Review: Gawakoto Save The Earth Shorts

Summary
Super colourful fight shorts designed by comic artist Bong Abad and featuring the creative characters of Art Junkie. The shorts are sturdy, well reinforced and provide ample room for movement. Very wide velcro waistband did feel a bit uncomfortable.

Disclosures
I have worked with Bong Abad before on several art collaborations.

Information
Shorts available at http://gawakotoclothing.co.uk/
Price: £39.99



Introduction
I have been training more nogi grappling recently. My usual attire is to wear a rashguard, spats and shorts but there aren't that many shorts in my rotation - I still use a very old Atama pair and one made by Contract Killer. In previous reviews I have covered the Ground Game shorts and the Odin shorts. Those were perfectly good shorts but I do prefer the very lighter and thinner Atama and CK shorts. These Save The Earth (STE) shorts are definitely the loudest and most colourful shorts I have ever owned. Luckily in the devil-may-care nogi world, the louder the better seems to be the consensus among my grappling peers. And I'm all for crazy and colourful!

In Detail
The main fabric these shorts are made from is polyester. It is light and thin - much thinner than the Odin or Ground Control shorts. It is heavily reinforced much like the other two shorts and the attachment system (velcro strap, elastic waistband plus drawstring) is more than adequate...arguably too much. More on my thoughts of the fastening system later. First, the photos...

Front facing

Rear facing

Small inner pocket with covering flap

Drawstring and elastic waistband

Stretchy side vent fabric

Stretchy gusset panel

Branded velcro fastening

Rolling Performance
These shorts are pretty light, I prefer lighter shorts to the heavier ones I have previously reviewed. The STE shorts however doesn't scrimp when it comes to the heavy duty fastening system. I feel the waistband is a bit too wide for my liking and the three-element fastening system is overkill. It fits on pretty damn tight and is destined never to slip off during rolling with all of them in full effect. I should point out that I wear spats AND underwear beneath the shorts...so that's a LOT of waistband material in place over my hips and waist. It doesn't impede my movement but does dig into my skin a little.

Overall, these shorts are designed to stand out heads and shoulders above the pack. Featuring original hand drawn artwork, they are not for the shy and retiring. I enjoyed the lightness of the main material though I feel the fastening system is too much and adds unnecessary bulk and tightness to this area. It's not a deal breaker though. If you love the design, then it won't fail to impress.




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