The words and images that come to my mind when I think of Gameness gis are: the famous Gameness pitbull logo, good quality, thick collar, heavy duty pants.. . All positive things. My first Gameness gi was purchased in 2002 and I still have it to this day and wear it sometimes. Then in 2005, i bought a Gameness platinum that was great but I sold it to a friend after a few years. Last Year, I got myself a black Gameness Elite which is of outstanding quality.
I have now gotten myself a Gameness XT gi through GamenessEurope.com The gi retails for around 149 euros which places it among the medium to upper price range gis. It’s not as expensive though as a Atama, or Lucky gi. I believe that you get what you pay for anyway and this gi will surely last for a long time. GrapplerGear’s Tim Van der Stek provided me with great customer service, making sure that the gi I chose was the right size. The guy is a true professional. So I have been training pretty much every single day in it to be able to get a good feel for for the gi and make a solid review for you guys.
Here are the specs: Pearl weave. Reinforced stitching including the elbows. Thick rubber collar. 10 Loop draw string system. Gameness heavy duty Platinum 100% Cotton pants. Features blue contrast stitching, embroidery and a newly designed chest patch. Reinforced knee area
Sizing:
A1 155-170 cm 50-62 kg
A2 170-180 cm 63-75 kg
A3 180-183 cm 76-90 kg
A4 183-192 cm 91-110 kg
A5 192-< cm > 110 kg
Sizing: The XT Gi is cut a bit larger than the Gameness Elite gi. I wanted to fit a bit more tight, so I washed the gi at 60 degrees to shrink down a bit. It’s an A3 and I’m 1m85 and 86 kilos. After the first wash, the gi fit me exactly how I wanted it. The XT as well as my other Gameness gi’s have a more tailored fit on me but without feeling too constricting.
Material and durability: The Gi top is Pearl weave and you feel that a lot of work and gi making experience has been put into this model. Everything is double and triple stitched. The material is top class, and the embroidery is very well done. I have never seen a gi with such good craftsmanship. The collar is more than averagely thick. This is a durable gi made for everyday training. It weighs around 2,0 kilos at A3 so it is not a lightweight gi. This feels like it will last a lifetime of rugged training.
Look: I think Gameness did an excellent job in designing this gi. This one for sure looks the sharpest with the classy customized embroidery and cool shoulder patches. The first thing you’ll notice is how simple but sharp this gi looks, the blue stitching and the blue accents against the white really give it a clean slick look. It kind of looks like the Roger Gracie or Renzo Gracie academy gi! The gi is not too patched up and not too flashy, in my opinion it has been done with a lot of good taste.
Feeling when rolling: As a A3, the gi weighs weighs in at 2.0 kilos which is around the same weight as a Koral MKM. The gi is really comfortable and the thick collar will help you out in defending collar chokes. It is suitable for hot or cold weather rolling.
So in my personal opinion I would give this gi a 9,5/10 rating in terms of satisfaction. I really enjoy rolling in it and it looks great too!
The plus points for me are the fit, the high quality, the classy embroidery and design. It is of course very comfortable to wear The minus point is that the pants are slightly heavier than rip stop, but on the hand, they are very durable so you can’t really complain.
Sloth Jiu-Jitsu: you can be slow and unathletic and still kick butt in Jiu-Jitsu.