way, in the intervening 6 years I’d bought several more gis, so I had more than just the two.)
So I was pretty excited to get to try out the Elite gi, because 1) I needed a new gi and 2) their prices are seriously low. I think they’re around $55 which is about 1/2 of what I normally pay.
My new gi showed up on Monday night which was perfect timing as I had a sparring class the next day. I got the navy blue as I had never had a navy blue gi before.
Right away, I noticed the tie on the pants. I like gis that have multiple oops and this style of cord. I’m not sure why, but it’s the little things that make me happy.
It sure looked nice, but how would it fit? I’m right at 6’0″ and about 195lbs. Looking at their chart I decided to pick an A3 as I thought if & when it shrinks it will be a good fit.
I put the gi on that night and it seemed like it was a perfect fit.
The next day I wore it to our “Noon-high ninjas class” because that’s always a series of tough rolls. As I walked into the gym that morning, I noticed one of our whitebelts was wearing a white version of the same gi. So I talked to him for a few minutes. He liked it, and in fact, he’d just ordered the gi I was wearing. He said he originally paid $80 for the gi, and was pleased. When he saw the price dropped by more than $20, he added a second gi.
After an hour of sparring, I grabbed a training partner to grab some pics. You can see it fit me perfectly. And it held up to all the various grips that my teammates were throwing on me.
After I got home, I threw the gi in the washer with my rashguard and towel from training that day. And then I did something that you’re never supposed to do to a gi, I put it in the dryer. I didn’t even read the label because while you’re supposed to hang dry your gi, I never do. Largely because my wife is not a fan of our laundry room being full of damp gis.
The other reason I dried it was that I was sure I wasn’t the only one to dry their gi and I wanted to tell you how much in shrank. In reality, if it shrank, it was imperceivable. I tried it on once it was out of the dryer and it fit just as well as the pictures above.
When I need a new gi, I’ll be hitting up https://www.elitesports.com/brazilian-jiu-jitsu-bjj-gis for another gi. (or if you’re in the UK: https://uk.elitesports.com or https://au.elitesports.com for Australia) It’s a good gi and completely worth the cost.