Review: Odin Fightwear rashguard and fight shorts

Summary
Good quality lightweight rashguard and sturdy grappling/fight shorts offered at a good price from new Danish brand.

Disclosure
I have no business or personal connection with Odin Fightwear.

Information
Website: odinfightwear.com
Price: 40 Euros for rashguard, 45 Euros for shorts. Plus shipping.
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/OdinFightWear

Introduction
Odin is a Norse God and is generally depicted in folklore and pop culture as a pretty badass warrior type. It's a good name for a fightwear brand, especially one based in Denmark. Odin Fightwear is so new it really only has two products - the rashguard and the shorts being reviewed here. The Berserkur rashguard is also available in brown and I am told more products are on the way.

Rashguard
Odin sent me a size small rashguard which fitted me perfectly around the torso but slightly too short at the sleeves. The notable aspects for this product are the extra long length of the torso and the rubberised strip lining the base of the hem. Both of these facets prevent the rashguard from riding up. When I wore this gi in both nogi class and under my gi, it did indeed do its job and stay reasonably well in place. The rubbery strip does feel a bit unusual at first since it is quite 'weighty' compared to the thinness of the rashguard fabric, however I quickly got used to it.

The cut avoids a seam directly underneath the armpits, which some reviewers of other rashguards have observed can cause irritation on the skin. The fabric itself is soft and quite thin, making it very comfy to wear, however I felt that the thread used to stitch the panels together was a little rough to the touch. The flat-locked stitching itself looked very secure and I imagine would prove more than adequate protection against tearing or coming apart.

In a quick bobbling and pilling test using the velcro from my earguards, I found that this rashguard did bobble reasonably easy. The fabric is definitely not pilling resistant (not that this is a claim Odin are making) so the advice for this product is to keep it well away from velcro.

I did notice some bobbling around the collarbone and top of my shoulders where usage under the gi caused friction and wear and tear.

The design is printed using dye sublimation so it will not fade, crack or peel. It's an attractive composition of distressed graphics, textures and type that is not too cliched MMA but still alludes to that audience.

Overall, the rashguard is nice and light and I would say a good item to wear during hot weather nogi training or under a lightweight gi top.


Fightshorts
The Odin 'Muninn' fight shorts sent to me were a size XS. Unusually when compared to most other brands, the shorts sold by Odin seem to be a size bigger than most other fightshorts. Normally a size small would be good for me, but Odin took my size details (5'6'', 59Kg) and suggested the size extra small. It was a good call as it fitted very well around my waist (I have a waist of around 29-30") but the length was perhaps a tad short, cutting off above my knee caps rather than midway - as most board shorts seem to do when I wear them. It's a very very minor difference however.

On initial inspection, the all polyester fabric is very smooth and soft, yet it is also feels thick and sturdy. Triple stitching along most seams would appear to be standard for this type of product and I am sure this gives adequate reinforcement.

There are two key areas to help the shorts remain secured when worn on the body - notably a large velcro front strap and shoestring style tie cords. I found these to be perfectly adequate to keep the shorts secured, although it may be worth noting that some other similarly designed fightshorts include extra rubber strip tape around the inside waistline - for example as seen on the Ground Game Samurai Shadows fight shorts and the NoGi Industries HD fight shorts.

The design on the shorts is a slightly more stripped down version of the same design found on the rashguard and is dye sublimation printed. When both rashguard and shorts are worn together, they complement each other nicely.

Generous side vents and a crotch panel made from lycra type material mean the shorts have the potential to function very well when attempting more dynamic techniques...not that my creaky old bones were able to test that particular function!

The lack of reinforcing fabric just above the peak of the side vents seems to me to be a major oversight as this could be a potential area for tearing or stress.

An interior pocket placed near the front of the shorts is a handy function to store gumshields, ID card or whatever else you might need when training or competing. Overall I found the shorts felt comfortable when worn during nogi class - not too heavy and not paper thin light, a good compromise. If I actually trained nogi more regularly, I would be happy to consider these shorts part of my nogi rotation.

Conclusions
The two products from Odin are a decent debut offering. The rashguard is light and pretty comfy and the shorts are solid. Both are not going to break the bank for prices so I would say they are well worth considering - especially if you like the cool graphics. God-like Norse powers cost extra and are not part of the standard package however.




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