Fightwear Review: Nogi chevron Hooded Top

Summary
A funky little lightweight training hoodie styled for street wear casualness and gym wear cool.

Introduction
Concluding my Nogi Industries fight wear review week - the Chevron Hoodie. I do love my hooded tops but I'm very careful about the styling and branding that they carry. Hoodies from Tatami fight wear and Scramble really do the business for me and I'm happy to add the Nogi Chevron to my rotation of non-gi apparel.

Style and Design
Naturally enough, the Chrevron hoodie is composed of three differently coloured panels that are stitched together to form a chevron shape. It's a nice design but not something that will necessarily stand out over and above a sports jacket bought from any High Street leisure store. The devil however, is in the detail, and this is where Nogi really score some big points.

The branding is very discrete - just one small embroidered patch and one rubber patch. In addition, there are a couple of tiny 'O' symbols

But look closer and you'll see a bunch of cute little branded elements that add to the incredible attention to detail on this item. The metal zipper toggles for example, or the branded drawstring tips, even the eyelets where the drawstring emerges - all of it loaded with neat little details.

The bright orange inside lining and orange trim compliment tastefully with the grey shading of the jacket exterior.

Overall, it's a very inoffensive and sensible look that is in stark contrast to the multitude of angry, roided up skulls, beasts and other menagerie of cliched MMA branded apparel out there.

Functionality
The sturdy metal and plastic zipped outer pockets and main zipper look like they will last a long time. I have a huge pile of clothes in my wardrobe where the cheap, tacky zippers have either jammed, buckled or become broken. I'm hoping these Nogi zips won't suffer the same fate. They certainly look solidly built.

The pockets themselves are roomy enough to store a wallet, keys and mobile phone. I did not photograph the small mini-pocket inside left hand main pocket, but I must say, that is a really clever little addition. The mini-pocket is just big enough to store an mp3 player or memory stick. For a nerdy geeky person like me, pockets like that are really useful!

The jacket exterior is a cotton/polyester mix and the bright orange inside lining is made from nylon. Overall it is a very comfortable jacket, light enough to wear in the evenings during the warm spring we are experiencing over here in the UK right now.




Credits, disclosure and further information
My thanks to Nogi Industries for sending me these shorts for review. You can buy their stuff online here:
http://www.nogi.com/home.php

This review represents my own opinions. I am not an expert in textiles or clothing etc, just a regular BJJ student who likes to review stuff. I consider myself independent and impartial - I am not sponsored by any one company nor do I endorse any one brand. I have a close dialogue with a large number of gi makers and sellers, some of whom I collaborate with on various projects that are unconnected with this review. If you have any questions about this review, please feel free to email me (see About Me) or post a comment below. I hope this review was helpful. Join my Meerkatsu Facebook page for further feedback on this review and the chance to win prizes in my regular contests.

:)