Finding your perfect Gi is easier said than done. You’ve saved up the money, set a budget, made up your mind about the type of Gi and now you are here. This is the review about the Gameness Air Gi that I have been using intensely for the past three weeks and it will give you a complete idea about what this lightweight Gi is all about.

What are we looking at?

The Gameness Air Gi. A Gi which defines itself by being extremely lightweight, weighing in at just 1.336 kg (350 gr/m2). The Gi is available at BJJFIGHTGEAR in the colours white, black and blue. The jacket features a comb weave fabric, which one of the newer weaves in BJJ Gi’s today. This weave allows the jacket to be durable and lightweight at the same time. The jacket has reinforcements in all stress points. The pants are made out of rip stop fabric with reinforcements made around the knees for extra durability. The rip stop fabric is a cotton-poly blend which again, allows the pants to be lightweight and durable. The Gameness Air Gi is IBJJF approved and costs €79,95 in white and €84,95 in blue and black at BJJFIGHTGEAR.

The Design

I picked up the black Gameness Air Gi. The Gi is very straightforward and has just a few visual elements. On your right shoulder you can find the Gameness brand name in white, on your left shoulder you can find the Gameness Logo in red. The side cuts of the jacket are lined with red fabric and breaks the all-black look really well. The simplistic style continuous to the pants with the only visual element being the Gameness Logo in red. It’s simple and good looking. The Gi does not mess around, no excessive patching, lightweight, durable and made for rolling.

Fit and Feel

The Gi fits me really well. I am 1.76m tall and around 70kg so this means my build is pretty compact. The jacket fits really nicely around my shoulders and waist and does not leave excessive fabric on any part of my body. Same goes for the pants. I love the feeling of the rip-stop pants, it’s nice to the touch and is incredibly light and supple. I think the Gi suits a more compact body type over a thin and long body type, which I’ve found to be not so common.

Washing and drying

I washed the Gi on 40 degrees and let it centrifuge for 10 minutes. The Gi did not shrink or shed colour at all. One of the big advantages of this Gi is the dry-time. I hang dried the Gi and it was dry after 6 – 7 hours in normal room temperature. The Gi did feel a bit stiffer but still nice and supple, nothing unexpected here. The fast drying makes the Gi really user-friendly.

The Gi in action

The Gameness Air Gi feels really good in rolling. The fit and weight of the Gi really improve the rolling experience because it gives you a sense of agility and speed. The Gi does seem easy to grip for your opponent which I consider to be one of the downsides of the Gi. This is probably because of the thinness and texture of the fabrics. The Gi leave some marks on my neck but that could’ve been solved by wearing a rash guard (karma doing its work). The Gi didn’t show any signs of stretching during the past three weeks and there are no signs of wear and tear.

Pros and Cons

The most important part of this review. What are the pros and cons of the Gameness Air Gi. Let’s dive right in to it. The Gameness Air Gi’s biggest asset is its weight, this we know. But there are so many other factors who are positively influenced by this. Just to name a few: the size, because the usage of thin yet strong materials the Gi can be folded up into a really compact package. This makes it really easy to bring to training. Then there’s washing and drying, nothing annoys me more than finding out your Gi is still wet right before you wanted to pack for training. The Gameness Air Gi solves this problem fully because it dries super quickly. And then there’s the breathing, the chosen fabrics breaths very well. This means you won’t get roasted alive whilst rolling, something I personally can appreciate.

Of course, there are some downsides to this Gi. Because the Gi’s fabrics are so lightweight, I feel like it could rip when under a lot of stress. I am not saying it will because all the stress points are reinforced and the fabrics are really durable but still, it doesn’t completely feel that way. Another thing I noticed, which I mentioned earlier, is how easy the Gi is to grip for your opponent. This can be a really annoying thing to deal with.

Here’s also a quick overview from my blog about this Gi with some more pros and cons:

Would I recommend?

