Tatami Fightwear is a UK brand that produces some great gear, including the Zero-G. This is an affordable, good looking, and very light gi. We got in a sample of this gi a little while ago and have been passing it around the dojo, here is what we found out.
The jacket is constructed from 420 gram single weave cotton with a rubber lapel. The pants are 8oz cotton canvas with a rope drawstring. Tatami states the jacket is a tapered competition cut. The gi arrives in a printed nylon bag. (Am I the only one who doesn’t understand why the fancy bag? Lots of companies do this, but I can never get the gi back in there, especially after class!)
Of course, the first thing everyone sees on a new gi is the design. There are gis out there for old school guys, jiu-jitsu pimps, people who like hemp, and straight up tie-dyed grappling ass clowns. The Zero-G is sharp, with some nicely designed patches but definitely not over top pimp style. I personally like the fresh clean look but if you don’t like the patches they are easily removed.
The gi fits about as expected for an A3. The shoulders were just a little narrow for me compared to my Koral classic, but they fit perfectly on ‘normal’ sized guys. The jacket itself is fairly long, which can be good or bad depending on your personal preference. The pants come out of the bag quite large but a little careful shrink to fit the first time around takes care of that issue. This gi is a good fit for those tall slim guys who might usually need an A3 slim or tall.
The website says this is a tapered competition cut, but I would classify it right in the middle in terms of how long the sleeves are and the size of the openings. Some brands really push the limits here, but I don’t think there is any danger of this gi being judged illegal in competition. Meerkatsu reviewed this gi and covers the sizing in great detail on his awesome blog, you can read it here.
We beat the gi up on the mats for about 2 weeks and it still looks great, no sign of any quality problems. I was a little concerned because the fabric is so soft and light that we might run into durability issues, but that hasn’t been the case so far.
You can pick up the Zero-G from online retailers in the US for around $120 which is a pretty good deal. At the time of this writing UK readers can pick the gi up direct from Tatami for £40 which is a crazy cheap price for a gi this nice.
Bill Thomas
