Summary
Tatami Fightwear's hooded outdoor leisure jacket made from pearl weave gi material offers cool styling, practical functionality alongside warmth and comfort.
Introduction
Outdoor jackets made from gi material are not a new phenomenon - but are not hugely common. Tatami Fightwear's second generation of gi jacket includes many added practical and comfort features whilst keeping the exact same excellent pearl weave fabric that is found on their Zero G and Estilo gi models.
Details
The 2011 version of their gi jacket includes an inner lining made from fleece and the outer surface is coating with a hydrophobic layer. Rope drawstrings allow the wearer to tighten the hood, cuff and base of the jacket. The Tatami Fightwear logo is embroidered on the arms and back of jacket.
Comfort and fit
I wore this jacket day in, day out for over two weeks. The cut feels very similar to my denim jacket - fairly snug around the torso, but with long arms and average length, I would say it fitted me very well. The inner fleece lining helped provide added warmth and prevented my skin from rubbing against the slightly rougher surface of the gi jacket. The hood was pretty huge when pulled over my head giving me a slightly menacing air as I paraded along my local High Street (or at least that was what I was telling myself).
I tested the waterproof coating and it seemed to work pretty well, most drops of water rolled off, with a tiny amount of residual fluid soaking into the groove of the fabric texture. I probably wouldn't count on this gi in the event of a horrendous downpour, but for light showers, together with the massive hood, I'm sure it would perform more than adequately.
Could do with...
The jacket is certainly very comfortably to wear and the Small size fits me very well. However I would have liked to have seen zips on the outside pocket (to prevent valuables falling out) and some inside pockets too (to hold iPod, mobile phones, wallets etc). Another very minor issue is that the black colour fabric was a magnet for fluff and dust.
Conclusion
Tatami Fightwear have made a very high quality, comfortable and practical jacket suitable for everyday use when out and about. To non-BJJ folk, it just looks like a smart casual black jacket. To my BJJ buddies however, heads were immediately turned in admiration. At £60 plus postage, it's not expensive compared to other gi jackets on the market, and I have certainly seen people pay much much more for High Street brands of casual jackets.
Credit and Disclaimer
Thanks to Tatami Fightwear for the chance to exclusively review the gi jacket. I am not sponsored by any company nor do I endorse any one brand. If you like this review, post a comment and tell the vendor you read about it here. Thanks.
You can purchase the gi jacket, and other Tatami Fightwear products from their website: www.tatamifightwear.com/
:)
4 comments:
"I am not sponsored by any company nor do I endorse any one brand"
hmm......
Might want to change that one after I saw your ad in the latest GracieMag for Breakpoint gi's
Thanks for pointing that out. I have thought about how to word my disclaimer and I maintain that the statement still holds true.
The Break Point advert in the Feb 11 issue of Gracie magazine features my 'Elvis' pose whilst wearing the Break Point gi given to me for review. It's the same photo as used on my blog review of the same gi albeit with a few colour tweaks. Break Point asked me if they could use the image and lift a quote from my review. I said yes. No payment was made.
Companies lift quotes from reviewers all the time. Look at film posters and theatre flyers. I see this as fair use and I was flattered to be pictured in Gracie magazine, albeit as an ad. So in that respect, I still maintain my independent, unbiased status as a reviewer.
As for endorsements, again, I do not endorse any brand. My job is simply to review the item and post stats and some of my own opinions. I have commented favourably on a large number of gis by different manufacturers - if I endorsed *one* brand, then commenting favourably about a rival brand would be weird marketing, no?
My assertion about endorsements and sponsorship applies mainly to the fact that my blog does not carry any banner adverts. I receive countless offers to place ads on my site. I'm proud of the hits I get on my site and I have refused a potentially nice little money earner. Why? To maintain my voice as an objective and unbiased reporter and reviewer.
I hope this answers your comment. thanks for reading the blog and commenting, I welcome constructive feedback and critique.
Cheers.
Seymour
T'was less of a comment about any conflict of interest, and more because I thought you had a standard "trailer" you pasted onto the bottom of your reviews.....and had forgot to modify it to reflect your latest sponsor.
With that being said, I fully support any way you (or any other BJJ blogger of note) can earn a paycheck. To be paid back (even slightly) for the quality product you put out, is a great "value" for readers like me,
Be well,
Mike from Canada
Thanks Mike. I may re-evaluate the wording of my disclaimer for the next review however just to state again, I do not have a sponsor.
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