Yes, I would absolutely recommend this Gi but.. only if you are specifically looking for a lightweight Gi. If you are looking for a showy, tough, hard to the touch Gi, then not so much. Like I said in the pros and cons, all the characteristics of the Gi can be brought back to the essence of the Gi, which is being lightweight without compromising its durability. This means it will make you feel quick and agile during rolling whilst being one of the easiest Gi’s to live with. For this Gi, you must want light, durable and a great price/quality ratio (it’s less than €100,-!!). If that is what you want, then I would definitely recommend the all-round Gameness Air Gi.

All in all I am really fond of this Gi and this will definitely stay my go-to Gi!

BLOG: THE GAMENESS AIR GI

PART 1

Buying a new Gi

Summer is finally over so this can only mean one thing: the start of the competition season. I have always used the same lightweight Gi (Buddha D-light) for competition but after two and a half years of wear and tear, it’s time for a replacement. I have set some criteria for my new Gi:

Weight Max. 1.5kg

Quality High (competition oriented)

Fit Slim

Colour preference Black

Budget €120,- I did some research and on the website of BJJFIGHTGEAR and found a cool comparison of the lightest Gi's around. The lightest Gi caught my eye: Gameness Air Gi. Weighing in at a mere 1,336 KG and costing €84,95 at www.BJJFIGHTGEAR.com it seemed to tick all the boxes. I really liked the Gi because of the black with red stitching: low-profile, simple, yet, really cool.

The BJJFIGHTGEAR shop is only a few minutes located from my house so I stopped by to get a first look and feel of the Gameness Air Gi. When I had the package in my hands I noticed the (absence of) weight straight away. The jacket is very soft, thin and light and had a nice feel to it. The Gi did not feel like it substituted durability for less weight, which is a huge relieve.

The pants are made of rip stop-fabric, a surprise for me because I hadn’t noticed it on the photos. The rip stop makes the pants a lot smoother and is very light to wear. It also holds its shape a bit more compared to the regular cotton pants (less floppy pants! J).

Now, how does it actually fit? I am a whopping 1.76m tall and around 70kg depending on the amount of fun I had in the weekend. Because of my compact build, most Gi’s do not fit me that well. When I tried on the Gameness Air Gi I was surprised: it fitted perfectly. I especially liked the rip stop pants because of the texture of the fabric. The pants look more modern compared to the traditional cotton pants and I like that a lot. Maybe that’s just because it’s new and different, I am not sure yet.

I think it’s time to put this bad boy to the test for a couple of weeks and see how I like it. I am very curious about the first rolls with this Gi and of course about the feeling of such a lightweight Gi.

The first rolls

Morning competition training, the perfect place to put the Gi to the test. I can’t wait to show off my new Gi, you just can’t beat that new-Gi feeling. During the rolls the Gi behaves really well. Because of the weight of the Gameness Air Gi you really get a sense of agility and speed, it inspires confidence.

The Gi stayed nicely in its place during the sparring. Without the belt the jacket stayed right alongside the upper body, a sign of a good fit! The Gi doesn’t have a lot of extra fabric around the bottom of the lapels. This makes it hard for the bottom guy to play a worm-guard style game (thank god!) but it also limits your own game if you’re a loop-choke kind of guy. The fabric does rub a good bit on my neck, after an hour I did have some rough spots in my neck but nothing unexpected.

The pants are really comfortable during the roll. The rope to tighten the pants stays in place really well and is able to take an hour of rolling without getting undone. The pants do seem grip-friendly due to its soft fabrics, which can make grip-breaking a bit harder. The weight of the pants still amazes me. They are absolutely ridiculously light and for me, that makes up for the grip-friendliness.

Overall the Gameness Air Gi gives the impression of being a friendly Gi to roll in, for you and your training partner.

Post rolling routine

I am someone who sweats a good amount when training so sweat absorption is one thing that’s important to me. For one I do not want my Gi to be absolutely soaked after rolling nor do I want to have the feeling I’m getting roasted alive in the Gi. The Gameness Air Gi did all right, not great. The Gi felt wet fairly quickly which doesn’t encourage long rolling sessions. For an hour it did fine.

