I didn’t know much about the Elite Sports brand, however, in short I was more than pleasantly surprised!
Whilst I don’t tend to have a colour preference when it comes to Gi’s, I am a big fan of the navy colour, also being that it is an IBJJF legal colour, it’s therefore pretty much ok across the board.
When the Elite Sports Ultra Lightweight Gi arrived and unwrapped it, I immediately felt assured of the lightweight feel and quality of the material, even before slipping it on. When putting the gi pants on I was then further assured of the comfort and, once again, the lightweight feel. In terms of the fit, the pants were ideal. Once I then put on the gi jacket, again, I could immediately feel the lightweight and comfort of the material. I would be more than comfortable that this gi would last well.
My only issue was to do with the fit of the jacket, the arms were too short. However, this is my fault for not being careful enough when choosing the size. I am 190cm tall and around 93kg, quite broad in the shoulders, normally I am ok with a preshrunk A3, just about. With many brands varying in their Gi sizing very slightly, I have to be careful and sometimes choose a size up, or opt for the ‘L’ version, as in A3L. It would appear that this is what I should have done on this occasion. With this being said, all it means is that I won’t be using my Elite Sports Ultra-Light for competition.
I will, however, be using it regularly! It feels great, is comfortable, seemingly durable, washes really well and is nice and light. What’s more, on those tough, sweaty sessions, it doesn’t hold too much of your sweat. Meaning it doesn’t feel too heavy.
SO, LET’S TALK ABOUT SOME POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES…
POSITIVES
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Price - at £59.99, this is an absolute bargain, especially when you compare to some of the other gis I have purchased over the years. I have spent up to £150 and can honestly say that it as good or better than kimonos that I have paid over £100 for!
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Fit - despite being very slightly too small for me, if I had chosen the A3L or A4, I would be using it as one of my main gis (of which I have around 7).
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Colour/Design - I love the placement of the logo and as for the stitching, whilst quite bold, I think it works really well, especially with this colour.
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Delivery - If over £59.99, then delivery is free! In terms of times, it was next day!
NEGATIVES
In all honesty, I struggled to find many, specifically at this price! However, if I were to be brutally honest, I would prefer the logo on the shoulders to be embroidered rather that tags sewed in. The only other thing I would say should be optional, is the free white belt. I am not a white belt, so it was surplus to my requirements. Having said that, I can always pass it on to another white belt.
Overall I would rate this as 8/10, brilliant!
