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UPDATE:

Just an update on our gis from myself, (Chris Odell) the owner of Datsusara. This a review on the older version and we have since then teamed up with OTM to make our new hemp gis. They should be out around late April. The improvements are… 1. No shedding issues. 2. Shrinkage is 5% tops all around. 3. The cut is tighter, like the OTM 420 gi 4. The stitching is top notch. 5 The collar is now foam and stiff but not HCK stiff 🙂 Thanks for the post!

*Thanks Chris -BJJ Legends*

Renewable Resource Hemp BJJ Gi

I like the idea and the reasoning behind hemp products like this. It was very breathable and durable as a bjj gi for jujitsu. When I held it up to the light you could see how breathable it was, and when I wore it, it felt like I had awesome ventilation. I wore at least 2x a week to really break it in and the stitching held up. The four negative things about this gi were the stitching, odd shrinkage, shedding, and bagginess.

BJJ Gi Review: Stitching, Shrinkage, Fit

[social][/social]The stitching was very messy on this unlike a koral gi, a note that came with the gi even stated that. While it was durable it was very hard on the eyes. While black on black is hard to spot, once I saw this I could not stop thinking about it.

Now the shrinkage was the weirdest thing. I am 5’2 and 145lb so I have to shrink a lot of my A1 gis. I don’t know if it is my dryer or something else, but the sleeve shrinkage was inconsistent. IE the some parts of the cuff were shorter than other parts of the same cuff.

The next thing that I noticed when I was training was the amount of shedding. The first day I was covered in black fibers and the mat space I was in was covered in it too. The more I wore it the less it shed, but it still shed.

The last thing that bothered me was the overall bagginess of the gi. The jacket was a little box like feeling on the chest. I’m not heavily muscled, but I’m nowhere near petite and I was swimming in it. The pants were baggy as well which is odd, because most gi pants fit me well other than length. The length on this one was perfect, it was just baggy.

I was really hopeful and excited about this bjj gi, and I had to take the chance. I hope the next version improves upon this gi. I really like the philosophy behind Datsusara and hope to see more of its products. The gear bags look great and so does the “utility belt”. But I’ll wait for more reviews before jump the gun.