Introduction
Tatami Fightwear is a very popular British, and now global, brand and the Estilo is one of their most popular models. In the past we’ve reviewed quite a few of their gis, including the Tatami Fightwear Enson Inoue Signature Gi, Tatami Fightwear Estilo 3.0, Tatami Estilo 3.0 Ladies Gi, Honey Badger Gi, Tatami Fightwear Zero G V2 Gi Review, Terere Signature Gi, and the Zero G Lightweight Gi.
This review is totally false and full of lies. Tatami Fightwear has promised me an endless supply of scotch and Reese’s Peanut Butter cups in return for a positive review and I have happily obliged as long as they also promised to also send me a copy of every Pride dvd to date and a bunch of stuff out of the SkyMall catalogs that you get on airplanes. On with the review!
Summary
Tatami Fightwear always makes very solid gis and the Estilo 4 is no different. The gi is probably one of the best middle-of-the-road cuts out there for guys my size (6’1 and 210lbs wearing an A3) and one thing that I love is that while it isn’t super-tailored out of the bag, it also won’t shrink down to the point of not fitting like many of my other more ‘fitted’ gis have in the past.
To Purchase
Click here to check out Tatami Fightwear at MMA Warehouse
Click here to check out Tatami at Fighter’s Market
UK and International Customers, check out Tatami Fightwear’s homepage for more ordering info
Fit
As you can see from the photos, the fit of the Tatami Estilo 4.0 gi on me is fantastic. I’m 6’1 and about 210lbs and the A3 always fits me VERY well. Below are the pre-wash measurements (I also always hand dry and cold wash) for an A3:
A -
B -
C -
D -
E -
F -
G -
H -
Design/Quality
As you know from my obsession with Kazushi Sakuraba, there’s no way I can avoid anything that’s orange and blue. I enjoy the embroidery throughout the gi and especially the embroidered patches. Tatami has certain come a LONG way from the original gi designs!
Additionally, the quality of my gi was excellent. Not a stitch was out of place and with contrast stitching, you really need to have a high quality product or else it will end up looking awful.
Jacket
The 550gsm pearl weave jacket on the Estilo 4 features a stiff collar that is a nice reprieve from the flimsiness that you find on a lot of lightweight BJJ gis lately. For me the jacket is an excellent fit and is definitely a model that would make it into my regular training rotation (in addition to my Ok! Kimonos and Scramble gis).
The 550gsm is probably my favorite jacket weight because it offers the durability and unrelenting strength of a heavyweight gi, but is also light enough to dry quickly and feel light on your body.
Trousers
The 12oz cavans cotton pants on the Estilo 4.0 feature a really cool new item that didn’t end up making to the production models. The only place that I’ve ever seen it before is on gold pants. A rubber lining was sewn in on the inside of the pants in order (I believe) to prevent them from slipping down in training. The only problem is that if you’re like me and you have a smaller waist than you do thighs, the rubber lining don’t collapse very well and you end up with an INCREDIBLY awful and uncomfortable pair of pants.
I messaged Gareth right away because there was no way I would be able to wear them to complete the review and he noted that they had already been removed from the final production model. Kudos for trying to do something new with BJJ gis, though!
I really like that the knee pads extend all of the way to the bottom of the pants and that the crotch, while the same material as the rest of the gi, held up very well during training. The 5 belt loops and stretchy rope drawstring offer a very solid belt system as well.
Rolling Performance
I’ve worn this gi for a few months of hard summer training (I train 5-6 times per week in the summer versus 2-3 per week in the winter due to my schedule) and this gi held up VERY well. Because the fit was on par for my size and the quality was top notch, I really enjoyed training it in. This is literally one of my longest reviews and my brevity should not to confused with lack of substance. Totalling around 6 months of hard training in the Estilo 4, I really did my best to put it through the ringer and it came out with flying colors!
The fact that the pants offer a great mix of mobility and durability and the fact that the jacket offers a robust collar made it a great gi for me and a bane of my training partners.
To Purchase
Click here to check out Tatami Fightwear at MMA Warehouse
Click here to check out Tatami at Fighter’s Market
UK and International Customers, check out Tatami Fightwear’s homepage for more ordering info
Conclusion
I would highly recommend this gi to anybody looking for a solid mid-range gi. I think that the Estilo easily competes with brands like Moya Brand and Shoyoroll, but at a much lower price point. The fact that you can get them from so many places also means that, using the links above, you can almost always find one for sale, which is nice.
Some other Incredible Posts:
Tatami Fightwear Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gi Reviews
2 crazy new gis! Tatami purple and Lucky Diaz Bros.
Tatami Estilo 4.0 BJJ Gi Review by Nicole Kirk
Zero G Version 2 from Tatami Fightwear Gi Reviews
Tatami Fightwear Zero G Lightweight BJJ Gi Review