One big advantage to the Gameness Air Gi I found out, is the foldability of the Gi. It just folds neatly in a compact package and can be easily packed in a small backpack. BJJFIGHTGEAR did a review on a Fuji duffle bag, this Gi wouldn’t even take a fourth of the space in the bag. This leaves you with loads of room to store all your tape and soap which everyone will steal eventually. Foto van pak in duffle bag

Washed, dried, and ready to roll

The washing test. At this moment I am really pleased with the Gameness Air Gi which made me pretty anxious about the effects of a good washing. I washed the Gi on 40 degrees for an hour with 10 minutes of centrifuging together with my other Gi’s. When I took it out I was pleased the Gi hadn’t shed any colour or little fluffs.

I wanted to know how long it would take the Gi to hang-dry in regular room temperatures so I made sure the sun was of no influence. I was quite surprised to find out it was almost completely dry after only 6-7 hours of drying. The dry-time is a key-element to a good, all-round Gi and the Gameness Air Gi performs exceptionally well on this front.

So it performed well on the washing and drying, what about the shrinkage? I say shrinkage as if it actually shrunk. It did not. Winning!

The fit and feeling of the Gi haven’t really changed. The fabric did only stiffen by a bit, nothing unexpected here. There are no big differences of the Gi pre and post wash.

PART 2

After two weeks of rolls

It has been two weeks since I bought the Gameness Air Gi and I am using it a lot. Because our team is preparing for competition we are training around 5 to 7 times a week in which I use the Gameness Air Gi often.

In the beginning after getting a new Gi, it’s all about the fit, feel, effects of washing, getting used to the Gi and so on. Now I am reaching a point where I am starting to find out how well made it actually is.

After two weeks of ripping and tearing in the gym the Gi is still performing well. It has been washed quite a few times now and the Gi is still the same size with the same good fit. After this amount of washing the Gi did stiffen a bit but not as much that it would negatively affect the suppleness. I do find that the Gi is still rubbing a fair bit in my neck and upper shoulder area. But that might also be karma for not wearing a rash guard to training.

The only thing that I am a bit sceptical about are the pants. Do not get me wrong, I like the fabric, feel and the weight of the rip stop. I just feel like the pants will stretch at some point and will become baggy and loose. Time will tell I guess.

3 weeks of testing

My final week of the blog and the official testing of the Gi. It has been 3 weeks now and I am using the Gi a lot and not just because I am writing this blog. I really like the Gi. So I thought it would be a nice idea to summarize all my thoughts and worries I had in the beginning and see how I feel about them now:

Q: Does it comply with what I wanted from my new Gi? A: Yes. I wanted quality, lightweight, less than 100 euro’s and a good fit for my body type and the Gameness Air Gi came through on all.

Q: Do I still like the pants?

A: I do. The rip stop is a nice change from the traditional pants and every time that I put them on I noticed that I liked the feeling, fit and fabric. So definitely a like from me.

Q: How is the quality of the Gi? A: Good. It is better than what I expected from a Gi below a 100 euro’s but I do not expect this Gi to last 3 years of intense rolling. The Gi is holding up nicely; no shrinkage, stretching or anything like that so far.

Q: How is the Gi during rolling? A: The Gi itself is really good, it never gets in your way and weighs so little that it encourages an active game. I did find out that the Gi is extremely grip-friendly so grip breaking can be though and a pain in the ass.

All in all I can say I am glad I got this Gi and am pleased with its performance.

My verdict

The Gameness Air Gi is a very nice lightweight Gi with surprisingly good price/quality ratio. This is a Gi that will become your go-to Gi because of its user-friendliness. The whole Gi, up- and downsides, revolve around the weight of the Gi. To get a better understanding of this I’ve made the following overview:

I think the disadvantages minor issues that don’t bother me that much. I think the Gameness Air Gi is the Gi if you’re looking for a lightweight and cheap Gi that will bring good all-round performance. To be honest, lightweight is key here. Everything about this Gi is just about being light and that should be the reason why you would buy this Gi. If you want a Gi that shouts that it won’t rip unless you string it between two tow trucks, this isn’t the one for you. You should want uncompromisingly lightweight, confidence-inspiring and a great price/quality ratio.

I was looking for a lightweight Gi to use in competition and it has become my go-to Gi. I am really pleased with the Gameness Air Gi and would absolutely recommend this Gi if you are specifically looking for a Gi in this category.