Intro:
Do Or Die has gotten quite a bit of air time lately due to their sponsorship of Xande Ribeiro, arguably the top BJJ player in the world, and also because they are expanding their line to include limited edition gis and clothes for men, women and youth. They’ve billed their Hyperfly gi as the perfect gi. Upcoming limited editions include the California edition and the NYC.
Per Do Or Die:
Your battle will be here before you know it. It’s time to get yourself ready for combat and show the world you know what DO OR DIE is all about….YOU CAN’T TEACH HEART
The gi has some notable features (spandex gusset for one), a very clean look and premium construction. But is it really the best gi ever…
Design/Features/Construction:
The Hyperfly jacket is constructed of a proprietary “Hyperfly” weave, which appears to be a variant of pearl weave. There is a difference in the feel from other pearl weave gis that I own, with the Hyperfly being noticeably softer. Other technical specs include EVA foam collar, one piece construction with no back seam, heavily reinforced seams, contrast stitching and a tailored fit. The pants are 12oz drill cotton with a unique stretch crotch gusset, six loops for the cord drawstring, a reinforced knee and contrast stitching similar to the jacket. The seams and stitching are consistently of high-quality throughout the gi and I didn’t notice any loose stitches. The embroidery is also well-done and sewn in such a way that it’s never coming off.
Jacket:
The Hyperfly’s collar is thick and foam filled. There is one small patch at the bottom of the lapel and the stitching of the lapel looks good throughout. The new Hyperfly shield logo is on each arm at the shoulders. Each logo is fully embroidered, solid and not removable. A lot of gis with a more traditional cut have sleeves that are very baggy at the shoulders and then taper significantly to the cuffs. The Hyperfly starts off smaller at the shoulder and has less of a taper. The sleeves themselves are also longer than most.
The jacket itself is made of a single piece of fabric and the few seams it has are all reinforced. There is extra reinforcement at the side slits with a triangle style piece of fabric. The inside of the cuffs and the base of the skirt are lined with a black cotton tape. The tape adds a nice design touch to a very clean gi. Inside the gi is there logo “You Can’t Teach Heart” and the only other adornment is a small patch at the base of the neck.
Pants:
The pants have an offset waist like the Redstar Stamp and Bull Terrier Super Gold. The slits at the side of the pants are trimmed with black canvas and the cord drawstring is combined with 6 belt loops to make sure that your pants are easy to tie and will stay put. There is very little on the pants as far as bling is concerned, just a patch on the left upper thigh and a very small patch on the right side below the knee.
The stitching is all reinforced and I found no loose threads. Like the sleeves of the jacket the cuffs of the pants are lined with black canvas tape. The knees are reinforced from the inseam to just below the knee. Finally, the gusset of the pants is different than most of my other pants. All of my other gi pants either use the cotton of the pants or the weave of the jacket for the gusset. Do Or Die has taken a third approach and incorporated some sort of spandex in the crotch.
|
Jacket |
Initial |
Wash & Dry |
Pants |
Initial |
Wash & Dry |
|
|
A – Cuff |
6.75” |
6.675” |
A – Cuff |
9.75” |
9.25” |
|
|
B – Wingspan |
73” |
70.25” |
B – Waist |
25” |
24.25” |
|
|
C – Length |
33.25” |
32.5 |
C – Length |
42.5” |
39.75” |
|
|
D – Chest |
28.5” |
26.25 |
D – Inseam |
32” |
30.25” |
Test Run:
Before rolling in this gi I washed and dried the jacket twice to get a tighter fit in the chest. Even after trying to shrink it down the sleeves were still IBJJF legal for me and the overall fit was better. The arms have noticeably less material for your opponents to grab. I didn’t notice any restrictions of movement from the smaller diameter sleeves. The pants stayed in place and weren’t restrictive while working open guard.
It may have been that I dried the jacket in the dryer but the gi was very comfortable while wearing it and I felt that it was one of the better fitting stock A4s that I’ve worn. As with other pearl weave gis the jacket wasn’t overly hot and got more comfortable as I wore. And for the true test of how good a gi really is I noticed that several of my training partners expressed a little gi envy while I was wearing it. Check out Meerkatsu’s site for another review of the Hyperfly.
Special Considerations:
The Hyperfly weave is the softest pearl weave that I’ve used so far and is very comfortable. I can’t confirm that it’s the strongest gi in the world but I do have two training partners with this gi and both have been very happy with its durability. For fit, this gi would be great for someone with an athletic to stocky build and long arms. The Hyperfly has the longest arms of any stock size gi that I own and I probably could have worn an A3 and had the length still be good.
Wrap Up:
From a price perspective the Hyperfly is in the price range of other premium gis coming in at $168-175. As with other gis at this price point the cost will be an issue for some. If you decide to go with the Hyperfly what you’ll get is a lightweight and durable gi that should last you for a long time. The understated design looks great and leaves you with plenty of room to customize with patches.
A couple more quick comments, the limited edition gis are $179 which is consistent with most small batch premium gis. These gis are build with the same specs and quality of construction as the Hyperfly the only difference is the bling. Finally, DoOrDie will be offering an “Academy Gi” in 2013. The sizing and construction is based on the Hyperfly. The all white gi will have a different weave, no logos or embroidery and have only a single small patch. Best of all this entry level gi will be less than $100 🙂
