A Cut Above
Lets start out. The main thing you want from a Gi is for it to fit. Just like with any other clothing each brand has slightly different cuts and sizing. The best thing to do is to get hold of the Gi you want in person and try it on. Even better is if you can try one on that’s been washed as some Gi’s shrink.
After you have decided on the Gi that you’d like you can consult that manufacturers individual sizing chart. Here’s a rough breakdown of the Gi size you’ll be vs’s your normal clothing size:
A0 – Extra Small
A1 – Small
A2 – Medium
A3 – Large
A4 – Extra Large
A5 – Double Extra Large
Weighing in on Gi’s
As a rough guide to begin with I’d say Gi’s fall in to one of three categories (In reality there’s a miriad of Gi’s to fit everyones tastes) Ultra Lights, Single weaves and Double weaves. There are all manners of different “weaves” Gold, Pearl, Single, Double etc. but we’ll leave the technical stuff to the manufacturers and just worry about what’s important to us. The trend now is for Gi’s to be lighter weight.
If you were to buy the same style Gi now from the same manufacturer as 5 years ago you’d probably find it was lighter and thinner now (it’s either fashion or shrinkflation). Like with anything you get what you pay for but in our experience even basic Gi’s are perfectly fit for purpose, the biggest thing you’ll find is that as you spend more you get more design. If you’re into collecting lifestyle Gi’s great, but for training it doesn’t really matter. So what are the Pro’s and Con’s of each?
Ultra Lights
Pros:
Ultra Light! – As you might expect they don’t weigh much. Great if you need to make weight – but still like Pizza.
Breathable
Dry Fast
Pliable & mobile
Don’t have lots of patches
Cons:
Really good to grip!
Wear out sooner
Worst value for money
Don’t have lots of patches
Single Weaves
Pros:
Best of both
Fairly durable
Fairly light
Don’t take too long to dry
Pliable
Sometimes have lots of patches
Best value for money
Cons:
Nice to grip
Could be lighter
Could be thicker
Double Weaves – Heavy Weight
Pros:
Hard to Grip
Feels like Armour
Can have lots of patches
Wear very well
Cons:
Heavy
Rigid
Take a long time to dry
If you want to hear the same thing in a Video check this out