Luca Anacoreta
Photo by Piotr Pedziszewski/FILA

Translated from our friends from the French Gi Review website GiTaste.fr

Atama ! THE brand that sets the standard for BJJ kimonos … they have been around for a long time and their Mundial line of models is in its umpteenth version . Just when you thaught that were going through the motions and not coming out with anything exciting, comes their new kid on the block, 1.5 kg for A2 size, the New Light  !

Atama is one of the famous BJJ brands.I got in touch with Atama Europe and we managed to get along for the review of New Light model. I’d like to thank BJJ black belt Pedro Barcellos for making it possible.

The Atama New Light is as its name suggests, the lightweight model in the range , although it is heavier than a 100% ripstop like the Kauai, the Atama at least has the merit of being consistent with IBJJF rules and therefore to be accepted in all competitions.

Look

As always with Atama gi is available in three colors (white, blue and black), I hesitated a long time before choosing, and I finally chose the blue, for no particular reason!

You won’t find any flashy bling gis at Atama and New Light is no exception to the rule. The gi is very simple but for the occasion Atama has revised its patches and they are really beautiful !

The jacket is patched at the shoulders, along the neck , plus a small patch in the upper back. The shoulder patches are very aesthetic , but with the logo Atama on red background with golden letter in the word “master in kimonos” (in Portuguese) . We find this little touch of gold on all other patches, a real success, these are the patches that you will not want to remove!

For the rest of the jacket, there are no frills, no stitches are mixed, no custom backing band (except the back of the sleeves).

The pants are ripstop classic, but with the same type of patches as on the jacket. Apart from that nothing much remarkable, the pants are very basic.

Weaving and reinforcements

To be a light jacket, it could only be in single weave , and although on Atama’s site, they don’t say, it is without a doubt 450 gsm , which gives us a size A2 a weight of just over a kilo. Nothing unusual there , it is in the average weight jackets for a single weave . The reinforcements are more classic (underarm slits of jacket, back) all with triple stitched seams as it should be. You don’t really get the impression of softness of fabric but in return we feel that the material is strong. There was no compromise for the strength of the gi to make it lighter. The collar is made ​​of rubber and is covered with rips top material .

The pants are of course in ripstop , for the rest it is the bare minimum, only two loops to attach the pants, a small strip of fabric as a belt, reinforced knees all like the crotch.  The finishes pants are spotless.

Size and fit

As usual I took a A2, upon receipt of the gi and during the first fitting I noticed that kimono was fitting smaller than average, particularly in regards to the length of the pants (94 cm) but not to fear about shrinking because it’s a ripstop, so they slightly expand .

The jacket is the right size for me, it’s comfortable and does not hinder movement, it does not shrink at the skirt is not too wide at the sleeves. As always I advise you to refer to the size chart, as for the New Light in A2 the gi size was slightly smaller than average.

Rolling

The New Light is super nice , although the pants are a bit short for my taste. It should be even better during periods of high temperatures because of its lightness .

The pants are good, we have no need to constantly strengthen and at the end of the session the knot comes undone without problems. The jacket also stays in place regardless of the movements made.

Conclusion

The Atama New Light is a success. We can really see the know-how ‘of Atama . In the lightweight gis category, it is placed among the firsts (outside of 100% ripstop gis), with 1500 gr it can avoid setbacks for some competitors who are at the limit in their weight class .

Available on Atama Europe for 155 € (145 € in white, excluding postage) this gi is in the upper range, to that price to have in her wardrobe a little gi is almost luxury , but it can all quite do the trick as your main gi.