Reviews of karate gis I have owned by Rob Jacob
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For sizing purposes I am 6'1", and have weighed between 170-220 lbs.
KI lightweight (my first gi)
I believe this was a size 6, and fit me pretty well at about 170 lbs. It worked fine for a first gi, though it seemed to wear quickly. It was cheap.
Toyo heavyweight (12 oz?)
It was a size 5.5 tournament cut, and lasted for several years until my wife bleached it, and it started falling apart. It fit me like a glove from the start! I miss that gi!
Century medium-heavyweight (10oz)
These are the usual heavyweight gis my Sensei sells to her students, so I have owned several of these, in size 6. They have fit me reasonably (at both 210, and 175). Only problem is they start to wear very quickly. Especially the pants around the waist (they fray), and for some reason each pair I have had has gotten a wear hole in the groin area.
Century Ironman. (14 oz)
I got a size 6, as that is the size of the other Century gis I have worn. This thing fit me like a tent! It was huge, and stiff as a board. I hated it! I haven't seen it for a while. I think I gave it away after having worn it twice.
Tokaido super heavyweight (14oz)
I got this for Christmas. I first got a size 6, and it was huge on me. I returned it, and got a 5.5, but it was still pretty big on me. I weighed about 210 when I got it. I tried washing it in hot water, and drying it hot, and it shrunk a little, but it was still big on me. I now weigh in at 175, and it is too big for me!
Century medium weight.
This is a size 6, and fits me well (at both 210, and 175). I bought this as a lighter hot-weather gi. I don't really like the feel of the 65%/35% polyester/cotton blend, prefering 100% cotton, but it is cooler on hot days.
ProForce heavyweight (10oz)
Tired of the quick wearing Century brand 10oz gis, I have decided to try something different. I would love a medium-heavy weight Shureido gi, but can't afford to buy two or three of them at this point, though I have read excellent things about them. Shortly after buying this gi, I got a pair of Juka Gold's, so I didn't wear this much for karate classes. I did wear this gi for my Aikido classes for a while, til I bought a judo gi better suited to the art.
Juka Gold (14oz)
I bought two of these off of ebay in size 5.5 and have been using them as my primary gis. After two years of wearing them for multiple classes a week, they are still going strong, with little noticible wear. I expect to wear these for years to come, and would be happy replace them with another pair of Juka gis when they do finally wear out. These are on par with the Toyo that I used to have.
ProForce lightweight (6oz)
After wearing the Century medium weight for a couple summers, I decided I wanted to try a 100% cotton gi. I bought this, but have not had it long yet. The first thing I noticed is that unlike my heavier weight gis, it comes out of the washing machine wrinkled. It feels much better than the polyester/cotton blend gi.
Rob Jacob is the author of: Martial Arts Biographies - An Annotated Bibliography.
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