TIGER CLAW BRAND

[shotokanka92]

hi i start shotokan this friday and i got a gi last saturday. it fits well. its great and very comfortable. its Tiger claw brand. does anyone have one or hear of them? is it a crappy brand or is it ok/good? i think its wonderful.

[ninjanurse]

I use Tiger Claw for my student uniforms and demo uniforms. I have a few of their uniforms that are 6 years old and still look good. I have been happy so far...customer service is great!

[shotokanka92]

ya they're pretty good. i just wanted to know cause it was my first gi, didnt cost alot and it fits wonderful

[blackbelt]

I have an Ed Parker Signature line uniform from Tigerclaw, and its a very nice uniform. Has a nice stonewashed color and heavy build. The only problems I had was with the strings on the jacket (then again i'm the instructors dummy ) And sometimes it seems to limit my moveability a little bit. But overall its a good uniform.

[humble monk]

Hit or miss for me. Some of their stuff was worth more than I paid, and some was junk. All around okay if you're on a limited budget.

[Lupin1]

Does anyone have any experience with the Tiger Claw belts? I'm looking to buy my new belt and they're my top choice at the moment, but I've never actually seen one before. Are they a good, thick belt with nice stitching? I want a nice belt since I'll probably be a blue belt for a long while, but I can't afford an arm and a leg and their pricing is just right. Opinons?

[JohnASE]

Does anyone have any experience with the Tiger Claw belts? I'm looking to buy my new belt and they're my top choice at the moment, but I've never actually seen one before. Are they a good, thick belt with nice stitching? I want a nice belt since I'll probably be a blue belt for a long while, but I can't afford an arm and a leg and their pricing is just right. Opinons?

We bought some belts from Tiger Claw years ago. We have a few squirreled away in our warehouse. I just went to look at them. I can't guarantee they're the same today, but there's a good chance. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

They're about 1.75" wide, rather thin, and soft. The stitching looks pretty straight. The ends are folded and sewn rather than heat sealed or surged like some cheap belts are. Overall, I'd say the quality is okay, and the retail price listed on their website is pretty good, but if you need thick, these aren't for you.

I'm a little surprised that you're concerned about the price of a color belt. Tiger Claw's website lists $5.25, and that's pretty cheap, but other belts aren't much higher. Most companies retail them for under $10. You should easily be able to find a thick belt in that price range. On something this cheap, don't forget to look at shipping cost. Some companies charge $10-$12 minimum for shipping.

Most instructors supply belts to their students. Buying for several students at once saves a lot on shipping, and instructors usually get discounted prices.

[Lupin1]

Any brand suggestions, John?

[JohnASE]

For the record, we've bought lots of stuff from Tiger Claw over the years and are happy with their service, value, and quality.

Any brand suggestions, John?

I can't be much help here. I know a little about a few competitors brands, but not much, at least not in standard rank belts. I've done a bit more comparison with black belts.

Our standard ASE belts might work for you. They're pretty dense, so they're a little harder and heavier than the average belt, but they're not particularly thick. They're not thin either though. They're about 1 5/8" wide. Most belts are 1.5" or 1.75", so ours are in between. Shipping one belt alone would be relatively expensive, especially if you're in a rural area or have us ship to a residence. UPS charges extra for that. If you're interested, send me a PM, and we'll discuss details. We don't have belts listed on our site.

I started to type info about other brands, but I deleted it. I'm not really familiar enough with them to give reliable info. Sorry.

[masterphoenix]

hi i start shotokan this friday and i got a gi last saturday. it fits well. its great and very comfortable. its Tiger claw brand. does anyone have one or hear of them? is it a crappy brand or is it ok/good? i think its wonderful.

Unfortunately, I have to disagree with previous posters about Tiger Claw's custom service. I was a good customer of several years and doing a lot of custom orders. I can tell you from personal experience that there is a lot of turnover in their help, which amounts to a lot of mistakes out of the TN facility. My t shirts/uniform screens were constantly messed up, my instructions ignored (I ordered online so what I asked for was documented), and sometimes I'd have to call several times over a month to get a quote on a custom uniform. Ever since Rand left TC, the service out of TN was terrible for me. I ended up cancelling my account even though I liked the products.

If they were out of something, they just wouldn't send it, and wouldn't tell me. I would be expecting things to arrive for students, and when the shipment was late, I'd call only to find out they were out of stock and didn't inform me. One time my credit card had expired, and after a week of not receiving the order, I called only to find out they hadn't bothered to tell me.

Other people may have different experiences, but this happened to me over a period of 2 years before I gave up on TC. Over the last year, every single order had at least one careless mistake on it. I can't recommend them, based on my experience.

Products are good, but I had to switch to Asian World, and to some extent, Bold Look. BL has a lot of very nice stuff, they just don't have an online ordering system. Best MA supply is good to (sangmoosa.com) and they do embroidered belts well, and affordably, but again, no real online ordering system for instructors.