Dan Of Earth

The TUFROL Signature Gi.

TUFROL is a new company that has some nice designs and is working on developing their own brand of Gis. Like many companies, TUFROL is out of California.

 

 

A. 6.75

B. 29

C. 22

D. 26

E. 22

F. 12

G. 9.5

H. 38

Pant length from crotch: 25

Chest width: 21

 

$139.00

 

• 550 GSM Pearl Weave Jacket
• 12 oz. canvas pants
• pre-shrunk jackets and pants
• gold weave gusset crotch
• double stitched loops on the pants
• reinforcement lining tape inside jacket and on sleeve and pants cuffs.
• few tags and embroidery.
• reinforced knee pads
• EVA foam collar – perfect balance, not too hard (uncomfortable), not to soft (better grips for the opponent)
• fitted kimono, confort and style
• elastic drawstring on the pants
• heavy reinforced seams for extra durability
• contrast stitching

The Top:

The collar felt like it was choking me and was my only real major gripe with the Gi, I was really disappointed because aesthetically the Gi has some nice colors in use. The seam tape colors were different that a lot of other Gis and looked nice and I liked the use of gray as a contrast stitch and side vent color. I also liked how they left one of the sleeves blank and think the Gi overall would have looked a little better with both sleeves being blank.

I wasn’t too keen on their website being embroidered on the upper back of the Gi, to me putting a website on clothing can look pretty cheesy. The trailing stitching also looks subpar.
The flat back part of the collar should be visible in this picture.  and was oddly formed with indents near the back of the neck. Maybe I have a fat neck, but I’ve never had this issue with any gi in the past of any A2 or A3 size from any company. It wasn’t comfortable to roll in at all.The pretty seam tape, it was a bit scratchy, but only a tad. It lessened with continuous washing and wasn’t an issue after a handful of washes.

The TUFROL Signature Gi does have some nice elements to it, the color options being one of them, their TUFROL patch on the skirt of the jacket being another, it looks really nice and subtle.

Another tag on the skirt. Although they say the gi is 550gsm, it feels much lighter.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this arm embroidery from a looks standpoint. None of the patches or embroidery bothered me while rolling however.

The Trousers:

The pants didn’t feel as if they were the greatest quality and had a yellow tint to them which didn’t look very good compared to the tops color. Although light, they felt relatively baggy in the arse. Regardless, I didn’t have any issues while rolling. Like the top, the pants 12oz cotton rating seems a bit too much as these are definitely some of the lighter pants I’ve worn.

Embroidery on the side of the leg.

The belt loop system worked and featured a six belt loop system with a stretchy rope drawstring.The seam tape at the bottom of the pants was uncolored standard cotton. It wasn’t scratchy but was different than the colored choice they went with for the sleeves.

Additional/Rolling:

Rolling wise, I just couldn’t enjoy myself due to the collar. The pants were ok but not my favorite fitting. This could be a great summer Gi due to its lightness if the collar fits you.

On a brighter note, in addition to the Gi, TUFROL throws in some really good looking stickers. I especially like the Carlos Gracie, Helio Gracie, Mitsu Maeda and Jigoro Kano sticker. It’s a really cool design and you can buy a shirt with it on their store.

In Conclusion:

I did try messaging TUFROL to express a few concerns but did not get a response back. Smaller companies are always improving and I’d love to see them make a couple minor changes to really let their line of Gis stand out.