Sunday, April 1, 2012

The 'Sakura' by Storm Kimonos

The 'Sakura' by Storm Kimonos
The ‘Sakura’ women’s BJJ gi is one of two women’s kimono recently released by premium gi-maker Storm Kimonos. Storm has collaborated with Angelica Galvao to develop their new women’s line and they have brought a couple beautiful, feminine, sophisticated gi to the market. The Sakura is a crisp white gi accented with deep magenta pink patches and embroidery; this is a strong ‘big girls’ pink, rather than a powder puff or bubblegum pink. The construction is robust and the 550GSM jacket and ripstop trousers are kind to the skin while offering sturdy reinforcement at stress points. The Sakura is a competition-ready lighter weight gi and comes in at 1.4 kilos on my scales. The Sakura is a luxurious, well thought out premium gi and retails at $199.99.

Read the full review

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Black Eagle 'Raptor'


Black Eagle/Predator BJJ has been working hard on developing a women's BJJ gi line. This includes the lightweight training gi, the 'Predadora', and the special edition training gi, the Raptor. This review looks at the full production version which has seen some significant changes since its prototyping. While the initial implementation was well done with great styling and finishing touches - especially the rash guard inner lining - as noted in the pre-review there were issues particularly around fit. The production version of the Raptor offers enhanced construction and has resolved many of the eccentric length to width proportioning issues present in the prototype trouser fit.

Read the full review

Friday, December 23, 2011

Ouano Competition Light


Reviewed the Ouano Comp Light here. As far as I know, this gi may be discontinued; the Ouano website only has sizes A0, A4 and A5 available and they're on sale.

Black Eagle Predator MKII


Just posted a review of the Predator MKII (the mens' cut version) here. I will be reviewing the Predadora (my new #1 favorite gi!) shortly.

Dom Gear DMX doubleweave gi


Just posted a thorough review of this gi on my blog here.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Fenom Lotus now with ripstop pants
Fenom Kimonos continues to refine their product range. This has included the introduction of ripstop trousers which are now available with the Lotus lightweight gi and the Royal Blue uniform. Fenom shared a set of the new Lotus ripstop trousers for comparison with the original canvas pants, which include an updated use of embroidered patches and tailoring.

Read the full review

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Break Point FC Women's Lightweight BJJ Gi Review

Break Point Women's Lightweight Gi in Black
The Break Point women's gi in black is accented with pink and a touch of grey and reflects the more 'bling' styling of the men's 'Deluxe' uniform. The inside of the jacket is printed with a pink repeat pattern of the Break Point logo; I love this sort of finishing touch which I first encountered on the OTM Supastar. The Break Point embroidered logo patches are placed on the jacket front, top middle of the jacket back and the bottom of the right trouser leg. The logo, itself, has a fun feminine flourish and curl to the font as well as integration of a 'star' which is used elsewhere on the gi. The embroidered patches are implemented with a high level of detail and include some contrasting textures and subtle outlining of the logo elements with pink and charcoal thread. I wish the sophistication of the embroidered patches had been carried through to the star patches on the shoulders and upper thigh of the left trouser leg. These patches are polyester and, to me, they aren't in keeping with the tone set by the embroidered designs and have the effect of 'cheapening' the overall look[...]

Read the full review