The Ground Force No Gi Guide
Spring is in the air and summer is around the corner. The perfect time to start thinking about taking off the gi and start focusing on your nogi skills. What do you need first!? Look at a brand new nogi set so we can get back to the mat in style. Luckily for you, there’s a new brand out there dedicated to make you look good in high quality nogi products. Let’s take a look at what Ground Force has to offer.
Ground Force Basic Rashguard
The first nogi product by Ground Force was the Basic rashguard. The fabric is made of 88% polyester and 12% spandex and feels very comfortable. It’s available in a short sleeve only at the moment, which is perfect for the summer.
What I really like is that it doesn’t have the tightest fit. Of course, it’s a rashguard and fits tight, but it’s not painted on tight.
What stands out is the long fit of the body. This makes it perfect for all the tall guys that wear the in-between L sizes for their gis. For us shorter guys it doesn’t really matter because the rashguard comes with the rubber strip on the bottom that will make it stay in place perfectly.
The Ground Force rashguards feel really high quality. The fabric is a bit thicker than most other rashguards and the stitching looks very solid as well. From experience the rashguard will last you a long time and will stay looking smooth after washing it over and over. Of course, we do advise to always wash it separate from your gis and in a washing bag.
If you like minimalistic designs the Ground Force Basic rashguard deserves your attention. The rashguard comes with the brand name on the right sleeve, a small GF logo on the chest and neck. The rest of the rashguard is black, the logos are white. Overall, the design has a very clean look.
The price of a short sleeve rashguard is 32.00 euros. Compared to other rashguards from this quality, this is a steal.
Ground Force Ranked Rashguard
For the guys competing, Ground Force also has a series of ranked rashguards. The specifications and fit are similar to the Basic rashguard. The fabric is also made of 88% polyester and 12% spandex with a very comfortable fit. Not too loose and not too tight.
What is really nice is that this one is available in long sleeve as well as short sleeve. Again, they went with a very clean looking design. The long sleeve has the brand name on the right sleeve and a Ground Force logo on the chest and back of the neck. The short sleeve has the logos on the chest and back of the neck as well and they added, in a very subtle way, the text Ground Force on the left side right under the chest. What’s good to know about the design is, is that the color of the sleeve shows the color of your rank. With the black and white one this might cause for some confusion. The white ranked rashguard is mostly black and the black rank is mostly white.
This one is also a very high quality rashguard and will stay looking sharp after washing it over and over. The fabric is durable enough to withstand tough trainings multiple times a week.
Both the long and short sleeve rashguards are priced at 39.00 euros. I would say this is definitely more than fair for what you get. This will be a rashguard that will last a long time if treated properly of course.
Ground Force Basic Lightweight Shorts
What’s a good rashguard without a matching pair of shorts!? The Ground Force Lightweight shorts fit very comfortable, the fabric is thin which makes them feel nice and light.
The fabric is made of 95% polyester and 5% spandex. The shorts have stretchy side vents and extra stretchy material in the crotch area. This really allows the shorts to be suitable and comfortable for almost everyone. The shorts close with a strong velcro strap and a flat drawstring, so even if you have some space left over in the waist you still make it fit perfectly. There’s no rubber band at the waist to keep the shorts in place. I was bit skeptical about that at first myself, but this doesn’t seem to be an issue at all. The shorts stay in place perfectly.
If you are used to more baggy shorts, you probably have to get adjusted to these ones a bit. At first, they felt really tight to me and the fabric very thin. Over time I really started to like how light and comfy they felt though.
I noticed that the best way to figure out your size is to just go by the size jeans you wear. If you wear a size 32 jeans, chances are that a M (32) Ground Force Lightweight shorts fit you perfectly. If your size is somewhere in between, no worries, the drawstrings will make sure these ones will stay on during training for sure.
Ground Force really did a good job at creating high quality in combination with the thin fabric. Even though the shorts are lightweight, and the fabric is really thin, they are very durable as well. The stretchy sides and crotch area make sure there won’t be too much stress on the sturdier parts of the fabric. Too keep the quality it is recommended to wash them separate from your gis and use a laundry bag. The laundry bag is especially important to keep the velcro healthy in the long run. Velcro of course is really nice because you get more control over how tight they fit at the waist but when washing it you don’t want it to stick to other material because this makes it deteriorate faster and unusable over time.
Let’s take a look at the design. Here Ground Force also created a clean design. The shorts are black, and the brand name is written on the back of the right leg and on the velcro strap, there’s a GF logo on the front left leg. I always like these kinds of clean designs because it will match with almost any rashguard.
The shorts are available for 45.00 euros. Not the cheapest pair out there, but you will get a durable pair of shorts that will make you look slick during your nogi sessions and on the competition mat.
Ground Force Camo No Gi Set
What can we expect from the Ground Force nogi summer collection of 2021. Let’s take a look at the various designs that just came out.
Fit, feel and quality for these camo shorts and rashguards is the same as for the ranked short sleeve rashguards and the shorts. You don’t have to worry about getting great value for your money because these will all be of the same quality and if you liked the fit of the previous products, you will like these ones as well.
Where these products are different is the design. They still deliver a nice clean design but spiced it up a little by adding hints of camo. The camo comes in three different colors: green, orange, and grey. The camo pattern shows on the sleeves of the rashguards and on the velcro strap on the shorts. A nice little detail is that the logos on both products also have the camo print.
These are the first summer collection nogi products by Ground Force and I really like the designs. I like that they were able to keep the design simple and clean and still did something completely different.
A matching pair will cost you 90.00 euros but no worries, you can also buy them separately. The good thing about their designs is that you can perfectly wear either the shorts or rashguard with another pair of shorts. It matches with almost everything.
Ground Force Basic Spats
The Ground Force Basic spats are exactly what the name says. They look like very basic black spats.
They are made from 100% polyester, are completely black and come with a small GF logo on the bottom left leg. Although the Ground Force spats have a basic look, you will get the same high-quality feel as with the rashguards and shorts.
The fit and feel of the basic spats also feels pretty standard. There’s also not much that can go wrong with a pair of tights I reckon. They do what they are supposed to do, prevent you from all types of scratches, scrapes and mat burn. Wear them under the gi and people are less likely to grab your skin or leg hair. A plus of course is also that during the winter they will keep you nice and warm.
I personally like that the design is so clean. This allows you to wear them with almost any type of shorts and rashguard.
For anyone looking for a new pair of spats with not much branding on it, but are reliable, I think these are very interesting. For only 35.00 euros you get to own a pair of Ground Force Basic spats.
How to wash your Ground Force No Gi Gear
We already talked about this a bit. It is always recommended to wash your nogi gear separate from your gis. This is because the nogi gear is much more delicate than the rough cotton from the gis. Wash them together and you will notice rashguards and shorts will deteriorate faster, and you will see things like pilling of the fabric more often.
What we recommend is that all your nogi gear is washed separate from gis and to use a laundry bag. For products with velcro, I would even use a separate laundry bag. This will ensure that you can enjoy training in your favorite gear for many years.
Gi Experts
Watch the full video by the Gi Experts here!