After reading this I ordered one of the razorback gis since your review was mostly positive. I have to say, that for the price, I am extremely impressed with the quality. The top reinforcements are all there and in the right places, and the material is nice and thick, though not quite as thick as some other “in-between” weaves on the market. I can’t see the top coming apart any time soon unless there’s a fault in the seam stitching somewhere, and the seams on the gi I received are all very well done from what I can see. It’s pretty comfortable – the weave isn’t rough or “cheese grater” and the collar is nice and thick, fairly stiff, but not like cardboard.

Personally I like the style of pants that came with the gi and didn’t think they were overly thin at all – on mine at least, there is reinforcement from the mid-thigh to the cuff, and what isn’t reinforced is still fairly thick fabric. As for the fit of the pants, I love it – I have fairly large thighs from years of deadlifts and squats, though, so quite often gi pants are uncomfortably snug (I have this same issue with regular pants as well, FWIW). I also hate overly thick gi pants, so keep that in mind. Gi pants that feel like jeans make me sad.

As far as the fit of the top goes, I agree that I’m “swimming” in it. Douglas recommended an A5 for me (5′ 11″ 220-230 and probably about 15% bf at this point) and even after repeated hot washings and dryings the sleeves still extend halfway down my hands when it’s totally snugged up, and past my fingers if I move around much in it. I’m returning the top for an a4 which will hopefully fit much better – Douglas was very cool about this.

Anyhow, thanks for your review, hopefully my $.02 is welcome.

As for $100, I guess I’m all for it if you can afford it. I still like the Gameness Pearl for fit better than any other gi I’ve owned, but I like trying out the new stuff.

As I said in the review, this is a terrific gi for $65 and I will be recommending it to all the new guys who are looking for a solid first gi, a good backup or anyone on a budget.

Thanks for the thorough and honest review! I have been training in this gi for a couple of months now, and it seems to be holding up nicely.

Believe it or not, those are the thicker pants. The first cut on this gi, the pants were so thin you could see through them. On the next go round we will incorporate some of the feedback from the reviews. I expect the quality and fit to improve and the price to go up.

Douglas

On a related point, my favourite gi is still a toss-up between either my Padilla & Sons (which I got for £50) or the basic judogi I picked up for £20 four years ago.

I really can’t see the point of paying upwards of $100.