Gi shopping

[skullsplitter]

I'm in the market for a new gi for my son. It's for tournament purposes. He's wearing a 12oz Centruy now, but wants something with a longer jacket. My price range is 100-125 USD so that leaves out Addidas, Punok, Tokaido, Toyo, Tokon, Shuriedo, and Seishin.

I've found a few that fit our price range and are the 12oz that he likes. Do any of you have any recommendations on these?

KI, Ronin, Kwon, Mugen (black or yellow label). Are there any others in my range? I've seen many good reivews on the Ronin and Ki/Mugen. I can't find much on the Kwon, but he's been happy with the Kwon sparring gear.

[JR 137]

I've owned Century 12 oz., KI 14 oz., and Ronin 12 oz. IMO Ronin is easily the best quality gi of those. Ronin's jacket is a bit longer than KI's, but not a lot. Century's is the shortest.

Ronin's material and craftsmanship IMO is the best of the bunch. And I love their ties. By far the best I've seen and used in any gi, that includes Shureido (I own a K-11 and used to own a K-12), and Tokaido's Ultimate (a good friend wore one).

Several people I train with own KI Mugen Orange and Black. They don't appear any better than the Ronin. They're cut differently, seemingly more narrow cut but maybe a tad longer jacket, but they don't seem to be much longer.

The Ronin 12 oz. is really tough to beat for the money. My Shureido is significantly better, but at $75 vs $175, the Ronin is a no-brainer IMO. If you've got the cash, the Shureido is worth it, if not, Ronin.

Just my opinion.

[Nidan Melbourne]

I haven't heard any of the brands that you mentioned at the end of your post. I have however heard of Adidas, Tokaido, Shureido and Seishin.

It does make life harder with a smaller budget as most gi's that are awesome for tournaments are normally more expensive.

Probably will depend what type of tournaments your son is entered into as well. Due to the nature of the requirements of those tournaments.

Do you happen to live near any Supplier that you might be able to check them out?

Where i live in Australia i am quite lucky as there are a lot of suppliers around the CBD and also a few further out.

I used to own a Sportsmaster Gi (I think that was the brand) many years ago and they were good. But for tournaments not as great from memory since it didn't have that snap to it.

[Wastelander]

KI/Mugen is the standard gi in our dojo, and they have been quite good. I was also happy with my Ronin gi for a long time, before it finally died (my fault--bleach damage). I don't think you can go wrong with either of them.

[cheesefrysamurai]

I'm happy with my meijin at about 135

[skullsplitter]

I ended up buying the Mugen black label. Very nice quality and fits him nicely. Thanks for all of the feedback.