Submission Fight Company has once again entered the fray, this time with their competition kimonos. Constantly challenging the status quo, seeking out new and innvovative fabrics, they’ve followed up their recent line of Sprout Gi’s for youth with the new ultra-light, competition-ready Mania Gi, available in white and blue.
Seth MacLean Hopkinson is one of the hardest working white belts at our academy, Leverage BJJ. In a very short six months, he has lost over 65 lbs. using a very simple formula: Cleaner Diet+Lots of BJJ Class. He’s quickly gone from someone who would need to stop rolling about a minute into an average sparring session to catch his breath, to someone who can go 20-30 minutes with no problem. He was the perfect person to put the Mania to the test. He’s also from New England and I’m borrowing his use of “Wicked” for this review.
The Wicked Good
The aesthetics: The bright orange logo leaps off the fabric. Seth received lots of great feedback on the appearance of the gi from classmates (which means your opponents are going to notice you as well).
The ultra light jacket: At 450 GSM, this durable jacket was strong and breathable. Seth reported that with other gi’s he feels that heat gets trapped by the fabric, whereas he was able to wear this gi through warmup and class comfortably. This light pearl weave also dried very fast after washing which will get you back to the mats faster. The jacket also features a slimmer cut that eliminates the bulky material that can tend to accumulate under the armpits and serve to slow down your wicked subs or serve as grips for your opponents. Because Seth washes cold and hang dries this gi, he did not report any shrinkage during the testing.
The pants: The light 10oz pants allowed for plenty of knee protection and did not bind up and impede any movement. All told, the complete A4 Gi that Seth tested came in at just under 4lbs.
The Wicked Okay
The Price Point: At $139.95 for the white Mania and $149.95 for the blue version, the price is on par with other light, competition gi’s on the market. While there are cheaper gi’s out there, Submission Fight Company has done a great job with this model to justify those price points. And there are also plenty of more expensive light, competition Gis out there as well.
All in all, Submission Fight Company has improved on their standard light gi and created a light, durable competition-ready gi worthy of the name Mania.
- – Made from 100% Cotton
- – 450 GSM Pearl Weave Fabric Top
- – White with Gray Contrast Stitching
- – Light 10oz gi pants
- – Pre-Shrunk
- – New Logo & Patch Designs
- – Heavily Reinforced Stress Points
- – Rope Draw String
- – Premium Competition Fit
- – IBJJF Approved
Check them out at www.submissionfc.com to get your Mania. Check out their other products while you’re there. Thanks to Seth MacLean Hopkinson, Paul Straley and Leverage BJJ for the assistance with this review.
