Choice of gi

So, I recently ripped my gi pretty bad. I had focuse on getting a relatively cheap gi, like a Fuji for like, $80. I recently was told (by my wife) that my budget has been raised to whatever the cost of my old gi was, which was like, $130-150. Now I'm looking at a nicer gi. I've narrowed it down I think to a Fushida Tournament or a Mizuno Jimmy Pedro Comp advantage. I have read a lot of reviews about the fushida, but not as many as the Jimmy Pedro. Anyone played with both of these, or at least have some info about the jimmy pedro? I'd like to order it soon, so I was just curious if ya'll had some input on which one you like.

Also, if there are others that are in that price range that might be nice, I'd like to know. I have a double weave addidas, and I'd like something more sturdy than my addidas single weave WAS, so some of these ones that are kind of a 1.5 weave interest me.

charlietuna wrote:So, I recently ripped my gi pretty bad. I had focuse on getting a relatively cheap gi, like a Fuji for like, $80. I recently was told (by my wife) that my budget has been raised to whatever the cost of my old gi was, which was like, $130-150. Now I'm looking at a nicer gi. I've narrowed it down I think to a Fushida Tournament or a Mizuno Jimmy Pedro Comp advantage. I have read a lot of reviews about the fushida, but not as many as the Jimmy Pedro. Anyone played with both of these, or at least have some info about the jimmy pedro? I'd like to order it soon, so I was just curious if ya'll had some input on which one you like.

Also, if there are others that are in that price range that might be nice, I'd like to know. I have a double weave addidas, and I'd like something more sturdy than my addidas single weave WAS, so some of these ones that are kind of a 1.5 weave interest me.

I'd recommend Toraki
http://www.toraki.com/

Fushida Tournament is a great gi. Mine gets worn and washed 2x a week. Over a year now and it's doing fine. Good weight, not too heavy and not light like a single weave. Also I like the cut better than the other gis I have. The shitabaki have 4 belt loops (much preferable than Mizuno's single loop) and the skirt on the uwagi is shorter than a lot of the traditional gi, not quite as short as a BJJ gi.

I will second the reccomendation for Fushida Tournament Gi. I have had mine a year and a half and it still impresses me with how well made it is and how well it holds up to multiple practices a week. Customer service at Fushida is also top notch.

I went to the Fushida website to purchase another Tournament gi in size 4.5 and found that they are sold out of sizes 3.5, 4, and 4.5. They are expecting a restock sometime this month.

Thanks for responding and giving opinions guys. I ended up going with the Fushida tournament gi. I'm sort of a big guy, and in the several gi that I've worn I usually wear a 6. Their size chart only went to a 5.5, so I emailed them and asked about what size I should get. I gave them the dimensions they asked for, and I even explained the other gi that I've had and how they have fit me and in what size. They suggested a 6.5 size gi for me. I went ahead and ordered that. It took a couple days extra to process, but Christo was cool and shipped it here faster.

Now I have another problem. This gi is HUGE. I'm 6'4" or so, and 290. I have only had Addidas gi in the past, but I usually wear a 6, but if I wash and dry on hot they start to get just a little too short in the sleeves and maybe don't close far enough. This new one is MUCH bigger. I remember thinking my addidas was big at the beginning, but this one is almost absurd. I'm looking for some help from people who have shrunk their gi before.

My biggest problem is that the lapels cross over too much. Like, I'm not fat enough for the gi to fit properly. In my other gi, the one that still fits and isn't ripped, the gi closes at about 2 inches above the nipple line (you know, if you drew a line between your nipples) and that feels pretty comfortable. This new one, it crosses at my throat and it makes the collar bunch up in the back.

If I try to send this back, even though they'll exchange it for free, it's going to cost another $100 in shipping and customs charges. I'd like to make this one work. If I wash and dry on real hot, how much shrinkage can I expect in different areas? I don't want to wash this and have it shrink 1 inch when I needed 6 inches. Any help would be appreciated.

how much leeway do you have in the arms? by that I mean how much longer are they than they should be?

once, I found a no name gi that shrank inward instead of upward. I was so excited I bought 3. still my favorite gi.

The sleeves aren't super terrible. They're probably 2-3 inches longer than they should be. I don't have much experience in shrinking these things, so I really wasn't sure about what to do. I took it to my club last night, and people who had more experience seemed to think that after I washed it, it would shrink up nicely and fit just fine. I still have my doubts. Anybody have experience with a Fushida?

I have one Fushida gi and went with the size Cristo recommended and it fits perfectly. Everyone I have known that has had their gi sized from measurements they provided to Cristo has had very good results after the shrinkage. Good luck, Charlie.

I will second Heisenberg. I went with the sizing that Cristo suggested and it fits perfect. The gi shrank up a little with the first few washes, plus I put it in the dryer for a few 10 - 15 minute cycles until it was the correct size.

Did he give you washing instructions? I know with my son's Toraki it was also quite big but we followed instructions (several hot washes and hang dry each time) and it shrank down to a perfect fit.

No washing instructions. I'll measure the gi in all the different parts, and then afterwards after I wash it. Then I'll post it on here, just so that the internet has record of how much this kind of gi will be expected to shrink.

As I understand it, the fit suggestions for fushida gi are based on their size post shrinkage. but with that said your idea of taking measurements is a good one.